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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. Page edited by Eddie Wren
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Fearing that the safety of the state's motorists could be in jeopardy if vacancies in the California Highway Patrol are not filled, the Schwarzenegger administration has reversed its earlier decision and agreed to hire as many as 270 new officers.... The current budget gives the CHP an authorized force of 6,136 officers, but the agency is operating at about 90 fewer than full strength. Of that force, 5,373 are assigned to road duty.... CHP Commissioner D.O. "Spike" Helmick said arrests for drunken driving have sharply increased and fatal accidents have taken a "dangerous turn" upward in the past five years as the state's population has increased, more vehicles have crowded the roads and motorists have traveled millions more miles.... The CHP's nationally acclaimed training academy.... has been virtually shut down since September. The academy typically produces about 300 new officers a year and has contracted to train other states' traffic patrol officers. Full story, from the Tri-Valley Herald _____________________________
Road accidents in Glasgow have dropped by almost one third in the last decade. There were nearly 200 fewer crashes in which people were killed or hurt during the first three months of this year, compared with the same period ten years ago. Compiled for the first time, the new ten-year comparisons show there were 631 road incidents involving casualties in January-March 1994, compared with 436 during January-March 2004. The number of "serious injury" crashes fell even more sharply, by 45%, from 113 in the first quarter of 1994 to 62 in the same period this year. Glasgow City Council road chiefs attribute part of the reduction to efforts to move more "through traffic" off city streets and onto trunk roads and motorways -- especially the M8. In a report to be put before councillors, the Council officials said: "This new report highlights the fact that motorways [i.e. the highest standard of "divided highway"] can contribute to road accident savings by removing large numbers of vehicles from the urban road network." [Source: The Scottish Evening Times] _____________________________
A crash in North Carolina on Saturday night killed five people from New Jersey -- including four teenagers. One trooper said that the accident happened when a minivan pulled in front of an sport utility vehicle which was traveling at about 70 mph. Three others from in the van -- including the driver -- are being treated in hospital. _____________________________
ANKARA -- One illegal immigrant was killed and 52 others were injured when their truck rolled into a ravine in southeastern Turkey on Monday. Anatolia News Agency reported that the truck, which was carrying110 illegal immigrants, overturned in southeastern Batman province [sic] due to high speed. According to Anatolia, the immigrants were from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. [Source: Xinhuanet] _____________________________
Wars and conflict, it is widely thought, are the biggest dealers in human deaths around the world. The ongoing conflict in Kashmir has, over the last quarter century or more, claimed more than 50,000 lives. But how does that figure compare with deaths due to other causes? Take road fatalities. In 2002 alone, as many as 80,118 were killed in accidents on Indian roads. Another 342,000 were seriously wounded. More people, in other words, are killed and injured on the Indian roads in a single year than all the wars put together since Indepedence.... Fatality statistics show that Kanpur has the highest strike rate of 162 deaths per million of population followed by Delhi with 143. The figures for some other cities are: Jaipur 142, Hyderabad 120, Lucknow 115, Chennai 100, Pune 88, Mumbai 73, Ahmedabad 52 and Kolkata 35. On the highways, there is little traffic management especially since the enforcement of the Motor Vehicles Act is a state subject. The role of the state police is restricted to dealing with the aftermath of a highway accident — in terms of deaths and damage caused by irresponsible drivers. Unless, there is real-time coordination between all the different Road Transport Authorities (RTOs), it will be impossible to discipline highway traffic and book offending out-of-state vehicles.... It is time India set up a National Road Safety Board, on the lines of the one that exists in the US , which is independent of the road building agencies. Like the Central Pollution Board, it should be empowered to define policies and coordinate their implementation in every state and on every road and highway of the country. Read the full article, by li _____________________________
Few things make me despair more than fools mouthing off about the inalienable right of drivers to put other road users in danger without interference from the police. You hear this crap everywhere. Macho dummies say it is an infringement of civil liberties to have policemen parked up with cameras "anywhere, anytime". The campaign is immoral anyway, they say, because the police are there to rake in revenue from infringement notices.... Stripped of all the garbage about statistical analysis, the record speaks for itself. The road toll is coming down. A couple of decades ago, though there were far fewer cars around, road deaths were spiralling out of control toward 1000 a year. Now look at them: 460 or so. Read the full article, by Frank Haden at Stuff _____________________________
"This weekends emergency operations held by the KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate (KZN RTI) in order to reduce road crashes and save lives on our roads has proven to be very successful as no fatalities were recorded over the past two days," a statement said. In joint operations held together with the SAPS and other enforcement agencies throughout the province, 39 drunk drivers were arrested, 79 drivers were charged for not having a driving licence, 405 motorists were prosecuted for speed, 41 vehicles were removed from our roads for being in an unroadworthy condition and 24 public transport vehicles impounded for not having route permits. Close to a thousand (952) other motorists were charged for various other traffic offences. KZN Transport, Safety and Security MEC Bheki Cele has warned motorists that no mercy would be shown to those who disregard road rules. Full story, from Business Day _____________________________
Some law enforcement officials say traditional [publicized] sobriety checkpoints aren't doing enough to prevent alcohol-related traffic deaths and are calling for alternative methods to catch drunken drivers.... The task force's report said that it believes "smaller enforcement groups patrolling in identified (drunken-driving) areas may be more effective than current large-scale, stationary checkpoints." Full article, from the Beacon Journal _____________________________
"Sometimes, a look in the rearview mirror at how American families once traveled in automobiles can be frightening." If you have a vehicle with three rows of seats, or if you're thinking about buying one, do read this excellent article by Royal Ford, of the Boston Globe _____________________________
Nature -- and traffic -- abhors a vacuum. Leave a space in front of you on the freeway, no matter the size, and it's sure to be eaten up. Most drivers learned how to create that gap using the two-second rule for following distance, either in Driver's Ed class or by reading the state Driver's Guide. But that changed in 1998, and drivers have been urged to double that to a four-second gap between bumpers. Tailgating is the second-leading factor in accidents on King County freeways and the state, according to the State Patrol. Only speeding causes more accidents. Full article, from the King County Journal _____________________________
As many as one driver in four attending this year's Birmingham International Motorshow is failing a vision screening test and could be unsafe to drive home. That's a dramatic increase from the one in seven figure recorded at the 2002 show by Specsavers Opticians, which has brought its Drive Safe roadshow back to the event to educate drivers about the dangers of driving with impaired vision. But the increase is not due to show visitors suffering a collective deterioration in eyesight, its more about greater understanding of the issues. Jon Clarke, Specsavers PR manager, says: "Since we started vision screening in 2002 people are more willing to come forward and discuss the issues. They're perhaps less worried about failing the test and more concerned with taking appropriate action to get their vision improved. The numbers failing our vision screening test correlate with the national trend. If one in four drivers visiting the NEC cannot see properly, there's no doubt that this is putting the lives of road users and pedestrians at risk. That's why were encouraging visitors to the show to come to Hall 10 to take our four minute test, and also why were asking the government to tackle this issue head on." The Drive Safe roadshow is supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the road safety organisation Brake. Recent research conducted by Specsavers shows that 87 percent of motorists are in favour of compulsory eye examinations for drivers every five years, particularly for the over 40s. _____________________________
....The Lopez family, which had bought several new Cavaliers over the years [and whose daughter was subsequently killed in one], is suing General Motors on the grounds that it made a car it knew was not safe enough to survive collisions with its other products, namely its large pickups and sport utility vehicles. The heart of the family's argument is that the company has been slow to equip vehicles with side air bags that protect people's heads, a technology that could have saved her life.... Full story, from the New York Times _____________________________
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A woman was fined $290 in default of four months in prison and disqualified from driving for four months on Tuesday. Police tested Andree Jannif, 29, after her car hit a post, and found 79 milligrams of alcohol on her breath and she was later charged. Other charges included careless driving, failing to stop a motor vehicle after an accident, and driving without a valid licence. [Source: the Fiji Times] _____________________________
The newly-instituted road safety regulatory measures come into force next month. Addressing the weekly government press briefing, John Nasasira, the works, housing and communication minister, said talking on mobile phones while driving is outlawed, and motorists may not drive while drunk. Motorists are also expected to wear safety seat belts. Speed governors will be introduced in public service vehicles and commercial vehicles of 3.5 tonnes and above. Restrictions on observance of the traffic signs and markings have also been imposed on motorists. Nasasira said [that in Uganda], in 1994 alone, there were a total of 8,903 accidents which claimed 1,289 lives. But by December 2003, the number shot up to 17,422 while 1,996 people died in the crashes. Other road safety improvement initiatives include the introduction of driver-training curricula expected by July 2004. Full story, from New Vision (Kampala) via allAfrica.com _____________________________
Safety Warnings by Federal Highway Safety Officials Some insurance companies have demanded that drivers take special courses as a condition of insuring the vans. Some have stopped insuring the vehicles. Fifteen-passenger vans are essentially regular cargo vans with the back extended to make room for more seats. In the usual configuration, a driver and passenger sit up front. Behind them are three, three-person benches, with a small aisle along one side. At the rear of the van is a wall-to-wall bench seat that can accommodate four people. With 10 or more passengers, the van's center of gravity is shifted higher and farther to the back, said a recent advisory to drivers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "As a result, the van has less resistance to rollover and handles differently from other commonly driven passenger vehicles, making it more difficult to control in an emergency situation," the advisory said. Moreover, the risk of rollover increases dramatically as the van is loaded, so that a church van carrying 10 passengers is nearly three times more likely to tip than an empty van, a federal safety study found. Full story, from nola.com, New Orleans _____________________________
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, inattention, speeding and failing to yield the right of way were the leading causes of last year's Memorial Day weekend crashes. In 2003, 11 people died and 580 were injured in 1,323 traffic crashes over the holiday weekend. Statistically, that's one person killed or injured every 7.9 minutes. Don't drink and drive. Report reckless or possibly intoxicated drivers by calling *55 on a cell phone [but if you are driving alone, find somewhere safe to stop before making the call, unless you have "hands free"]. That number will connect you with the nearest Missouri State Highway Patrol Office. Be prepared to give a vehicle description, the location of the vehicle and the direction it's headed. Full article, from the Buffalo Reflex, at Ozarks Newsstand _____________________________
The Pacific Highway has claimed 69 lives in the past 16 months. Minister for Roads Carl Scully announced the multi-million dollar package at the NSW Country Road Safety Summit, which started in Port Macquarie yesterday. The improvements will include road resealing with skid resistant asphalt, the installation of safety barriers and the removal of roadside hazards such as poles and trees. For the first time on the Pacific Highway, variable message signs will be installed at key locations to keep motorists informed of traffic conditions, upcoming road works and advise them of their speed. The package will also include previously unannounced measures such as point-to-point speed cameras and the installation of additional wire-rope median barriers to separate opposing traffic flows and prevent head-on crashes. Full story, from the Port MacQuarie News _____________________________
Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan on Thursday urged motorists to play their role in reducing the number of road accidents this year by driving safely. In making the call, he reminded motorists who drink alcohol not to drive if they are drunk but opt for taxis when they wished to go home. He also advised the pedestrians to wear luminous clothes when they are on the road at night. Tan said this at the launching of the Pesta Kaamatan road safety campaign at the Penampang road by-pass. He disclosed that Sabah recorded 3,681 road accidents between January and April this year compared with 3,436 cases during the same period last year, reflecting a 7.1 percent increase or 245 cases. Of this figure, there were 73 fatal cases, resulting in 85 deaths, 104 serious injuries and 301 minor injuries. During the same corresponding period last year, he said the Sabah traffic police reported 73 fatal cases with 91 deaths, 115 serious injuries and 333 minor injuries. Tan is also the Chairman of the Sabah Road Safety Council. Full story, from the Daily Express, East Malaysia _____________________________
Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. signed legislation yesterday that will give Maryland some of the nation's toughest laws against drivers under the influence of drugs. Frustrated that motorists impaired by drugs often go undetected by police, the governor signed a bill that requires a motorist who causes a fatal or serious accident to submit to a blood test if an officer requests one. Currently, police request drug tests only if they suspect a motorist is impaired and that suspicion is then confirmed by an officer who is certified in "drug recognition," said Sgt. Thornnie Rouse, a spokesman for Maryland State Police. "Now, we'll just test everyone" involved in a serious accident, Rouse said. Keith S. Franz, a Baltimore lawyer who helped draft the legislation, said few states require such testing in accidents that don't result in fatalities. "This is going to provide a very powerful tool to the police and prosecutors in getting convictions," he said. Full story, from Yahoo News _____________________________
the Price! Read this interesting if worrisome article, from Newhouse News Service _____________________________
The National Transportation Safety Board Chairman, Ellen Engleman Conners, today praised Virginia Governor Mark Warner and state lawmakers for their commitment to getting drunk drivers off of Virginia's roads. "The bills signed today affirm Virginia's commitment to aggressively pursue safety on their roadways and they also serve as notice that drinking and driving will not be tolerated in Virginia," Engleman Conners said at today's signing ceremony for the Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Drugs Omnibus Bill. She praised Virginia's new drinking and driving laws as, "a tremendous step forward," and challenged other states to make the commitment to zero tolerance for drunk driving. With the signing of today's bills the Commonwealth of Virginia lowers the high BAC level which triggers stiffer fines and mandatory jail time from .020 to .015, requires that vehicles of repeat DUI offenders (three or more offenses) be seized, strengthens the license revocation provision, and toughens penalties for drivers refusing breathalyzer tests. The new laws also impose a zero BAC restriction on re-instated licenses of convicted offenders and increase license restrictions for offenders who meet or exceed the high BAC limit. Statewide sobriety checkpoints are already part of Virginia's campaign against drunk driving. [Source: NTSB Press Release SB-04-14] _____________________________
Police have stopped 49,769 Quebec drivers this month in an intensive drunk-driving program called Operation PAS Alcohol. Of those tested, 219 had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08 - representing 0.44 per cent of all drivers stopped. Full article, from the Montreal Gazette at Canada.com _____________________________
Cape Town - Former e.tv newsreader, Udi Ya-Nakamhela, has been fined R30 000 (US $4,585) after pleading guilt to drunken driving. Half of the fine has been suspended for five years, but Ya-Nakamhela has to pay an additional R2 000 for a previous fine. In 2000, he was fined R4 000 (US $611) after being found guilty on a similar charge - R2 000 of this was suspended. Ya-Nakamhela was arrested in January in Table View for driving under the influence of alcohol. Shortly after his arrest, he resigned from e.tv "for personal reasons". [Source: News24.com] _____________________________
Motorists in the District of Columbia have just over a month to get ready to comply with a new D.C. law requiring drivers to use hands-free devices when talking on their wireless phones. Starting July 1, 2004, motorists could face a $100 fine for talking on wireless phones without using hands-free devices. A similar law takes effect July 1 throughout New Jersey, and is already in effect throughout New York State. _____________________________
Summer is almost here, which means teenagers across the nation will be out of school and looking to drive their parents' car. But if a teenager gets into an accident, it is most likely that the parents' savings will be on the line. That is why families need to make some critical decisions before their teen hits the road. _____________________________
Traffic police will be monitoring key junctions of the national road network from tomorrow in preparation for a major exodus from the capital as Athenians take advantage of Monday’s public holiday to leave the capital. An extra lane of traffic will be opened for outbound traffic on the Athens-Corinth national road at Elefsina and Kakia Skala. Trucks weighing over 1.5 tons will be banned from key sections of major roads over the weekend to avoid bottlenecks. In Attica, police said there would be a crackdown on speeding and drink driving. [Source: Kathimerini] _____________________________
Panaji: In a bid to intensify coordinated efforts of inter-departments to curb the increasing road accidents in Goa, the state government has created a road safety council today. The demand to establish an inter-departmental council for the safety on Goa’s roads has been pending for a long time. The government convened the meeting to formulate the council and it was chaired by the Transport Minister, Mr Pandurang Madkaikar. All departments connected to roads — transport, public works department, collectorates, department of national highways, the Kadamba Transport Corporation, Western India Automobile Institute and the police — are represented on the council. The chief secretary will also be a member of the council. The modalities and action plan to reduce road accidents in the state were discussed. Mr Madkaikar, informally talking to reporters at secretariat, said the Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar had taken interest in constituting the road safety council by assuring budgetary support. The transport department has collected a revenue to the tune of Rs 50 crore by way of taxes. Besides, he said the revenue in way of challans to erring vehicle drivers on roads had increased substantially. Full article, from the Navhind Times _____________________________
Major League Baseball is hoping to help make it a record-breaking season. Record-breaking for safety belt use that is. MLB is teaming up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and TEAM Coalition to unveil new in-stadium advertisements that will promote safety belt use to fans, a demographic that government statistics show are at greater risk of being injured or killed in a car crash. NHTSA Administrator Jeff Runge said, "I commend Major League Baseball and all the clubs for taking a leadership role to promote Click It or Ticket. Just like a player would never face a 95 mph fastball without a helmet, no one should ever face road traffic without a safety belt. Safety belts save lives and are required safety gear on the road, every trip, every time." NHTSA's recently released 2003 preliminary national statistics show that a core demographic of sporting fans are at higher risk of being involved in an automobile crash. Annually, adult males under the age of 34 are most likely to be affected by automobile crashes on highways. Nationwide, more than 6,400 men in that age group are killed in crashes every year, and 72 percent of them typically do not buckle up. [Source: TEAM Coalition] _____________________________
As vacationers hit the road this summer, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) reminds motorists to be aware of the fact that for many drivers, the road and their vehicle is where they work. Transportation accidents are the number one cause of on-the- job deaths in the U.S. Policemen, firemen, emergency medical technicians, salespeople, utility workers, deliverymen, truck drivers, construction work zone employees and many more are at work while on the road and at risk every day. Of the 5,524 fatal on-the-job fatalities recorded in the U.S. in 2002, 43 percent were a result of transportation accidents with truck drivers recording the most fatalities with 808, followed by farm industry workers at 519. To help the motoring public, ASSE has developed a free 'Important Driving Safety Tips' brochure. This brochure provides safe driving tips and facts such as how to safely share the road with commercial vehicles such as by allowing large amounts of space between your vehicle and a truck as truck and busses cannot stop as quickly as passenger vehicles; how to correctly secure your children in your vehicle; how to drive safely in roadway construction work zone areas; and, provides a list of websites where more information on safe driving rules, statistics and expected roadway construction in your area can be found. To order a copy of the free 'Important Driving Safety Tips' brochure contact ASSE at 847-699-2929 or customerservice@asse.org _____________________________
At their Council meeting in Bucharest in 2002, ECMT Ministers made a commitment to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in deaths from road accidents over the period 2000 to 2012. At the Ljubljana session, on 25-26 May 2004, Ministers approved the proposed procedure for for monitoring progress in meeting this objective. _____________________________
An Australian child strapped properly into a car would be more likely to survive a crash than an adult wearing a seat belt because child car restraint and baby capsule standards are among the strictest in the world. Australia's four main suppliers of restraints help keep the standards high. This gives them a clear market advantage over imported products, which often fail to comply. "The suppliers do enormous amounts of research and keep improving the product," said the head of the Infant Nursery Products Association, Tim Wain... The standard was introduced in 1973 and is regularly revised as car designs change. European and US regulators have copied Australia's requirement that the top of the restraint be tethered to the seat to prevent the head hitting parts of the car. Full story, from the Sydney Morning Herald (smh) _____________________________
40km/h (25mph)? One opponent of the scheme and one proponent debate the issue here (from The Daily Telegraph and the Pedestrian Council of Australia) _____________________________
British police are developing a new breed of roadside camera to trap tailgating motorists. [This issue has previously been reported on this web page but this article is included for a slightly different view of the matter.] Full story, from One News, at TVNZ _____________________________
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) study has revealed that from 2001 to 2002 alcohol industry responsibility ads placed on television dropped 46 percent (1,280) while the number of alcohol product ads increased 39 percent (289,381). Additionally, underage youth ages 12 to 20 were 400 times more likely to see an alcohol product ad than an ad discouraging underage drinking. Full report, from MADD _____________________________
The Pakistan Government is trying to establish a society free from corruption and exploitation, Minister for Communication, Babar Khan Ghauri while addressing an Award distribution ceremony of Motorway Police in Islamabad on Tuesday. The Minister said that Motorway Police is a corruption free force which has set an example for the other government departments. He said that since its inception, it has been working with devotion and dedication and expressed the hoped that it will continue efforts to achieve the new milestones in its journey towards public service. The Minister praised the commitment, courage, integrity and bravery shown by the Motorway police on several occasions and foiled the attempts of dacoity [robbery] on the motorway. [Source: Pakistan Link] _____________________________
New accident figures released in Suffolk show safety cameras have reduced the number of deaths on the county's roads. At the 8 fixed camera sites across Suffolk, there's been a 91% reduction in accidents, while in areas where mobile safety cameras are used, accidents have been halved. The Suffolk Safety Camera Partnership believe they've saved over 40 people from death or serious injury in the past year. [Source: Anglia TV] _____________________________
Porsche AG is recalling more than 40,000 Cayenne sport utility vehicles worldwide, and rival Volkswagen recalled 60,000 of its Touareg SUVs to check for potential faults in rear seat belts. The German automakers jointly developed the Cayenne and Touareg models, and the vehicles share some parts. The recall is to check for bolts anchoring the seat belts to the frame that were improperly welded and could come loose. Porsche said it became aware of the problem through quality tests, but that no incidents had been reported. About 1,000 of the faulty parts were installed in the Cayenne and Touareg vehicles. [Source: Detroit News] _____________________________
Of the 150,000 drivers in Fiji, 40,000 have undergone a defensive driving course, according to the National Road Safety Council. Council chairman Sefanaia Koroi said the road safety council would like to improve on the figure so drivers were more educated about road safety. Poor road conditions, poor road attitude and poor knowledge have been attributed to causing road accidents in the country. Full story, from the Fiji Times _____________________________
America's 101 Deadliest Days on the Road and How to Survive Them The Drive for Life News Conference released results of a study of five-years of summer crash data that draws on a spectrum of traffic safety expertise from respected U.S. highway safety sources. The full report focuses on a critical period -- the 101 days from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend -- when Americans drive more and for longer, and when fatal crashes and child deaths peak. It analyzes six contributing factors and provides survival strategies to stay safe on the road and highlights compelling stories of families who survived horrible crashes. [Source: Drive for Life, via PR Newswire] _____________________________
There's going to be a new red zone around most primary schools as part of an Enhanced School Zone Scheme to make roads around schools safer for young children. Under the new zone, there will be a stretch of red surface on the road about 50 metres from the school entrance and again 20 metres away. The coloured and textured surfaces are meant to alert drivers to slow down as they enter a school zone. "It is a scheme whereby we give the motorists an enhanced vision that they are coming into a school environment," said Chandrasekar, manager of LTA's traffic management. Besides the red zone, traffic crossings in school zones will also have countdown timers so that children don't run across the road just before the light changes. And, road dividers ["traffic islands"] will have railings to prevent jay-walking. The review came after an average of ten children were knocked down on Singapore's roads every month last year, prompting public concern over road safety for kids. Full story, from Channel News Asia _____________________________
This press release contains such outstandingly good advice (far above average quality) that not only are we linking it here, to the news page, but it will also be permanently linked to other sections of this website. In particular, drivers should note the advice to turn headlights on an hour before sunset and keep them on for an hour after sunrise. This is infinitely better and safer than the ridiculous, out-of-date, official advice that has been given in America, Britain and other places for decades. Many of us have challenged such inadequate nonsense for years, so "thank you," MVLC, from DSA! Read all of the excellent advice here _____________________________
At the start of the year, Volvo Cars presented four new safety systems that will be launched in the company’s car models over the forthcoming period. One of them was BLIS – Blind Spot Information System – which was unveiled on the Volvo stand at the Detroit motor show. In addition to BLIS, Volvo Cars is also launching water-repellent glass for side windows and door mirrors – along with a simple and dependable method for switching off the front passenger airbag in Volvo cars. _____________________________
The sometimes-controversial advertising tactics of the car industry are being mimicked in a new road safety campaign aimed at tackling speeding, the biggest killer on country roads. The Minister for Roads, Carl Scully, unveiled the new $1.8 million statewide campaign at the Country Road Safety Summit at Port Macquarie as part of efforts to arrest a worsening road safety record in regional areas. Mr Scully said the NSW regional road toll for 2004 was more than double the toll for the whole of Sydney - and the gap was widening... “As of May 25, the road toll for Sydney - where two-thirds of the state’s population lives - was 60, while the toll for the rest of NSW was 157,” Mr Scully said... In his keynote address, Mr Scully said the new campaign - which will start tonight - deliberately adopted the advertising tactics used by the car industry to sell cars. “We have unapologetically used the same evocative images as the car industry for the same basic reason - to attract the attention of males, who continue to be grossly over-represented in the road toll,” he said. “In fact, most viewers initially will think this is a car advertisement." Full article and explanatory second article, from the Roads and Traffic Authority, New South Wales _____________________________
-- Otto the Auto Uses Fun to Grab Students' Attention Otto the Auto is a traffic safety awareness program for K-2 students provided free of charge to schools by AAA Texas. The three-foot-tall, brightly painted talking car which visited more than 1,000 elementary students in Houston today, to conduct interactive discussions about traffic safety. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the U.S. for children age five through 12. The purpose of Otto the Auto's program is to instill good habits that will prevent tragic deaths and injuries to youngsters who are walking, bicycling, or riding in a vehicle. Education efforts aimed at younger children and their parents can help build good traffic safety habits. _____________________________
A KCBS traffic plane had to make an emergency landing on a strip of westbound I-580 in Castro Valley, California, on Monday morning after running out of fuel. No one was hurt during the landing, and California Highway Patrol officer Steve Tress credited the pilot's "excellent" job maneuvering the plane into the far lanes and eventually to the shoulder. Helping the situation, according to Ed Cavagnaro, KCBS director of news and programming, was Rob Castro, an alert motorist on the highway who weaved across lanes and created a traffic break and gave the plane room to land. It is alleged that the pilot believed he had fuel in one of his tanks because its gauge read "full," even though the plane's empty tanks apparently caused the forced landing. "We're more comfortable reporting the traffic than being in the traffic report, but that's what happened," the onboard traffic reporter Carl Thomas told KCBS anchors. Full story, from the Contra Costa Times _____________________________
Two fatal accidents yesterday brought the death toll on Quebec roads to at least four during the Victoria Day/Patriotes Day long weekend. Full story, from the Montreal Gazette, at Canada.com _____________________________
The Road Safety Council of Western Australia will ask for a 30 per cent increase [sic] in its funding to compensate for a drop in revenue from speed and red light cameras. The council says fewer people are flouting the road rules, which means the safety campaigns are working, but that has led to a funding shortfall. Council chairman Grant Dorrington will ask Police Minister Michelle Roberts to increase its annual budget from $13 million to $20 million.</ | ||||||||||
May 31, 2004: 
May 31, 2004: Casualty Toll on
Glasgow's Roads Cut by 195 for the First Three Months of the Year
*
May 31, 2004: Illegal
Immigrants and Serious Road Crashes -- All Too Common in Many Countries 
May 31, 2004: Crash Course: The
Roads to Dusty Death 
May 31, 2004: Only Idiots Hate
"Anytime" Speed Cameras 
May 31, 2004: KwaZulu-Natal
Traffic Police Claim Success 
May 30, 2004: A Significant Problem
Looms Into Sight -- The Dangers of Driving With Declining Vision
May 26, 2004: Cutting Road Deaths in Europe by Fifty Percent
May 26, 2004: Minister
Praises Motorway Police
and 
and