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The main purpose of this web page is to let drivers, legislators, road safety experts, police officers, parents of young drivers, etc., have an easily accessible insight into what is happening in their own countries and elsewhere, and thereby possibly do something to help save some of the many wasted lives on roads everywhere.
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The Volvo "Your Concept Car" (YCC) has been built by a team of nine women and is being unveiled at the Geneva International Auto Show. The car itself is stunning: muscular and catlike, with 225bhp on tap. It is as sexy and seductive as any new sports coupé should be, with gullwing doors and a futuristic feel. But it’s the interior that points to its genesis: it is swimming with tactile, eye-friendly textures, from the sea anemone carpets to the oak-panelled console and the changeable seat pads. On the safety innovation front, for which Volvo is famous, the YCC boasts graduated yellow-to-red brake lights. According to the company, the YCC is no gimmick, but the first step in a concerted drive to allow women to have more influence within Volvo and the car industry. Team leader Anna Rosen, 27, who graduated from design school only three years ago, said: “I wanted the car to have presence and have attitude, like a wild cat.” But she saves her most radical idea for last: “It’s not a car made by women for women, it is a car made by women for everyone.” Read the full details in an article by Sophie Tweedale, in the UK Times Online. ______________________________
The case was the first involving Ford Motor Co.’s 15-passenger E-350 Econoline van to a reach trial in six years. An attorney for the plaintiffs, Jeffrey G. Wigington, said evidence -- including Ford’s own research -- showed that the vans would be less likely to roll over if they had six wheels instead of the standard four. He told the jury that Ford had created a “van rollover epidemic.” He also said Ford erred by putting too many seats in the cargo van without changing the design and failing to put it through sufficient testing. A half-million of the long vans are estimated to be on the nation’s roads. From 1990 to 2000, 268 15-passenger vans were involved in rollovers, resulting in 424 deaths and hundreds of serious injuries. Full story, from the AP, via the Detroit News. ______________________________
A study has found that over 60% of parents who drive their child to school would allow their children to walk or cycle if they knew they would be protected from strangers. The more common dangers of being hit by a car or knocked off a bicycle, however, are less of a priority despite 14, 231 children being killed or injured as pedestrians on the road last year. ______________________________
For those who might have genuine security problems while traveling, Bill Griffith of the Boston Globe has an interesting article. ______________________________
Patrol Supt. David Collins said that last year speeding citations written by troopers increased 1,134, to 92,940; drunken-driver arrests increased 243 to 3,488; and safety belt and child restraint violations increased 1,952 to 29,388. But enforcement alone can’t stop highway deaths, he said. “We constantly remind people that the most dangerous thing they do each day is drive their vehicle." Read the detailed, full article, at the Post-Crescent. DSA Footnote: The death toll in Wisconsin, on a per capita basis, is almost exactly the same as the average for the whole of the USA (which is 14.8 deaths per 100,000 population). 27 states have a worse record than Wisconsin, and 11 of those states are actually more dangerous than the worst of 30 countries on the international road accident database. Click here to view the comparative charts. ______________________________
From now until September, UConn police will be using $18,000 in federal grants to set up DUI check points every weekend and crack down on drunk driving around campus. Drunk driving arrests on campus have been steadily climbing since 2000; going from 83 to 119 in 2002. That is the latest year from which statistics are available. Full story, from WFSB Eyewitness News. ______________________________
Edmonton law enforcement officials are saying the way to safer roads is to aggressively target the worst of the worst. The worst drivers made it onto a hit list. Now the hunt is on. The plan is to tail them and the moment they make a mistake, shower them with traffic tickets, get them into court -- and hopefully off the road. Some legal experts think targeting bad drivers before they commit an offence is simply going too far but the risk of a constitutional challenge hasn't deterred Edmonton police yet. In just three months, they've removed more than 20 of the worst drivers from the roads. Fatalities are down. That initial success means that for now, the deep cover traffic police will continue hunting their city's worst drivers. Full story, from CTV. ______________________________
Legislation proposed by state Rep. Laura Ruderman, D-Redmond, would hold law enforcement officers to the same standard as other motorists who drive poorly or cause accidents. Melodee and Dan Loshbaugh, of Woodinville, plan to testify Monday at the state capital in Olympia when Ruderman presents her draft legislation. The couple received dozens of supportive phone calls and e-mails this week, prompted by the Journal's report Wednesday on the abysmal driving record of the State Patrol trooper who fatally struck their 22-year-old son two years ago as he was crossing a road in Mill Creek. A State Patrol investigation cleared Trooper Jason M. Crandall, 32, in the accident that killed Brock Loshbaugh, on the grounds Loshbaugh wasn't in a crosswalk when he walked across Bothell-Everett Highway in Mill Creek. But in a 20-month period that began four months before the fatal accident, Crandall was found at fault for five other collisions, including some with injuries. There is more disturbing detail in the full article, by Noel S. Brady, of the King County Journal. ______________________________
The setting up of traffic engineering centres as well as establishment of safety teams to carry out audits of flyovers and other road constructions prior to their opening were among the recommendations. While an increase in the number of vehicles and dangerous driving have been identified as major causes of accidents, Delhi Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf added that it was essential to focus on accident investigation. [Source: Delhi Newsline] ______________________________
It has been told that SSP Aman Pasha was going towards Fateh Jang from Islamabad when his car smashed into a train at the railway crossing, resulting in his immediate death. He was recently transferred from the National Police Academy to Pakistan motorway police. ______________________________
Trooper Terrill Barnes said his visit is an important component of the driver's education course because it allows him to give students firsthand accounts of the dangers. Teacher Becky McKeever said "I can tell them all the grim statistics over and over again, but when someone who goes to the scene of these crashes comes in with the same information, they know I'm not making this stuff up." Full story, by Lisa Roberson, of the Chillicothe Gazette. ______________________________
"Late last year, federal regulators toughened the standard for protecting car fuel tanks in rear-end crashes. Several automakers argued against the standard, noting it could save as few as eight lives a year while costing more than the estimated $41 million to change cars and trucks. "That's an argument that angers Jason Schechterle of Phoenix, severely burned two years ago when a taxi going 85 miles an hour slammed into the back of his Ford Crown Victoria police car, rupturing the fuel tank. "I don't like to listen to people putting a value on life," he says. Even if a safety standard saves just 10 people from death or injury, the government should act so no one else has to go through what he has, he says. "Forty years after the government began setting auto safety standards, regulators, automakers, consumer advocates and lawmakers are debating how much safer cars can be made and at what point — if any — the potential savings in lives are too small to justify the costs, often more than $100 per car." [End of quote from article] [Full article, from USA Today]
DSA Comment: This is a well-reported article, by Jayne O'Donnell, from which it is clear to see that a general priority of many automakers is nothing more than cost cutting. One point they omit from their comments is that if, for example, "redesigns" cost $40 million and will save 20 lives a year that is not a cost of $2 million per life because the redesigns are effectively a one-off cost whereas the lives saved are ongoing. Over a ten-year period, using this simplified math, the cost would drop to just $200,000 per life and given the fact that every fatality on America's roads costs the country about $1 million (NHTSA) this represents a huge financial saving -- not to mention the reduction in grief.
Vann Wilbur, vehicle safety director for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, apparently dismisses the benefits of protecting fuel tanks in order to prevent the inferno deaths that several people -- most notably on-duty police officers -- have unnecessarily suffered. He is quoted as saying, rather callously it would seem, that "on a bad snow day, you'd lose more people." Strange that he makes no mention of inadequate design and inadequate forethought being entirely responsible for this sad situation in the first place. And one must also assume from his remarks that he is capable of blocking out the thought of somebody close to him ever being burned alive in such a hideous scenario.
Lastly, however, we would comment on the paragraph which states: "The fatality rate, based on the number of car-crash deaths and miles traveled [in the USA], decreased significantly during the 1970s, but the rate of decline has slowed since the 1980s. The actual number of deaths has remained near constant since the mid-1990s at about 42,000 a year."
Any intimations by politicians, or others, that this situation is more or less acceptable are scandalous. If one applies the internationally preferred parameter of deaths per 100,000 population (IRTAD), rather than deaths-by-mileage, the USA has performed particularly badly over the last ten years for which data are available (1992-2001), improving the death rate by just 4% and making the least progress of the 23 countries for which these data are available. [Click here to view the full results.] ______________________________
Not only did she drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.12, but she also managed to crash her state-owned car into a ditch. Lautenschlager has said that she has no plans to resign, but unless -- perversely -- she believes that she has set an acceptable example, bearing in mind her status as the state's top law enforcement official, should she even have a choice? ______________________________
Police and local authorities will publish the number of casualties at
every site before and after a camera was installed, allowing drivers to
assess their impact on safety. Ministers believe this will help to
persuade people that the 5,000 cameras are helping to save lives, not
simply raising revenue. ______________________________
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DuPont Automotive invites attendees to "Choose Your own Briefing" during the 2004 SAE World Congress and Exposition in Detroit, March 8-11. On of the options is "Better Safe than Sorry". First tier customers are integrating their approaches, OEMs are selling five-star safety and the industry is racing to meet voluntary and regulatory standards that are coalescing worldwide. Recent advances in laminated safety glass will offer other advantages beyond safety and security for added sound, solar and other "smart" advances. As options go standard, such as side curtain airbag systems, there's a rush to lower their cost and increase their performance. Then there's the issue of new approaches and materials to offer collision avoidance features as well as for active and passive systems that will better protect vehicle occupants in frontal and side impacts or rollovers. The EU Pedestrian Protection Directive in Europe will require new energy management technologies with new materials in new forms.
For details of the Automotive SAE World Congress, go to Drive and Stay Alive's conferences and events page. ______________________________
BOC is rolling out a global safety and security programme to help customers in industries as diverse as refrigeration, glass and glazing, water, chemicals and pharmaceuticals deal with hazardous and controlled chemicals in compliance with new EU legislation, some of which comes into force in April 2004. Full story, from Process And Control Today. ______________________________
It warns drivers if they are getting too close to the vehicle ahead, tightens seat belts in anticipation of a crash and helps the driver to brake if it senses that a crash is probable. Mercedes-Benz was first in the market with a similar system, called Pre-Safe, that it introduced in 2002 as standard equipment on its S-Class sedans. The Mercedes system returns reclined seats to full upright position, tightens the seat belts, and even rolls up the windows and closes the sunroof in anticipation of a crash. It also assists the driver by applying up to 20% of the car's braking force. Toyota expects the new system to trickle down through the Lexus line and into Toyota brand cars and trucks in coming years. Full story, from the LA Times. ______________________________
Despite a warning from the national police force KLPD for motorists to stay at home if possible, snow, slippery roads and strong winds led to the second worst day of Dutch traffic jams of all time. Many drivers ignored the warnings and by about 8am there were 63 traffic jams with a total length of 860km (538 miles). The longest delay on Thursday was on the A2 Den Bosch-Amsterdam motorway where a 57km traffic jam developed between the Deil and Amstel junctions. ______________________________
"What has been lacking in the past is a holistic integration of vehicles with roadway infrastructure," said Dr. Charles Wu, director, Manufacturing and Vehicle Design, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering. "Through the combination of intelligent vehicle technology and ITS in the United States, we hope this program, called Vehicles-as-Sensors, will contribute to the development of the next generation in transportation and driver information systems." ______________________________
The demonstration will include truck ride-alongs for news reporters and photographers. Safety demonstration will include tips on blind spots, safe-merging techniques, and stopping and following distances. The safety advice is critical for Arizona drivers because: * 35% of all truck-involved highway fatalities occur in a truck's blind spots (FMCSA) * Most drivers were never taught how to share the road safely with trucks * Watching this demonstration will help reduce accidents (Thursday, February 26th, 10.00am, at the Wesley Bolin Plaza, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ)
Share the Road (http://www.truckline.com/safetynet/howtodrive/index.html), is a highway safety program that delivers life-saving messages to hundreds of U.S. cities and reaches millions of motorists annually, designed to educate automobile drivers about sharing the roads safely with trucks. The program, sponsored by Mack Trucks, Inc., is presented by members of America's Road Team, a team of professional truck drivers with millions of miles of accident- free driving on America's highways. Web site: http://www.truckline.com/safetynet/howtodrive/index.html ______________________________
Robert L. Darbelnet will be the speaker at the Club luncheon on Monday, March 8.
Darbelnet has spent his entire career with AAA/CAA starting as an
emergency road service driver for the Quebec Automobile Club. He served
11 years as CEO of that club prior to being named AAA president and CEO
and moving to the federation's headquarters in Heathrow, Florida. Tickets for the event are $30 for members and spouses, and $45 for non- members. Full tables of 10 may also be reserved. Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dearborn, Michigan. [Source: AAA Michigan] ______________________________
Isofix is a unique attachment system which allows you to secure the child seat to the car using "click-type connectors", without the use of the vehicle seat-belt. Such an attachment reduces the risk of misuse, eliminates compatibility problems between different car makes and seats and hence offers better protection. Britax has offered the only volume Group 1 Isofix seat in its range since 2001. The Duo Plus Isofix is currently classified as vehicle specific. The company has undertaken a major crash-testing programme with car manufacturers to gain these approvals and the applications list for the seat now covers 25 manufacturers and contains 162 vehicles. This list covers 50% of all new cars sold in the UK last year. The introduction of a universal category is a welcome addition to the European Standard as it allows any vehicles with Isofix, a secure third point or attachment from the top of the child restraint to the top of the car seat or parcel shelf and specific labelling (see appendix), to be used with Isofix child car seats. With the addition of manufacturers such as Volvo, Saab and BMW Britax believe the Duo Plus Isofix will now fit in 58% of all new cars when used in the universal category. [Source: Britax Excelsior] ______________________________
During the Head of State's new year address to the nation on December 31, 2003, he [said he] was deeply worried that numerous Cameroonians were sent to their graves through road accidents. What [bothered] President Paul Biya greatly was the fact that most of the accidents resulted from either the carelessness of the drivers, over speeding, overtaking or the simple fact that some of the drivers had never been trained [yet still] own driving licences. Full story, from the Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé), via AllAfrica.com ______________________________
Mineta's call to Congress will come as he helps launch a new Mobil Travel Guide -- the first of its America's Byways Series, titled All-American Roads. ______________________________
Four local authorities in England have been awarded over £4 million for extra road safety measures to reduce casualties in deprived areas. The money has been allocated from the 'Dealing with Disadvantage' initiative and will be used to address road safety problems in poorer areas. It follows the award of over £11million to deprived areas in Greater Manchester and Lancashire last year. Projects will include: * Making routes to schools, parks and play areas safer * Educating children and adults to dangers on the road * Traffic calming measures * New pedestrian crossings * Child car seat inspection and fitting services [Source: UK Dept. for Transport] ______________________________
According to one reliable estimate, 2500 people were killed and thousands more injured in road accidents last year. However, there is no similar appraisal as to who is to blame for this sorry state of affairs, with each side in the debate pointing fingers at the other. The traffic police authorities complain that they are powerless to prevent reckless driving and the dangerous overloading of commercial vehicles as these belong to or are controlled by influential politicians, officials and businessmen. Then there is the transport employees' trade unionism coming into play. The police claim that no sooner do they act to detain offenders than they are ordered by their superiors to let them go. Indeed, so bold the drivers have become, the police claim, that they routinely refuse to stop when ordered to do so and even go so far as to try to run over traffic sergeants attempting to apprehend them. For their part, the drivers and owners of commercial vehicles argue that the police are guilty of widespread extortion and they are forced to overload their vehicles to meet the cost of this extortion. There is doubtless a fair amount of truth to both sides. It is true that political patronage is often an obstacle to policing, and by the same token, it is also true that police extortion and toll collection are serious problems. It is now the responsibility of the government to step in and find a way out of the morass. [Source: Daily Star] ______________________________
Also giving evidence will be Professor Oliver Carsten (Leeds University), Mike McDonald (Southampton University) and Chief Inspector Neal Skelton. PACTS written evidence to the inquiry argues that the cars of the future will be safer and more sustainable:
PACTS’ vision for cars of the future is one in which cars are safer and more sustainable, and form one element of a safer, sustainable and integrated transport system. Improved vehicle design, incorporating advanced designs for the prevention of accidents or the reduction of the severity of accidents, will be key to this. PACTS believes that cars of the future must also incorporate existing safety technologies as well as future possibilities. It is also necessary to take a strategic approach to road safety, in which advanced vehicle design is complemented by an improved road environment and driver education.
The paper summarises new vehicle safety technologies, and classifies
them into short, medium and long-term prospects. It welcomes
in-car computerised technology in as far as it helps to prevent
collisions, but warns that there are risks presented by the blurring of
distinction between human driver and computer. ______________________________
"The new law says you must stop for pedestrians on your half of the roadway or when the pedestrian is within the adjacent lane to your half of the roadway," said George Branyan from the Maryland Highway Safety Office. That's the general rule. When a pedestrian steps into the crosswalk, all traffic on his side of the road must stop. As he approaches the other side of the road, and is in the adjacent lane, traffic on the other side must stop too. Once he steps onto the other side, the cars behind him can go because he's moving away from traffic. But many drivers still have no clue. The maximum penalties have been made more severe for fail-to-stop drivers, too: In the worst case a $500 fine, 2 months in jail, a point on your driver's license and a mandatory court appearance. Full article, from the WBAL Channel. [Keywords: pedestrians, pedestrian crossing] ______________________________
The Toyota Avensis already has the distinction of achieving the highest five-star rating for passenger crash protection in Euro-NCAP testing. Now Toyota is strengthening its
standard safety package by introducing Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control
(TRC), and Brake Assist (BA) on all 1.8 VVT-i models. [Source: News Press] DSA Comment: As always, it's good to see additional safety features being fitted as 'standard'. Unfortunately, however, the excellent Avensis is not available in North America. ______________________________
In just over a month, the Florida Highway Patrol nabbed 131 people for aggressive driving in Palm Beach County and these were just a part of the traffic crackdown that began Jan. 23 on Interstate 95, during which troopers wrote a total of more than 940 tickets, including 468 for speeding. Three motorists were driving so recklessly, they were handcuffed and taken to jail. State law defines aggressive driving as a combination of at least two moving violations, such as speeding, following too closely, improper lane change or running a red light. Read the full story, from the Palm Beach Post. ______________________________
To get the word out about the five-year-old provision — and improve motor vehicle safety while reducing traffic congestion — the state is launching a public awareness campaign paid for with a federal grant. The first “Clear It and Steer It” ads hit the airwaves Monday, and will run on 40 television stations and 312 radio stations across the state through August. Gwinnett Police Maj. Dan Bruno said Gwinnett County has seen its share of deaths caused by drivers smashing into wrecked vehicles, or into the rear of wreck-induced traffic jams. “Each day throughout metro Atlanta there’s literally hundreds of minor accidents, and when those vehicles are allowed to sit on the roadway, the traffic starts to back up, especially on the interstate,” said Bruno, who until recently oversaw traffic-law enforcement at the police department. “You then have high-speed traffic coming up on the back of the traffic queue,” said Bruno, “and what you have are secondary collisions. A lot of time those are severe because of the speed involved.”
[DSA cannot unreservedly endorse this advice as
there are many circumstances where the attempted removal of damaged
vehicles from multi-lane highways, by inexperienced people, can put
those people and others at extreme risk. Advanced warning signs and a
greater policing presence -- both of which are commonly found in other
countries -- would be a safer option, but as these tend not to exist in
the USA you might wish to check this article out and make up your own
mind.] ______________________________
According to a poll of Washington drivers commissioned by PEMCO Insurance, most drivers believe cell phones cause a dangerous distraction, but fewer drivers take active and effective steps to prevent it. In the poll, 58 percent of Washingtonians admitted dividing their attention between the road and a cell phone while driving. When asked to rate the safety of using a cell phone while driving, 69 percent rated the activity dangerous or very dangerous.
The survey also found interesting variations in the income, age,
gender and family status of people who use cell phones while driving: [Source: Newswire] ______________________________
WJACTV have a report of two such incidents in an article on their website. The bus drivers are saying that it's their understanding that no vehicles, even emergency ones, are allowed to pass a bus with flashing red lights. But the police department concerned say that in cases of extreme emergency, like a potential hostage situation, state law does allow it. ______________________________
Dairy company Fonterra has taken top prize at the inaugural New Zealand Road Safety Innovation awards for a comprehensive programme aimed at improving the safety of the company's large fleet of milk tankers. The award will be presented today (February 24) at a Wellington ceremony hosted by Transport Minister Paul Swain. The prize-giving is the culmination of the first national awards programme for breakthroughs in New Zealand road safety. The Road Safety Innovation Awards recognise outstanding achievements in the following categories: Road Safety Community Promoter, School Road Safety, Corporate Road Safety, Vehicle-Based Innovation and Improvement, and Road-Based Innovation. Inspired by the Prince Michael Road Safety Awards in the UK, the New Zealand awards highlight examples of road safety innovation in this country with the aim of encouraging others to follow suit. To be eligible for the awards, innovations must have originated within New Zealand or have been significantly adapted for New Zealand conditions. For brief details of the five category winners, click here. For more extensive details, click here. (Thanks, also, to Scoop). ______________________________
Martin Narey believes many offenders who are now serving sentences could have had their cases better dealt with by way of community penalties. His comments have been seized on by campaigners who claimed that motorists were being jailed because they were seen as an "easy target". The Automobile Association was more guarded, saying that most motorists who were sent to prison had committed serious offences such as driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and causing death by dangerous driving. Andrew Howard, the AA's head of road safety, said there was growing public support for jailing such offenders: "What else can you do with someone who has ignored a court order or has killed someone on the road?" He quoted an AA poll which last year showed that around two-thirds of Britons thought the courts were too soft on dangerous drivers. Full story, from the ITV. ______________________________
For nearly half a century, the U.S. and Canadian car markets have operated essentially in lockstep as if the 4,000-mile border were invisible. But suddenly, sharp differences are beginning to appear in new car showrooms on both sides of the border. At the recent Toronto auto show, visitors got their first glimpse of products such as the new Pontiac Solstice roadster, Ford Mustang and Chrysler 300C destined both for Canadian and U.S. showrooms. But Canadian car buyers also will soon get an opportunity to buy the Nissan X-Trail, Jaguar’s X-Type wagon, and nearly a dozen other cars, trucks and crossovers that will not show up in U.S. showrooms. Full story, from the Detroit News. See also the Drive And Stay Alive feature on the Canadian International Auto Show. ______________________________
Since the introduction of reforms intended to restore sanity to the country's roads, there has been a sharp drop in the number of minibus taxis - or ”matatus” - that are operating. An umbrella organisation for taxi owners, the Matatu Welfare Association (MWA), claims that only 40 percent of the 40,000 taxis are currently on the roads. Under new rules that came into effect on Feb. 1, all public service vehicles are obliged to install speed regulators and seatbelts to improve road safety. The regulators ensure that the vehicles, which previously drove at life-threatening speeds, do not go beyond the speed limit of 80 kilometres an hour [i.e. 50mph]. With traffic officials putting the number of lives lost in road accidents at approximately 3,000 every year, the new laws have probably been welcomed by some... [and] concerns have elicited limited sympathy amongst the public, with analysts pointing out that many matatu drivers have simply doubled their fares to compensate for the loss of passengers. Full story, from Interpress. ______________________________
344 people were killed last year, in a city of 8 million. You have to go back to 1912, when pedestrians and cars were competing with horse-drawn carriages and trollies, to find a tally that low, according to city statistics. "These numbers are encouraging and impressive," said John Kaehny, executive director of traffic safety group 'Transportation Alternatives', a sometimes vocal critic of city traffic policy. "New York City is doing something right when it comes to pedestrian safety and overall traffic safety." Full story, from the New York Daily News. ______________________________
This is a universal problem in agricultural areas around the world, and in North Carolina more than 100 farmers showed up in Smithfield for a “Be Seen and Be Safe” seminar at the Johnston County Cooperative Extension offices, Thursday. Cooperative Extension distributed 125 highway safety kits to the farmers, which included a reflective slow-moving vehicle emblem, reflective tape and a strobe light beacon, and farmers learned tips on making operating farm equipment on the highway safer as well as the latest safety technology. Full article, from The Dunn Daily Record. In addition, you could try Johnston County Cooperative Extension for any further details you might require. ______________________________
The $800 devices, called "passive alcohol sensors," look like an ordinary police flashlight and can also be used as one, but can detect alcohol and will help police nab underage drinkers at parties, school dances and sporting events. They also could be used in routine police work to help officers establish probable cause for a preliminary breath test. Full story, from the Traverse City Record Eagle. ______________________________
The year-to-date figure is now 52, 16 more than in the same period last year. Full story, from Irish Emigrant. ______________________________
In Anchorage, where deep snow has driven an estimated 1,000 moose into neighborhoods, parks and streets, more than 120 moose have been killed since summer. Driving highways becomes a seasonal moose roulette that annually kills one to three people and injures at least 100 more. But even when no one gets hurt moose collisions cost millions of dollars in property damage and lost time, and leave hundreds of wild animals mangled by the roadside. Full story, from Anchorage Daily News. ______________________________
A first offense for drunken driving has now been raised from a violation to a Class B misdemeanor, which would leave the charge on the driver’s criminal record and a fine no less than $500. Penalties for second- and third-time offenders were also increased. A person committing a second offense will be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, receive a fine of no less than $500, and spend 30 days in jail. Third-time offenders will carry the same charge with a 180-day jail term. Senate Bill 478 comes through efforts by legislators to advance New Hampshire’s status as a leader against drunken driving. In 1994, legislators lowered the blood-alcohol-content level from .10 to .08 to stiffen the drunken driving law. Full story, from the Portsmouth Herald. ______________________________
The removal of the sirens came a week after a Channel 2 news report caught Deputy Mayor Carol A. Robles-Roman using her lights and siren to cut around traffic on her commute to City Hall... Gene Russianoff, a lawyer for the New York Public Interest Research Group, applauded the mayor's efforts. "I don't think the city will lose out because some official will be late to an emergency tree pruning or P.T.A. meeting," he said. Full story, from the NY Times. For interest, see our similar article from the Ukraine: February 13, below. ______________________________
As Congressional debate continues on long-overdue highway legislation
needed to fund road and bridge improvement projects for the next six
years, a new report is sparking added urgency by ranking the nation's
worst highway bottlenecks. The report, an update of a study originally
conducted in 1999, specifically quantifies how these traffic chokepoints
burden the public with severe delays, degraded safety, worsened air
quality and wasted fuel consumption, and it details the major benefits
that will accrue from uncorking the bottlenecks. ______________________________
This is one of those reports that is not country-specific; it applies everywhere in the world. ______________________________
ALL February 20, 2004: The global market for vehicle occupant restraint systems: 2004 A seatbelt for every seat and airbags for the front seat occupants are the norm these days. While frontal and side airbag design has caught much of the limelight in terms of interior safety systems over the last decade, some vehicle makers are also fitting safety equipment below the steering wheel in an effort to protect all parts of the occupant’s body. Although most of today’s safety systems are passive, manufacturers predict a move toward passive-active. Full press release here. ______________________________
The Commission welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament and Council of a new directive on rear view mirrors and supplementary indirect vision systems for motor vehicles. This directive will improve road user safety by upgrading the performance of rear view mirrors and accelerating the introduction of new technologies that increase the field of indirect vision for drivers of passenger cars, buses and lorries. As many severe road accidents at crossings, junctions or roundabouts are caused by vehicle drivers who are unaware that other road users are very close to, or beside, their vehicles, the measures are designed to reduce blind spots in the immediate area around vehicles. The first effects of these new rules should start to be seen on new models from 2005 onwards with a gradual phasing in of obligations up to the end of the decade. The new directive, based on studies and research that the Commission has discussed with Member States, industry and other interested parties, adds specific blind spot reduction requirements to the existing Directive on rear-view mirrors, as last amended in 1988. The key changes would entail:
[Source: EU press release, originally dated Feb. 11, 2004] ______________________________
A telephone hotline for callers to "dob in" a drink-driver could make Tasmanian roads safer, says a leading road safety advocate. The call from Road Safety Taskforce chairman Paul Hogan comes as Victoria Police consider establishing such a hotline to curb the number of people driving under the influence of alcohol. Under the Victoria Police plan people would be urged to anonymously dob in relatives, friends, neighbours or workmates they know repeatedly drink and drive. Opposition police and public safety spokesman Brett Whiteley said the drink-driver hotline was worth considering. "I believe it could be a very powerful deterrent to drinking and driving if a potential offender knew that anyone who was watching them consume too much alcohol, or who knew they were a serial drink-driving offender, could simply call a hotline number." Full story, by Damian McIntyre, at the Tasmanian Mercury. ______________________________
The Bush Administration’s $256 billion surface transportation reauthorization proposal, called the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA), would be the largest highway, transit and safety investment in U.S. history. The U.S. Senate last week passed a transportation bill that would divert tax dollars from other programs and risk increasing the deficit. [Source: DOT Press Release] ______________________________
In an ideal motoring world, Amnon Shashua acknowledges, there would be no need for the EyeQ chip, a processor that analyzes signals from automobile-mounted cameras to warn drivers of potential collisions or other dangerous situations. "If you're very vigilant and very alert, you don't need a thing to help you," said Dr. Shashua, the chairman and chief scientist of MobilEye, a company based in the Netherlands that produces EyeQ. "Your visual processing is much better than any computer." For many people, of course, driving is an activity that may overlap with other tasks like dialing cell phones, twiddling radio dials and restoring peace among children. For those situations, Dr. Shashua said, a computerized camera becomes "another eye helping the driver." Full story, from the NY Times. ______________________________
Working on the assumption that if you want to meet female expectations you will surpass male ones, the Volvo YCC ("Your Concept Car") is a unique project undertaken by a team of female engineers, designers and project managers to demonstrate the breadth and depth of female expertise at Volvo. Full details of the car, together with the first pictures, will be released on 2 March. ______________________________
Brakes, accelerators, ringing cell phones, rowdy passengers and car speakers blaring the latest tunes all fall on the same deadly list. They can be a young driver's worst enemies. The Kentucky State Police used that list as a lesson outline in its "Drive to Stay Alive" campaign last summer with 23 teen drivers from 21 high schools. The full article, including details of four proposed restrictions being put before the state General Assembly, is from the Kentucky Post. ______________________________
Drivers over 65 are more likely to get into crashes because of declining perception and motor skills, but the biggest risk is to themselves, not others on the highway, says a study based on nearly 4 million traffic accidents. The study, released Wednesday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, also found that drivers 65 or older are nearly twice as likely to die in a crash as drivers between 55 and 64. Drivers over 85 were nearly four times as likely to die. Full story, by Dee-Ann Durbin, from SFGate.com ______________________________
Rolf Fischer's passion for high speeds proved to be his undoing on Tuesday when a German court found the 34-year-old Mercedes test driver guilty of causing the deaths of a young woman and her two-year-old daughter while travelling at 250km/h on a German motorway. [DSA comment: 250km/h = 155mph] The engineer was on his way to a car test-track in the northern city of Papenburg in a company-owned, dark Mercedes SLK. Fischer forced the 21-year-old woman, driving in a much smaller Kia, to shift into one of the slow lanes. Startled by his aggressiveness and speed, the woman lost control of her car while swerving to change lanes. The car spun across two lanes and smashed into some trees. She and her daughter, Rebecca, died instantly. Fischer sped off from the scene. Police said they had finally found Fischer on the basis of petrol station receipts, mobile phone records and the testimony of a witness. Witnesses during the trial also identified Fischer's Mercedes as having caused the accident. Full story, from Deutsche Welle. [DSA comment: This incident was first mentioned on this web page on February 10; see below] ______________________________
Imagine a miniature head-up display embedded in the lens of your sunglasses. That unusual feature may be on the horizon for some luxury vehicle buyers. Tom Purves, chairman and CEO of BMW North America, said the German automaker is working hard to get a miniature head-up display into production in sunglasses for its car buyers and helmet visors for BMW motorcycle riders. The devices would project vehicle information, such as speed, onto the glasses or the visor. Full story, by Anita Lienert at the Detroit News. ______________________________
The number of vehicles plying the roads of the world will rise remorselessly to 1.1 billion units by 2020. A new report, Managing the Future - World Vehicle Forecasts and Strategies to 2020, provides an analysis of the global motor industry for the 60 year period from 1960 to 2020. The report explains the fact that in excess of 1.5 billion vehicles will be produced and sold over the twenty-year period 2001 to 2020 inclusive. For a complete index of the report click on http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/45622 ______________________________
Top Com, an annual French media congress, presented the Gold award to Valeo for its creative promotional concept based on "Men in Black". ______________________________
'...The new laws, adopted after 20 years of debate, threaten to force major restyling of everything from knife-edged front-engined sports cars to blunt-nosed sport/utility vehicles. The rules specify that any new model for sale in the EU after October 2005 must pass crash tests that simulate the impact of a pedestrian on the front of a vehicle. Approximately 30 percent of crashes in some European countries involve pedestrians, so legislators wanted to act. Think of it as Europe’s equivalent to SUV rollover rules in the United States. Russell Carr, design chief of Lotus Engineering, [said] “This is going to make a front-engined sports car with a low bonnet (hood) line very difficult to design to look good”...' Full article, from AutoWeek. DSA Comment: To consider this only in terms of whether a vehicle will still look as good is both mindless and selfish; one can only assume that the makers of such comments have never had a loved one -- especially a child, the most vulnerable of all pedestrians -- killed by a car. Secondly, it is highly inaccurate to claim that this is "Europe’s equivalent to SUV rollover rules in the United States." It is no such thing. Of the 23 European countries listed in the International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD), twenty of them have a lower road-death rate, per 100,000 population, than the USA (i.e. as much as 60% lower) and all 23 have achieved better rates of improvement over the last ten years than the USA, too. We would suggest that this may be for two primary reasons: 1) It would appear that the European countries are generally more committed to saving lives through applied (and standardised) safety measures, and 2) Countries outside the USA would appear more amenable to learning from each other and not remaining parochial or introspective towards the massive problem of road deaths. We all like good looking cars but to imply that design modifications that will save many lives are somehow undesirable is thoughtless. ______________________________
Department of Public Safety reports show a total of 967 people lost their lives on South Carolina’s roads and highways in 2003, down about nine percent from 1053 in 2002. The department says it's the first time since 1997 the number of highway fatalities dropped below 1000. By February 15 this year, however, 116 people had died on South Carolina highways, up by 40% from the 83 deaths over the same period in 2003. Full story, from WIS News. ______________________________
The Land Rover Women's Panel is becoming increasingly active, having already completed two in-depth product appraisals so far this year, a clear sign of the importance of female influence on future Land Rover designs. The panel, comprised of Land Rover employees from across the company, has a formally recognised role in the future development of Land Rover's four strong vehicle line-up and is intended to reflect the broad spectrum of female buyers. Panel members scrutinize all areas of the vehicle's interior and exterior to ensure it meets the practical demands of women. Areas as diverse as switchgear functionality, on and off road handling and all round vision have been explored since the group's inception in May 2001. In particular, women offered valuable input on improving the positioning of items under the bonnet. Regularly used fluid reservoirs were placed near the front corner of the engine bay, avoiding the need for people to lean against a dirty vehicle to reach them. Evaluation by the Women's Panel also led to dipstick routes and angles being modified to improve access, while labelling and colour coding was introduced to identify service items to be used by the customer. ______________________________
The exercise, organised by Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) and Johor's Department of Environment (DOE), will be held from 10am to 1pm on 19 February, at the 2nd Link at Tuas. It will simulate an accident involving a prime mover carrying two 4-tonne demountable tanks containing 99.9% anhydrous ammonia on the 2nd Link travelling towards Singapore. Smoke from simulators will be used to simulate leakage of ammonia gas. Full story, from Channel News Asia. ______________________________
We have all read the stories about tragic car crashes in the early
morning hours involving teenage drivers with multiple teenage
passengers. The problem is as serious as the headlines indicate. ______________________________
Recreation vehicles are going through a transformation. Big, flat-sided, square-cornered boxes on wheels are evolving into rolling rooms with style inside and out, and the automotive industry and its designers and engineers are helping move things along. Full story, from the Detroit News. ______________________________
In a head-on collision between a small car such as a Honda Civic and a full-size pickup, the laws of physics say the larger, heavier vehicle will inflict more damage and the occupants of the smaller one are more likely to be killed or injured. Honda does not claim it can defy physics, but it said the front structures on its future models would provide more protection in collisions with larger and heavier vehicles without doing more damage to other vehicles. In a similar vein, Volvo said its new S40 compact sedan due out next month will provide the same crash protection as its midsize S80 sedan. Federal data show that, in car-truck collisions, the car occupants usually fared worse. In head-on crashes in 2001 between light trucks and cars, 1,365 car occupants were killed, compared with 375 truck occupants. Read this important article, by Rick Popely, in the Philadelphia Inquirer. ______________________________
Every year more than 1,000 young people are
killed or seriously injured on the UK's roads, according to road safety
charity Brake. ______________________________
KOLKATA: Desperate to curb fatal accidents on city roads, the traffic police have decided to compel errant drivers to help police regulate traffic. This is part of a four-day sensitising programme for drivers whose licences were suspended, deputy commissioner (traffic) Piyush Pandey said. But the errant drivers must first undergo training on defensive driving. Otherwise, their licences won’t be returned, he added. Besides defensive driving techniques, drivers will be given tips on basic maintenance of vehicles. They will then be taken to the streets to regulate traffic, along with policemen, to make them see the offences from the enforcer’s point of view. [Source: The Times of India, February 14, 2004] ______________________________
four in Orange County, two in Los Angeles County, two in San Diego County and one in Riverside County.
Bikes are the most hazardous form of motor vehicle transportation,
according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In
2002, 20.9 cars out of 100,000 ended up in fatal crashes. Motorcycles,
on the other hand, had more than three times that rate with 66.7 out of
100,000 involved in fatal crashes. The vehicles are so dangerous that
most police departments offer their motorcycle officers hazard pay —
the same benefit given to members of bomb squads and SWAT teams. ______________________________
Through the postcard program, people who witness speeding, reckless driving or other violations can log on postcards license-plate numbers of offending vehicles, the offense, and street and time of the violation or violations.
From the reports, police patrol vehicles could be placed at
"strategic times and places" to thwart racing in Wailua
Homesteads, Ozaki said. ______________________________
Full story, from BBC Monitoring, Kiev Unit. For interest, see our similar article from New York City: February 21, above. ______________________________
Steve and Susan Owings' son, Cullum, was killed on Dec. 1, 2002, when a tractor-trailer plowed into the back of his car as he was traveling back to college at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. If trucks were required to go slower, Cullum Owings, and many others like him, might still be alive. Full story, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ______________________________
This horrifying statistic came from a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the start of Child Passenger Safety Week. The CDC also reported that 68 percent of children killed in alcohol-related crashes from 1997 to 2002 were riding in the same vehicle as the drinking driver. "Children being transported by impaired (drivers) is a concern to us and to local and state law enforcement," said Brook Chipman, spokesman for the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau. Full story, by Rebecca Deusser, from the Sentinel and Enterprise, MA. ______________________________
A good article, from the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA). [See also the DSA page on safety equipment] ______________________________
The NSC estimates that driver behavior contributes to 90 percent of all motor vehicle crashes. Crashes that were solely caused by vehicle or external factors account for the other 10 percent of crashes. Several specific driver behaviors and errors account for a significant portion of these crashes. During Crash-Free June, the NSC will provide information, education and focus on these and other driver behaviors and issues that result in crashes. ______________________________
NHTSA has been rating tires since 1980, but made its Web site easier to search this year in response to a call from Congress to make tire information readily available to consumers. There are ratings for more than 2,200 tires, including some that have been discontinued but may still be on store shelves. See the full USDOT/NHTSA report on a bespoke DSA page, in our Safety Equipment section. Also see this story, from the point of view of the Miami Herald. ______________________________
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ALL
February
11, 2004: The World Car of the Year Awards (WCOTY)
program was officially launched today during a media conference at the
opening of the 2004 Canadian International Auto Show. The awards
program, which will recognize and reward automotive achievements and
excellence on a global scale, will be administered by a Steering
Committee of international automotive journalists. DSA Footnote: Our editor was at the Canadian International Auto Show media conference and press days. Click here to view our report of the show. ______________________________
Rollover crashes in SUVs and pickups accounted for more than half the increase in traffic deaths from 2001 to 2002 and over 18,000 Americans have been killed in SUV rollovers since 1991. The government estimates that 2000 extra lives are lost on U.S. roads each year because of the mismatch between SUVs, pickups and vans and passenger cars. The legislation will finally address these problems by mandating standards that would prevent many rollovers, make rollovers more survivable and reduce the aggressiveness of SUVs and other light trucks. You can be a force in improving the safety of SUVs and the American highway by urging your Senators to support the Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2003 - S. 1978. Click here to learn more and send a fax today: http://www.citizen.org/fax/background.cfm?ID=254&source= 50 ______________________________
In the next few days, your Senators will consider a highway safety reauthorization bill that could save thousands of American lives by mandating new standards for automobile and truck safety. In 2002, a total of 42,850 American motorists were killed in crashes - the greatest death toll since 1990. This bill addresses the deadly problems of vehicle rollover, aggressiveness and ejection and offers necessary improvements for trucks, 15-passenger vans and child safety. You can be a force for improving the safety of American roads by urging your Senators to support the Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2003 - S. 1978. Click here to learn more and send a fax today: http://www.citizen.org/fax/background.cfm?ID=254&source= 47 ______________________________
Children ages 8 to 15 ride unbuckled and die in car crashes at rates approaching those of adults, according to recent federal data. AAA Chicago urges parents to use Child Passenger Safety Week (Feb. 8-14) to reinforce the importance of proper seat belt and restraint use with children of all ages. "As kids get older, they become less likely to wear their seat belts and become more likely to die in car crashes," said Steve Nolan, AAA Chicago spokesman. "These 8-15 year-olds will soon be riding in cars driven by teenage siblings and friends, making it all the more important that they be buckled up. Parents and others need to make these older children into full- time seat belt users now." [Source: PR Newswire] ______________________________
Chandler Otis unwrapped his Sunday morning newspaper, saw the headline announcing the death of two cyclists Saturday, and took a deep breath: "I had to steel myself - who is it this time?" said Otis, a longtime Gainesville cycling activist. Gustavo A. Antonini, 66, of Gainesville, and his stepson, William W. Cupples, 42, of Jupiter, were killed on U.S. 27/41 at NW 46th Avenue between Newberry and High Springs when hit by a pickup truck. Saturday was Antonini's birthday. Full story, from the Gainesville Sun. ______________________________
"...Maine motorists are still dying at a rate lower than the national average - which has been dropping steadily for 10 years - but the gap is narrowing..." Full article, from the Portland Press Herald, and MaineToday.com DSA Comment: This is misleading. The parameter used for state-to-state comparisons is generally "deaths per miles" but this is not only a debatable measure, it can also seem irrelevant to the average person. The more popular, international criterion is deaths-per-100,000-population, and on this basis Maine does NOT perform better than average. For the DSA tables, showing each state's performance, click here. ______________________________
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"Defensive driving skills are not about how to control your vehicles in wet condition, or braking skills," Golden Gears System instructor Roland Tan said. "It's about improving alertness and [being] completely in control of your vehicle and emotions during driving. This should be emphasised." [Source: The New Straits Times] DSA Comment: Well said, Mr. Tan. You have hit the nail on the head. ______________________________
A 34-year-old DaimlerChrysler engineer and test driver, nicknamed Turbo-Rolf, is alleged to have driven his top-of-the-range Mercedes only a few metres behind the woman’s car. Apparently startled by his aggressiveness, the 21-year-old mother lost control of her car which spun off the road and into trees, killing her and her two-year-old daughter instantly The accident, on July 14, sparked nationwide controversy by highlighting an apparent culture of reckless speeding on Germany’s unrestricted motorways, where tailgating — the practice of driving dangerously close behind another vehicle — is not uncommon. Full story, from the Times of Oman. (See February 18, 2004 -- above -- for the outcome of the court case) ______________________________
More than a year after she was arrested and charged with three counts of driving under the influence, pop diva Diana Ross was sentenced Monday to 48 hours in jail and 12 months of unsupervised probation. Two other DUI related charges against Ross were thrown out. As part of her sentence, Ross must also pay $852 in fines and attend at least 36 hours of alcohol counseling. The judge accepted her request to do the time in a Los Angeles County facility sometime before March 9th. Ross is scheduled to go on tour in Europe within the next several weeks. Full article, from News13. ______________________________
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Senator John Warner (R-VA) will be joined by safety advocates, today, to urge passage of the National Highway Safety Act of 2003 (S. 1993). The bill encourages each state to enact a primary enforcement seat belt law or raise their seat belt use rate to 90 percent. If a state fails to accomplish one or the other, they face the loss of a portion of their federal highway funding. Full story here. A second report, from after the event, may be found here. ______________________________
Sebastien Loeb made history today by becoming the first non-Scandinavian to win the Swedish round of the World Rally Championship. Few informed commentators would disagree with the claim that rallying is the greatest all-round test of driving skill, and this victory was spectacular. More details here. ______________________________
National Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Week, February 8-14, is a time when safety advocates encourage the nation to focus on keeping children safe in vehicles. It also is an important time for everyone to do their part to remind parents of the risks their children face when kids are not properly secured in a child safety seat and direct parents to free resources to help them safely install and use child safety seats correctly. Traffic crashes remain the number one killer of kids. Despite the efforts of conscientious parents who use child safety seats, many of them are not using the seats correctly and do not know it. A survey commissioned by Chrysler Group found that 97 percent of parents believe that they always correctly use and install child safety seats, yet field studies show that eight out of ten children in safety seats are not buckled in properly. This puts them at needless risk of serious injury or death in the event of a crash. For the full press release, plus CONTACTS, click here. ______________________________
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Road safety education will not only help children keep their guard while on the road but will also make them better drivers when they grow up... But it will take more than road safety education in schools to bring down the incidence of road carnage. In fact if anything, this is a long term measure whose benefits will not be realised for at least 10 years from now... What should be done urgently, therefore, is for the government to come up with a comprehensive road safety blue-print and put a time frame for its implementation... The carnage must stop, and there are no short-cuts. Read this excellent article, here, from the The Monitor (Kampala), via AllAfrica.com ______________________________
The month was the third deadliest in state history, according to the department. Only January 1964, with 82 deaths, and 1966, with 77 deaths, were deadlier. Full details, from JS Online. ______________________________
The models involved are certain 1998-2001 Chevrolet Cavaliers and Pontiac Sunfires built between March 1997 and April 2001, plus some 1998 Pontiac Grand Am, Oldsmobile Achieva, and Buick Skylark cars built between March 1997 and January 1998. Full details, from the Detroit News. ______________________________
The NHTSA has announced that Britax Child Safety, Inc., will conduct a safety recall campaign for 19,877 Husky child restraints (Model E9L30) manufactured from October 2002 to December 2003. In a vehicle crash, these restraints, when secured with a lap belt as described in the user’s manual, could allow the child’s head to move further forward than allowed by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Parents should continue to use the seat while waiting to receive and install the repair kit because it will still provide better protection than an adult seat belt or no restraint. Owners should call Britax’s toll-free number, 1-888-427-4829, or visit Britax’s web site, www.BritaxUSA.com, to receive a free kit or get more information. The NHTSA strongly urge all non-registered owners to register their child seats with the relevant manufacturer, so that the manufacturer could contact them in case of future safety recalls. [Source: U.S. Department of Transport] ______________________________
-- Freak Accident Injures Driver and Slows Traffic. Two tires from a big-rig truck dislodged on Interstate Highway 880 in San Jose Friday morning, flying into the air and causing accidents resulting in at least one major injury, according to the California Highway Patrol. Traffic slowed to a crawl on I-880 just north of southbound U.S. Highway 101 at about 6 a.m. when a big rig traveling south "lost both of (its) left rear axle tires," said CHP Acting Sgt. Bob Buckles. One tire flew over the highway's center divider and struck a vehicle traveling north, according to Buckles, who said a second northbound vehicle then rear-ended the car that was struck by the tire. "The other tire came to a rest somewhere on the southbound side," Buckles said. That tire was struck by two southbound vehicles, one of which overturned. One person was seriously injured and at least two others suffered minor injuries in the freak accident, according to CHP Officer Shawna Wooden. The extent of the injuries is unknown at this time. Full story, from NBC11. ______________________________
"He wants to be the prime minister of Australia and yet he is sending children and other Australians a very bad example about farm safety and vehicle safety," said Christopher Pyne, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Family and Community Services.
Riding in the back of utes on public roads is illegal throughout
Australia. ______________________________
Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha said that the ministry was concerned about the increased road carnage and had instituted investigations with other relevant security [departments] to stamp out cheating in the transport sector. Gen. Shikapwasha, who was speaking in an interview in Lusaka yesterday, also cautioned traffic police officers on road blocks to be on the look out for fake forged drivers licences and resist [the temptation to accept bribes]. "We are aware that a number of our drivers are using forged licences and we cannot allow this to continue because we have lost so many lives already," he said. He said government was also aware that a number of accidents had been caused by drink-driving and vehicles which were not roadworthy. Full story, from The Times of Zambia. [DSA Glossary Note: 'PSV' (found in many countries) means public buses] ______________________________
View them here. [Sources: NHTSA, and The Wall Street Journal] DSA Comment: Barry McCahill, president of the SUV Owners of America club, is quoted in the Detroit News online as saying that the results “indicate that widely promoted hysteria over SUV rollover risks is overblown and misplaced.” To this, DSA would reply: Count the bodies -- there is nothing fictitious or "overblown" about those. And remember, of course, that rollover is just one of the dangers created by SUVs and pick-up trucks; the way they can crush ordinary-sized cars as they ride over the top of them, or smash in through a car's side windows, in a crash, is horrifying. If readers want to see the full facts and figures, they should go to the NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). There, inter alia, one will find that in fatal rollover crashes in the USA in 2002: -- 16.5% of all cars involved in fatal crashes (i.e. 4,465) rolled over, and -- 27.6% of all light trucks involved in fatal crashes (i.e. 5,935) rolled over In other words, Mr. McCahill, in 2002 a 67% greater proportion of light trucks (pick-ups and SUVs) rolled over during fatal crashes than cars, and that is the most important and most telling statistic!
Meanwhile, in a separate press release, Public Citizen makes the following comment: The NHTSA Rollover Program Is Inadequate The new rollover ratings issued by the federal government start the ignition but don’t get the car out of the driveway. First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has never set a minimum stability standard, so vehicles can be perilously tippy – earning just two or three of five possible NHTSA stars – and still be sold. Second, the existing roof crush standard is wholly inadequate and must be upgraded. Third, this information about how likely select vehicles are to roll over is now available only on the Department of Transportation Web site – not on the window sticker. Full article here. ______________________________
Police officers standing alongside vehicles they have pulled over are often put in jeopardy or, worse, are injured or killed by stupid drivers who pass by too close or too fast. A new state law in Texas -- in effect since last September to protect officers in those situations -- aims to change that, and it's generating quite a bit of publicity. The law requires motorists who approach a stopped emergency vehicle that has lights activated to do one of three things:
Violation of this law carries a $200 fine and it jumps to $500 if the violation results in property damage. If the violation results in an injury to a victim, the offense is enhanced to a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in jail and a $2,000 fine. Full article, by Jayson Larson, for the Athens Daily Review. ______________________________
"Their driving is definitely distracted," said DPS trooper Paul Waggener. "You know, they might drift from lane to lane. They're not that aware of their surroundings, and it can be quite hazardous." In 2001, Texas registered more than 1,000 cell phone related crashes. Eight people died. Some think the growing problem calls for a law. Full story, from News 24 Houston. ______________________________
In
Oregon's continuing efforts to reduce traffic crash-related injuries and
deaths, the State Police will be participating with other police
agencies and traffic safety partners for the Three Flags Campaign. This
quarterly education and enforcement effort is set to run from Monday,
February 9 through Sunday, February 22, 2004. During last year's February blitz period, Oregon State Police issued 706 safety restraint warnings and citations, 2,218 speeding citations and arrested 162 people for driving under the influence of intoxicants. Full story, from Bend.com ______________________________
Obviously, however, it is important to understand the precise definition of what constitutes a "minor crash" so if this advice might be relevant to you, we recommend that you read the full details, here. ______________________________
The Audi A8 W12 is the first vehicle in the world to benefit from an innovative system developed by Hella that uses white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in vehicle sidemarkers and daytime running lights (DRLs). Details here. ______________________________
Full story, from the Daily Star. ______________________________
An accident victim thrown 15 feet through the air when a car overturned in a motorway smash is swimming again as normal. Bercy, a four-year-old goldfish, flew out of a fish tank and was hurled clear of the vehicle following the accident on the M1 in Leicestershire, England. Police who arrived at the scene found the car sodden with water and littered in coloured gravel - prompting a hunt for the missing pet. As paramedics treated owner Sophia Underhill, 23, for neck and arm injuries, officers combed the northbound carriageway, close to Lutterworth. Officers who were sweeping up glass from the carriageway, found a small goldfish in the middle of lane three, about 15 feet from where the car had landed and though they assumed that the fish could not have survived the impact and 15 minutes spent out of his tank, the officers took the pet to an ambulance crew. "In a last attempt to revive him, an officer took Bercy to the paramedics who provided a cardboard tray and some water," said a police spokeswoman. "Amazingly, Bercy started to swim around as soon as he was put in the water." Police have contacted Miss Underhill and Bercy, who suffered minor cuts, since the accident on Sunday and confirmed that both victims are fully recovered!
[DSA Editor's comment: My fingers are itching to write some witticism about "the scales of justice" but I'll refrain. This delightfully light-hearted tale comes from the Ananova website.] ______________________________
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe pointed to jerky video footage of students tumbling around in an overturn[ing] bus as she urged lawmakers to require seat belts in all Washington school buses. "While school buses are safe, children flying around in school buses are not safe," McAuliffe, D-Bothell, told the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. "Our children deserve to have safe seat belts." McAuliffe's proposal drew criticism from industry and government officials, who said the restraints don't necessarily save children's lives. Education officials worried that a seat-belt mandate would put even more pressure on already stretched school budgets. Full story, by Sarah Linn, via the Seattle-Post Intelligencer. ______________________________
Minnesota State Patrol Capt. Lori Hodapp said regional traffic fatalities more than tripled from 2002 to 2003, jumping from 10 to 33 deaths. Department of Public Safety research analyst Alan Rodgers said statewide numbers are up, too. He said 640 traffic deaths have been recorded for 2003, but added, "I think a bunch more may surface, and I think it may be 40 or 50 more." However, record-keeping problems mean the official total for 2003 may not be tabulated until late spring or early summer, he said. If Rodgers predicts correctly, 2003 totals will exceed those for 2002. Previously, the 657 traffic deaths in 2002 had been the most since 1981, when there were 763. Full story, from the Mankato Free Press. ______________________________
A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and was being held on $3 million bail. The dead victims were Daniella Ron, 19, of Van Nuys; her 2-year-old daughter, Darlene Zavala; and Armando Marquez, 23, of Sylmar. Two other passengers in their car were critically injured. [Source: LA Times] ______________________________
Sources from a car industry seminar say China's car production last year reached 4.5 million units. [Source: Research and Markets, via PR Web] ______________________________
“Treasury Secretary Snow and I have delivered to Congressional leadership this morning a letter reaffirming the Administration’s position on the appropriate funding level for the surface transportation reauthorization known as SAFETEA. As Congress gets set to begin work on the proposal, we felt it necessary to restate three important principles that must be followed if we are to recommend to the President that he sign any bill coming from the Hill. “First, transportation infrastructure spending should not rely on an increase in the gas tax or other federal taxes. “Second, transportation infrastructure spending should not be funded through bonding or other mechanisms that conceal the true cost to federal taxpayers. “And third, highway spending should be financed from the Highway Trust Fund, not the General Fund of the Treasury. “And our letter is very clear on one other important point. If a surface transportation reauthorization bill that breaches any of these three principles were presented to the President, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill. The Administration’s proposal gets the job done, without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. And both Secretary Snow and I look forward to working with Congress to pass the bill as soon as possible.” [Source: DOT Press Release 8-04 -- February 3, 2004] ______________________________
Take a second and read that sentence again. In 2002, 1538 children were killed in crashes while traveling in a vehicle in the USA -- 329 children ages 4 to 7, and 1,209 children ages 8 to 15. That same year, 218,000 4- to 15-year-olds were injured in crashes. Read this excellent article, by Cordy Boedeker, at the Chillicothe Gazette (Ohio). ______________________________
In Lagos, traffic jams stretching for kilometres and drivers desperate to reach their destinations are common features of this sprawling metropolis. In the heat and confusion, dangerous driving often becomes the order of the day - with many choosing to drive against the flow of traffic. Between January and May last year, 2,785 people were arrested for this offence - which sometimes proves fatal. The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) says at least one pedestrian is knocked down and killed daily by those driving against the traffic. Now, the department is striking back at irresponsible drivers - by making them go for psychiatric tests.
Individuals who're caught traveling into oncoming traffic are required
to obtain a certificate of mental fitness from a government-approved
psychiatric hospital. The rationale? That only people who are mentally
unstable would engage in such a high-risk activity. Officials appear to hope that the mere threat of being put on the couch will prompt reckless commuters to change their ways. ”Everyone wants to avoid the psychiatrist,” says Muiz Banire, Lagos State Commissioner for Transport. But to date, there has been only a slight drop in the number of people caught violating traffic laws. Critics accuse LASTMA of being overly enthusiastic in its campaign to curb reckless behaviour on the roads. Full story, from Interpress. ______________________________
Faced with an escalating number of smash-ups and unnecessary deaths, Greek officials resolved, in 2000, to make a U-turn in the nation’s disheartening traffic safety record. After extensive research... an Inter-ministerial Committee on Road Safety was formed in June 2001 to implement a new strategy and to reverse long-standing negative trends. Now, over three years into the government’s anti-collision campaign, Greece has witnessed its first sustained period of systematic reductions in traffic accidents and fatalities. Entitled On the Road 2001-2005, the ongoing programme has set lofty but necessary goals to reduce the number of traffic fatalities by 20% in the period between 2001 and 2005 and by 40% by 2015. Priority areas for the campaign include construction of driver-friendly infrastructure, better enforcement against violations leading to accidents (such as speeding and drunk driving) as well as improved driver training. Full report, from Greece Now. ______________________________
Montreal -- A University of Montreal researcher has found that driver education does not make teens safer drivers. In fact, they are about 45 per cent more likely to have an accident, probably because graduates of driver-ed courses are allowed behind the wheel unsupervised at an earlier age, said Pierro Hirsch, a doctoral student. In an article published in the Journal of Safety Research, Mr. Hirsch argues that there was never sound scientific research to back claims about driver education courses for teens, just anecdote and wishful thinking. Source: The Globe and Mail
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In January 2001, two California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) highway maintenance workers were hit by an impaired driver whose car penetrated a work zone. One of the workers, Mark Balsi, lost a leg in the accident. From that tragic incident has come an innovation designed to significantly improve safety for workers along the Nation’s highways... The system, which is carried on a tractor-trailer, is specifically intended to enhance worker safety when carrying out shoulder repair in work zones adjacent to guardrails, bridge rails, and soundwalls. Each side of the trailer consists of high-strength steel box section beams that are capable of extending an additional 4.6 m (15 ft). Using hydraulic power, each beam can rotate to either side (left or right), depending on which side of the road a protective barrier is needed. The trailer then extends to provide a 9.1-m (30-ft) secure work zone. The trailer beams act as a rigid obstacle to deflect traffic away from maintenance workers, in essence forming what Caltrans calls "shields of steel” to protect workers. The system reverses the procedure for transport. Whereas in a typical work zone, trucks are in the front and back of the work zone but there is no protection from vehicles in adjacent traffic lanes for workers, use of the system “lengthens out the area where workers are protected,” says Randell Iwasaki, Caltrans Deputy Director for Maintenance and Operations. Full article (with photos), from the FHWA Focus magazine. ______________________________
A Queens assemblyman, Ivan Lafayette, has said that SUVs over 6,000 pounds routinely violate federal and state truck route laws pegged to vehicle weight and should be held to the same standards as their commercial cousins. Full story, from the AP, via Newsday. ______________________________
An early look at the '04 cars that NHTSA has
inspected reveals that safety can be hard to find if you're also
looking for affordability and style--potentially bad news for
parents and teenagers shopping together. While we managed to find ten
nuggets--smart buys according to the government, the insurers and the
sticker price--we were surprised at how few vehicles came out
looking good under these terms. ______________________________
Five of the people killed were hotel workers returning home, in the Pontiac, after working the night shift in Whistler. Full story, from the Globe and Mail. ______________________________
A technology used by the military to guide missiles to their targets, is about to take on a civilian mission: alerting drivers to the presence of vehicles in cars' "blind spots." Full story, from the NY Times online. (See also the DSA review of the Volvo Safety Concept Car, June 2002, which featured this technology) ______________________________
The traffic laws covered by the £100 fixed penalty (US$182 as at Feb 2) are at present enforced by the police but few drivers are caught because of the shortage of traffic police officers. Local authorities will now take over enforcement and will be allowed to keep the proceeds of fines to invest in transport improvements. Full story, from the UK Times Online. ______________________________
Addressing a news conference at the weekend in Lagos, the Co-ordinator, National Problems and Solutions (NPS), Dr. Wale Omole said this had become necessary because of the high rate of accidents on the nation’s road, while making specific reference to the motor accidents last week in Oyo and Kogi states in which over 45 persons were reportedly killed. Omole, who frowned at drivers’ carelessness while driving, further called on the Federal Roads Safety Corps and the Police to go beyond examining the particulars of vehicles, by enforcing compliance on the roadworthiness of many of the vehicles. He also asked the Lagos State Government to speed up the introduction of speed limit[s], which the state commissioner for Transportation, Alhaji Muiz Banire promised last December. Full article, from The Daily Times of Nigeria. ______________________________
With the scheduled financial penalties mounting to about $70 million by 2007 and highway deaths on an upward trend, there's growing consensus that the state can no longer afford to condone driving at levels of intoxication that nearly everyone agrees cause impairment. More and more policymakers, including Gov. Pawlenty and House Speaker Steve Sviggum, say it's time for a change. Full extract, from the Minneapolis -- St. Paul Star Tribune (subscription needed) ______________________________
Five years after safety campaigners killed off Vince and Larry, the affable crash dummies who demonstrated the perils of failing to buckle up, a new generation of spokesdummies will appear on television in the next few days. They stand out not for their humor, but for their strangely discordant nature. Full story, from the NY Times online. ______________________________
The party atmosphere doesn't escape law-enforcement officers and Mothers Against Drunk Driving members. Both are stepping up their efforts to curb the drunken driving. Highway patrol posts, sheriff's offices and police departments are putting extra officers on the roads to stop impaired drivers. Full article (Jan. 30), from the Beacon Journal. Be aware that police departments all across the USA have published their intention of cracking down hard on drunk drivers tonight. ______________________________
The car driven by Yoshifumi Fukazawa, a senior official of the Nirasaki Municipal Government's health division, strayed onto the opposite lane of National Route 141 in the city shortly before 1 a.m. The oncoming car, driven by another health official of Futaba, Hiroyuki Oshiba, tried to turn right, but failed to avert crashing into Fukazawa's vehicle. Full story, from Mainichi Shimbun, Japan. ______________________________
“The total number of traffic fatalities in Wisconsin during 2003 was the highest in 22 years,” Capt. Dave Pichette of Wisconsin State Patrol District 3 said in a news release issued by his office. “So far this year, we are continuing the same tragic trend.” As of Thursday, 63 people had died on Wisconsin roads. On the same date last year, 55 people had died, and the state ended with a record number of traffic fatalities in 2003 — 840. Lt. Nick Scorcio said he’s heard sport utility vehicle drivers say they don’t worry about getting in an accident and even if they do, they believe the size of their vehicle will protect them. “That’s just not true,” he said. “And what about the Geo they hit?” Too often, Scorcio said, drivers don’t wake up to the dangers on the highway until they or someone close to them is involved in a crash. Full article, from the Fon du Lac Reporter.
DSA Comment: Given the candid honesty of the above police officers, it seems all the more saddening, in some ways, that Wisconsin is actually one of the better-performing U.S. states in terms of the proportion of people there who are killed in road crashes each year. On a deaths-per-100,000-population basis, Wisconsin performs slightly better than the average for American states and almost 2½ times better than the most dangerous state -- Wyoming. For a table showing how all U.S. states perform, not only in relation to each other, but also by comparison with 29 other countries, click here. ______________________________
"Unbelievable, isn't it?" said NSW Police traffic commander Chief Superintendent John Hartley. While the Roads and Traffic Authority said the booked drivers represented a small fraction of the total number of licence holders, road safety groups slammed the figures, saying they reflected the poor attitude of drivers. State MP and Staysafe Committee chairman Paul Gibson believes he has identified the cause of the problem. He says that police specialist highway patrol units have been put under the command of local area commanders who have used them for other routine duties and this has resulted in the neglect of vital highway patrol tasks. Full story, from SMH.com ______________________________
Other reasons include fumbling with the radio or CD player, reaching for cell phones, daydreaming, eating or drinking and adjusting the controls on the dashboard. The results came after surveying nearly 2,800 officers who investigated car crashes between June and November 2002. Now VCU and the DMV have come up with a new vehicle-crash form that requires police officers to gather more information when they investigate crashes. Full article, from the Daily Press. ______________________________
That's the theory behind a federal sanction imposed on the state every year for failing to meet national minimum penalties for repeat drunken drivers, and behind efforts by legislators to fix the problem. Vermont had 0.28 alcohol-related fatalities on its roads per 100 million miles traveled in 2002, the lowest in the country, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That was less than half the national average of 0.62 alcohol-related fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles. Montana was the worst at 1.22 deaths. Full article, from the Rutland Herald.
DSA Comment: Seemingly tiny figures -- such as the 0.62 and 1.22 shown above -- tend to hide and even sanitize the truth behind such math. These figures, for 2002, translate as 27 alcohol-related deaths in Vermont and 127 in Montana, and the total for the USA was 17,419. We, at DSA, will continue to argue that the international standard measure of "deaths-per-100,000-population" is not only more meaningful but it is also much more understandable to the layman. ______________________________
The important point, however, as the closing sentence of this article makes clear, is that "many New Jersey residents will [now] have a future that they would not have had without [the new law]." Full article, from the Hunterdon Review, at ZWire. ______________________________
Full article, from NBC4. ______________________________
DSA comment: Had all of the drivers immediately adopted the correct following distances for the heavy rain, this pile-up would, of course, not have happened. Check out how to always know the correct following distance here. ______________________________
Full article, from The Times of India. ______________________________
The most dangerous of thirty countries in the IRTAD international database is Portugal, with a frightening annual rate of 21 road-deaths per 100,000 population. But here is the problem: worse even than Portugal are Missouri (21.9), Kentucky (22.32), Alabama (22.46), South Dakota (23.68), Arkansas (23.7), New Mexico (23.88), West Virginia (24.39), South Carolina (25.68), Montana (29.35), Mississippi (30.73) and Wyoming (35.2). Sixteen other US states lie in between the overall USA result and the Portuguese. Only 23 states, plus DC, have death rates lower than America’s overall 14.8, and in any event the USA is in a humble 24th position, internationally. The safest states are Massachusetts (7.17), Rhode Island (7.77), and New York (7.93). For the full press release, from Drive And Stay Alive, Inc., click here. For the table showing each American state's performance, using this internationally preferred parameter, click here.
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February
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February
28, 2004: 
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February 13, 2004: In Hawaii, ‘Traffic postcards' have been
suggested to slow Wailua speeders.
February 13, 2004: In Ukraine, a complicated system of
"privileged" number plates, semi-official permits and unspoken
rules puts well-connected motorists effectively above the law -- but not
for much longer, the Ukrainian media hope.
February 1, 2004: