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IMPORTANT: click here to read the DISCLAIMER |
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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.
If you or your organization have safety-oriented driving news for publication, click here to contact us.
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Daniel Viloria, 6, riding in the back seat of a Plymouth Voyager, died when the vehicle slammed into a guard rail on an off-ramp from Washington 3 early Tuesday morning. The father was being held for investigation of vehicular homicide, child endangerment, drunken driving and driving with a suspended license. Full story, from Seattle Post Intelligencer ______________________________
Now, to combat the driver stupidity that was undoubtedly to blame for many of these deaths, state transportation officials and Governor Rod Blagojevich have announced a safety program that will utilise using covert tactics, including undercover police and radar-activated cameras. Multiple law-enforcement agents, including plainclothes troopers, will be in Illinois Department of Transportation vehicles to monitor drivers' speeds, said State Police Director Larry Trent. He added that motorists can expect fines of up to $10,000 and a possible14-year jail term if they hit a road worker.
Work zone safety is a national concern, with 1,181 deaths occurring in
road construction areas in 2002, the latest figures available from the
Federal Highway Administration. About 80 percent of those who die are
motorists or their passengers, said Jennifer Gavin, spokeswoman for the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
"There tends to be an attitude by the driver that this must be
someone's problem other than theirs," she said. "It's the
people in the car who have the most on the line and who also have the
most control over preventing a tragedy." ______________________________
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today announced that 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will share $36.4 million in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) grants for states that develop innovative projects to increase safety belt use. "Safety belts are the most effective safety device in a car. They prevent people from getting killed in crashes,” Secretary Mineta said. “These grants provide incentives to states to enact and enforce laws that promote use and educate people about the effectiveness of safety belts.” Secretary Mineta said that safety belts also save money. Injuries to unbuckled occupants cost this country roughly $18 billion each year in medical care and lost productivity. For details of the amount awarded to each state, click here. ______________________________
Statistics show that in 2003, approximately 300 people were killed in car accidents on average each day in China. "Traffic accidents, of all accidents, have become the second largest killer for Chinese children, next only to drowning," said Martin Eichelberger, president and chief executive officer of SafeKids Worldwide. His organization has joined hands with the Shanghai municipal committee of China's Communist Youth League, the municipal women's federation and Federal Express, a US-based courier service, in a program that aims to protect Shanghai's 450,000 primary school students from road accidents. Full and detailed story, from China View at Xinhuanet ______________________________
Traffic policemen have literally been lying in wait for the offenders who jump red lights. They have selected the intersections which are normally left unmanned and at times they are usually believed to be off duty — between 6 am and 8 am, and 8 pm and 10 pm. "Knowing the unruly Delhi traffic, it is perfectly imaginable how well they are likely to behave when they are not being supervised. Even at manned crossings, policemen often have to ask people to withdraw their vehicles behind the stopline" said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Qamar Ahmed. And the results are telling. The drive was started on March 24 and till March 30, the traffic police challaned 1,179 motorists for jumping the redlight between 6am and 8am, while another 1,796 were prosecuted between 8pm and 10pm. [Source: The Times of India] ______________________________
“Over the Noruz holidays last year, 150 people lost their lives in car accidents and the number has increased to 201 people in the New Year, 153 of whom have been killed on [out of town] roads,” he said. [Source Mehr News Agency] ______________________________
The KwaZulu-Natal transport department unveiled its Easter road safety plans today. Last year, 50 people died, the majority pedestrians. The department has now taken steps to ensure that this is not repeated. [Source: SABC News] ______________________________
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There are 4.4 traffic fatalities per 100,000 residents in the nation's largest city, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. Los Angeles, the country's second-biggest hub, followed with 7.2 deaths per 100,000 people. You have to go all the way to the nation's 46th-largest city - Minneapolis (pop. 375,600) - to find a metropolis with a better safety record than New York. Minneapolis recorded 3.7 deaths per 100,000 residents. New York had 355 traffic fatalities in 2002 - nearly half of them, 162 - were pedestrians, according to the report, which was based on 2002 data. Cops have waged ticket blitzes on double-parking -- which creates hazards when cars have to swerve -- driving while talking on hand-held cell phones, and not buckling up. Full article here, from the New York Daily News.
DSA Comment: It is good to see "per capita" data being used (i.e. "deaths per 100,000 population") but we are puzzled as to why this approach is rarely if ever used to show national road-death rates in this country. It is much more revealing than "deaths per 100 million miles" (or other distances) and shows in a much more understandable and tangible manner the true scale of the road-death problem in the USA. Click here for selected U.S. statistics which do use this approach. ______________________________
The Electronic Stability Control Coalition today released new educational materials at the annual Lifesavers Conference aimed at continuing its efforts to educate consumers about the latest in automotive safety. For the first time, the public has free access to a recent research study, conducted by the University of Iowa, which found that 34 percent more drivers maintained control of their vehicles with ESC than without. ______________________________
Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D., administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), today presented the 2004 NHTSA Awards for Public Service to 13 individuals exemplifying high standards of achievement in the field of traffic safety. Dr. Runge presented the awards in San Diego during Lifesavers 2004, a national three-day conference on highway safety priorities. More than 1,800 people are expected to participate in more than 85 workshops at the conference and view more than 90 exhibits of traffic safety products and programs. Full report on the award recipients. ______________________________
Graham Feest, secretary of the Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers (AIRSO), and Professor James Thomson of Strathclyde University were presented with RoSPA's Distinguished Service Award for road safety at the Society's National Road Safety Congress in Cardiff. ______________________________
Modern vehicles are overwhelmingly better than they used to be in every way, and not least in terms of safety. Improvements in vehicle safety have contributed significantly to reducing road deaths and injuries and will continue to do so. The British Government sees technology as a vital ally across their transport policy, and particularly in safety issues.
In the past many of the innovations have been in the field of passive
safety. Now, however, we will see rapid advances in active safety
systems. ______________________________
Despite a "difficult" police chase (and the fact that the driver did not have a license) the driver claimed that he didn't think he was driving faster than 130Km/h. ______________________________
Careless and dangerous driving have claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Jamaicans in the last five years. In 2001 alone, more than 6,000 were hospitalised, said executive director of the National Road Safety Council, Paula Fletcher. Her concern is backed by further statistics from the police which show that in 2002 there were 351 fatal accidents, resulting in 388 deaths; and 323 accidents in 2003, which resulted in 358 deaths, less but still far too high a toll. Over the period January 1-March 18, 2004, there were 63 reported deaths from 59 road accidents. Most accidents take place in Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine where the majority of the so-called black spots are located. Data provided identified 152 black spots across all 14 parishes. But accident statistician at the Ministry of Transport and Works, Kenute Hare, insisted that black spots by themselves do not cause accidents. "Drivers have turned the roads, especially the Mandela Highway, into a killing field," he declared. Read the full article, from the Jamaica Observer. ______________________________
"I guess you take your chances," said one young man, in a bar. "I'm not real concerned." But he should be. Arrests of drunken drivers in Ohio and Michigan jumped last year after both states dropped their threshold for drunk driving from the long-held 0.10 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 percent, according to review of arrest data by The Blade. [Even more important, in terms of those self-centered individuals who think it is only their own "chances" that they are taking, is the fact that] in 2002, 42,815 people died in traffic accidents on the nation's road. Of those deaths, nearly 41 percent, or 17,419, were believed to be alcohol-related, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "People have tried to frame [drunk driving laws] as people against drinking," said John Bobo, director of the American Prosecutors Research Institute's National Traffic Law Center. "It's not. It's about people wanting to save lives. We have these human land mines on our roads, and they're taking out entire families with a left turn." Full article, from the Toledo Blade. ______________________________
Consumer groups last week called for Congress to require automakers to make vehicle roofs safer during rollover crashes as part of a “top 10” list of auto safety improvements. ______________________________
Studies show that going just 18 hours without sleep will impair your reaction times just as severely as if you were legally drunk. Full article, by Keith McKelvey of Livermore Police Department, in the Contra Costa Times. ______________________________
The new fines, which took effect March 13, call for a $950 assessment
for a first conviction and $2,150 for a second one. Full story, from the Arizona Republic ______________________________
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Surendra Bahadur Pal, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), made some interesting comments to Nepal News -- too many to itemize here, so see the full article -- but he summed up thus: "On the part of road safety, we need to have more infrastructures and awareness. If we cannot generate awareness among our citizens, we cannot prevent the accident injuries. Our part is just to manage. So far as generating awareness is concerned, it is up to the media and civil society as a whole. They need to play effective role. We cannot prevent injury just by executing the law. The government cannot do it alone. We have to introduce traffic in a curriculum at school and college levels. You cannot control the accidents by organizing monthly and annul traffic campaign. The short-term actions will not be effective. We have to show our new generation how to maintain the road discipline. During the course of socialization, children can learn the manners of road traffic. At school level, we have found very negligible interest." ______________________________
There are many sound suggestions in the list, including protective measures for children in cars, a possible introduction of a 40Km/h (25mph) minimum speed limit on highways unless with police escort, and the acquisition of speed radars to permit enforcement of speed limits. But one of the recommendations bears witness to the existing state of affairs: "Introduce the breathalyser. Alcohol and gasoline just doesn't mix!" Come on, T&T -- that last one is so fundamental that it shouldn't even need discussion. Indeed the writer immediately takes it to "best practice" level by adding that there should be mandatory drug and alcohol testing for all drivers involved in any road accident in any public or private location in Trinidad and Tobago. Good luck with your goals, Ashmeed Ramdath -- the people of your country would unquestionably benefit from them. Full article, from the Trinidad & Tobago Express. ______________________________
Bishop Thomas O'Brien was sentenced on Friday to four years of probation. He was also ordered to carry out 1,000 hours of community service. He could have received up to three years and nine months in prison but Judge Stephen Gerst said that the conviction alone was a significant punishment for a public figure like O'Brien. This was despite the fact that the victim's mother had asked Judge Gerst to impose the maximum sentence on the bishop. Afterwards, Chief prosecutor Rick Romley said the judge had sent a message that the court system gives prominent people special treatment.
If this weren't bad enough, it is worth noting that on June 2, 2003, the Arizona Republic reported that Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien had acknowledged that he covered up allegations of sexual abuse by priests for decades and would relinquish some of his power as head of the Phoenix Diocese to avoid possible criminal indictment.
The hypocrites.com website summed this man up with their scathing headline "Can you feel God's love?" But in the strictly driving context the fact is that O'Brien hit a pedestrian then drove away and pretended it had never happened, yet he got off lightly because of his job. [Multiple sources] ______________________________
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In New York, supercars are roaring ahead, sedans are anything but sedentary, SUVs are moving mountains, convertibles are fun-in-the-sun fabulous, and pick-ups are picking-up more fans as the 2004 New York International Automobile Show "readies for the most exciting and diverse show in its 104-year history." Click here to view the ten trends. ______________________________
An Italian motorist who drove the wrong way through the Mont Blanc tunnel at high speed was in hospital last night in a critical condition. The man sped through the seven-mile tunnel at more than 100mph in his Opel Astra, police said yesterday. Officers said it was only the fact that the incident took place in the early hours that averted a serious pile-up. His behaviour caused security barriers to be activated, to blocked further traffic from entering the tunnel. As he emerged from the French side just before 5am, the driver lost control of his car and ploughed into a concrete barrier at high speed. He was cut free from the wreckage and was taken to hospital. The reason for his actions is not known. [Source: The Scotsman] ______________________________
In New Jersey, the Prospect Park Mayor William Kubofcik and his wife Nuha are breathing a heavy sigh of relief after a traffic crash that could have been deadly for their 14-month old son Josef. Ten days before the crash, Mrs. Kubofcik had visited a DaimlerChrysler "Fit for a Kid" inspector for a child seat inspection. The parents and fire personnel that responded to the crash credit the inspection for keeping Josef out of harm's way. ______________________________
March 26, 2004: Bikers in Bus Lanes in Northern Ireland Motorcyclists across Northern Ireland were jubilant at the announcement in the press this month that bikers in the province would be legally allowed to ride in bus lanes from March 22nd 2004. The announcement was embraced by the motorcyclists and riders groups who have campaigned endlessly for access to bus lanes since 1996. [Source: Roadsafe] ______________________________
With nearly 1.2 million fatalities and over 20 million injured in road accidents each year, road safety is an issue of immense proportions. Over 75% of these casualties occur in developing countries and countries in transition, although those same countries account for only 32% of all motor vehicles. The World Health Organisation has dedicated World Health Day on 7 April 2004 to road safety. On this day there will be a call for action and events round the world will raise awareness of the appalling level of death and injury on our roads. In this press release, RoadSafe announce that the UK launch of World Road Safety Network will take place at a Department for Transport conference on World Health Day. Full text here. [See the DSA page about World Health Day] ______________________________
Only six of the 30 nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have had [more*] road deaths per 100,000 residents than the United States. In fact, 11 U.S. states have higher numbers of road fatalities per 100,000 residents than Portugal, the nation that has the highest number of road deaths per population.
Drive And Stay Alive, Inc., a non-profit organization focused on
reducing the American road deaths, used figures from the Brussels-based
OECD, which maintains the International Road Traffic and Accident
Database, a highway safety indicator for the 30 OECD member countries...
The IRTAD also logs deaths per one billion vehicle kilometers, but only
nine nations submitted those statistics. The United States ranked fifth
out of the nine that participated in that category. [*
typographical
error in the article, which was mistakenly worded "fewer"] ______________________________
Consumer Reports asked those questions and more in its first investigation and ratings based on how well 182 cars and trucks serve today’s family-travel needs. ______________________________
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Click here to access Public Citizen's report: "Keeping the Safety in SAFETEA: Life-Saving Vehicle Safety Provisions Are Long-Overdue and Feasible" ______________________________
A two-hour special was built around 40 questions on road safety, mostly driving rules but with some tricky safety statistics thrown in. Taking part was irresistible. The questions were cleverly contrived: about 50 per cent no-brainer easy, 25 per cent tricky, and 25 per cent falling into the "well I'll be blowed, I never knew that" category. You would think the combination of Oscar Kightley's jaw, Petra Bagust's dimples and a whole lot of finger-waggy stuff about the Road Code would be too, too much, specially on a Monday night, but taking part, even in obsessive secrecy, was clearly an improving experience. Even the seasoned drivers who made up the studio audience averaged below 50 per cent for most of the show. This amended extract is from a very amusing article, by Jane Clifton, at Stuff. It is well worth reading and may just give some TV producers in other countries an idea. ______________________________
...the present number of accidents can definitely be brought down to an acceptable level. It has been observed that road-dividers have played a key role in bringing down incidences of accidents. The authorities should try and put up dividers along the highways as much as possible. It is not viable to put up railings alongside the ditches. But boulders can be kept at regular distances. Highway patrolling in Bangladesh is pitiably inadequate. More trained police personnel should be deployed. At present the members of law enforcement agencies seem to be more keen on getting their palms greased [i.e. accepting bribes] on any pretexts instead of taking measures to ensure road safety... Full article, from the Independent ______________________________
??? March 25, 2004: A few male journalists display their ignorance and arrogance at the Geneva Auto Show Full story here, from Ann Job at the Detroit News. ______________________________
While auto safety opponents claim that safety mandates are too costly, too speedy and too difficult, we also yesterday released a report answering these claims and building a strong case for the bill. Periodically, the U.S. Congress must reauthorize the legislative program for agencies within the Department of Transportation. These bills -- passed only every six years -- can include important new mandates for the agencies. In 2003, the reauthorization bill was dubbed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act , or "SAFETEA." Click here to view Public Citizen's web page on this issue. ______________________________
Consumer advocates, crash victims and proponents of more automotive safety technology called on Congress Tuesday to enact sweeping new safety rules for new cars and trucks. The groups back a Senate bill crafted by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would require the federal government to address a long list of outstanding auto safety issues. Full report, from the Detroit News. ______________________________
Gunnebo Protection AB has received an order from the national road administration in the United Arab Emirates to supply approximately 100 km of its "Safety Line" cable barrier. Gunnebo Safety Line is currently being installed in the Nordic region as a central barrier on "2+1 roads", or as side or embankment crash barriers. Safety Line has been put through full-scale tests by the National Road and Transport Research Institute in Linköping and has been approved in accordance with current European standards. ______________________________
The State of Texas has awarded a $10 million contract to IBM Corp. to study automobile crash reports in hopes of improving road safety and reducing the number of traffic accidents. Full story, from Austin Business Journal ______________________________
The National Safety Council is launching a new safety campaign to prompt simple, life-saving steps parents can take to protect the lives of their children. A series of multilingual public service announcements will be released nationally. Motor vehicle crashes are still the number one cause of injury-related deaths in kids. By following simple, preventative steps, parents can help save lives. For example, even with the introduction of new, advanced airbags, parents need to know that the safest place for kids is always in the back seat. The new campaign, complete with the Celine Dion PSAs, will be be unveiled on March 25, at the Green Cross for Safety Award Dinner in Washington, D.C. [Source: NSC] ______________________________
Sixty-three people were killed in 2003 in road accidents in Israel while they sought refuge on highway shoulders. This figure is one-third of all fatal traffic accidents the occurred on intercity roads. In 2002, 67 people were killed in such accidents. Traffic police say that while stops on highway shoulders are meant to be short, there are drivers who park on road shoulders for extended periods in order to pray, smoke, talk on the phone and even to sleep - without being aware of the dangers they are facing. According to police, one of the primary reasons for this is that proper parking areas have not been developed along Israeli roads. Therefore, drivers who need to rest, talk on their cellular phones or relieve themselves pull onto the shoulders and park without taking the dangers into account. [Source: Haaretz] ______________________________
Sahrainen does not believe that education is enough, and says that rules are needed. ______________________________
These are some of the findings in the third edition of the annual Road Safety Monitor, released today by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). On average, 557 people are killed each year in Canada as the result of crashes involving heavy trucks. About 12,000 others sustain injuries. In 2001, of all people killed in collisions with heavy trucks, 87% were the occupants of the other vehicles, pedestrians, or bicyclists. Click here to view a summary of the report. ______________________________
The Traffic Police, grappling with ways and means to resolve the traffic gridlock headache in Kampala City, has come up with what they might assume is an ingenious measure: erecting traffic towers at trouble spots. But the Monitor disagrees with this approach and points out that "the global trend has been to harness basic technology in the form of traffic lights - [which] works. "Why then is the police force sticking with such an archaic idea with little indication that it will produce a dividend? Traffic cops already have enough difficulty controlling motorists with their feet firmly planted on the ground, what are the chances that with them stuck up in those tin towers, several feet above the ground, they will fare any better?" Get both sides of the argument from the full article, at allAfrica.com ______________________________
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta is pushing an ambitious plan to cut the rate of traffic deaths by a third over the next four years. If successful, the program could save as many as 13,000 lives a year by 2008... No one would oppose the idea of improving safety, but many highway officials and safety advocates question whether the goal is attainable and whether the focus is on the real causes. [Full article here, from USA Today]
DSA Comment: At risk of making ourselves very unpopular in certain quarters, the DSA opinion is that the goal is most definitely attainable even if the four-year target itself might be overly-ambitious. Why do we hold this opinion? Simply because many other countries have achieved results as good as, or even better than this target -- despite the fact that driven mileage (etc., etc.) has increased in all of those countries, too. The fact is that in the last ten, fully measurable years, the USA achieved the least improvement among over twenty countries -- a mere 4% reduction in the road-death rate, on a per capita basis, compared with up to 39% in those other nations. (And the country that achieved a huge, 39% reduction was Portugal -- owner of Europe's most dangerous roads.) To see a table of the full results, click here. ______________________________
It's a deadly recipe: A carload of teenagers having fun, ignoring the speed limit and taking risks. Over 10,000 kids between 15-24 die on America's roads each year and at the weekend many more joined that dreadful toll -- including two Arizona girls aged 15 and 16 who are thought to have been traveling around 75 to 80 mph when their car crashed and rolled over. This particular incident is reported in the Tucson Citizen. ______________________________
MADD hosted a press conference at 10:00 a.m., today, in Washington, D.C., in connection with the fact that two of every three children killed in alcohol-related crashes, in the USA, are riding with drinking drivers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will report that 24 percent of children killed in traffic crashes between 1997 and 2002 involved drivers who had been drinking, and that 68 percent | ||||||||||||
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