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Improving road safety is the major focus of Transit New Zealand’s 10-Year State Highway Plan 2004/05-2013/14 for the Hawke’s Bay region, released today. Transit will spend $17 million improving and maintaining state highways in Hawke’s Bay in the 2004/05 financial year, up $1.5 million on 2003/04, said Transit regional manager Neville Harkness. The total amount to be spent in the next 10 years is at least $227 million. Full story, from Scoop ______________________________
Continental, a leading supplier of automotive safety systems, is providing Northern Michigan area dealerships with training on advanced brake systems, including antilock braking systems (ABS), traction control systems (TCS), electronic stability control (ESC) and active rollover protection (ARP). More than 70 dealer personnel participated in the training sessions, held at Continental's Brimley, Mich. Development Center, June 28 - 30. "We are proud to work with these local dealerships on this initiative," said Bill Kozyra, president and CEO of Continental Teves North America. "Safety is a priority to consumers when selecting a vehicle, and we want to ensure dealer personnel understand the significance of these vehicle safety systems and are able to answer any questions consumers might have about the safety features and benefits." Continental's mobile exhibit, "Safely There," also will be present at the training events to further demonstrate how additional safety equipment works, such as anti-lock brakes, traction control systems, ESC and active rollover protection, and the benefits of these systems. The 18-wheeler is outfitted with interactive driving simulators, a 3-D movie demonstrating the effects of ESC, as well as video testimonials from highway safety leaders. The exhibit is part of Continental's national consumer awareness campaign to educate drivers on the benefits of active vehicle safety equipment. Full article, from Yahoo Finance ______________________________
NASHVILLE – Operating farm equipment on roads in the Twin Counties can present hazards for farm workers, said Charlie Tyson, Nash County agricultural extension agent... During the safety seminar, Spanish-speaking farm workers learned about the laws governing farm equipment on the highways, Tyson said. Luis Salas, 27, a farm worker in Nash County, said he thought the safety seminar was helpful. "They gave us tips to decrease the chances of being in an accident – like using strobe lights and reflective tape on farm vehicles," Salas said. In a previous interview... farmer Ben Dew, Dew said "The main thing I want other drivers to know is that sometimes a person on a tractor, especially someone hauling a trailer, can't see you if you're behind them. I've had transfer trucks run up on me unexpectedly when I've been on my tractor. I know people get frustrated, but please don't run up on us like that." Full story, from the Rocky Mount Telegram ______________________________
CONCORD, N.C. -- NASCAR driver Scott Wimmer of High Point today urged North Carolina motorists to never get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. Wimmer was involved in an impaired-driving crash in January, which led to his recent conviction of a first-time driving while impaired (DWI) offense. "Even a skilled driver should never get behind the wheel after drinking," Wimmer said during the statewide kickoff of "Joining Forces" at the Lowes Motor Speedway. The campaign, which combines the buckle-up message of "Click It or Ticket" and the anti- impaired driving theme of "Booze It & Lose It," begins today and continues through July 6. Governor's Highway Safety Program Director Darrell Jernigan commended Wimmer for his commitment to helping others make safe driving decisions. He also thanked Wimmer for recording a 30-second public service announcement, which has been provided to radio stations statewide and will be heard during MRN broadcasts of NASCAR races in North Carolina markets. In it, Wimmer says: "Take it from me, never drive after drinking, and buckle up on each and every trip. It's the only way to make it to the Winner's Circle." Full story, from U.S. Newswire DSA Comment: One can only hope that Mr. Wimmer does not turn out to be a hypocrite. As long as he doesn't, the good comments will be well deserved. ______________________________
Several road accidents were reported around Singapore following a massive blackout on Tuesday night that caused street and traffic lights to stop working. "I got scared because there was heavy congestion. The traffic light was not working and it's quite dangerous for the vehicles," said one driver. And pedestrians everywhere became extra careful. Recounted one: "It was very scary because as I was walking [across] the road, the oncoming cars couldn't see us." Power was restored island-wide within 2 hours after the blackout first hit at around 10pm. It was blamed on a disruption in the supply of natural gas from Indonesia. [Source: Channel News Asia] ______________________________
Specialists from Korea and the European Union called for enhanced safety measures in Korea during a forum yesterday.... "An American English teacher told me that everyday driving is like going to war in Seoul and a smart monkey could obtain a driver's license here," said Huh Eok, the executive secretary of the Children Safety Inspection Team at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae. Nearly 100,000 people died in 2.6 million traffic accidents and 3.6 million people were injured during the past decade in Korea, he said. In terms of traffic accidents, Korea remains one of the most dangerous countries among the members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The average death toll per 10,000 cars reached 4.5 in Korea in 2002, compared to the OECD average of 1.9, Britain's 1.2 and Japan's 1.3. "The traffic safety measures should start from home," Huh said, urging Korean homes to have family meetings to discuss traffic safety. In Japan and other developed nations, many families hold meetings at least once a month and parents frequently instruct children on preventive measures for traffic accidents, he said. He also proposed what he calls the 10 Commandments of Traffic Safety for children. The first rule stipulates that people should not jaywalk or commit a dangerous act that might cause a traffic accident. Other guidelines also include wearing safety belts, observing the road markings and yielding to other drivers at least 10 times a day while driving.... Full article, from the Korea Herald DSA Comment: Hmmmm... "Other guidelines also include... yielding to other drivers at least 10 times a day while driving." The forum is obviously a good move for Korea, but what is the advice after a driver has yielded ten times?! ______________________________
Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation has issued a reminder for operators of individual electric or gas-powered motorized scooters, a reminder echoed by the Rhinelander Police Dept.: The scooters do not meet National Highway Traffic Safety Commission standards for motor vehicle safety. As a result, the scooters cannot be registered and cannot be operated on any street or sidewalk within a roadway's right-of-way. Full Story, from the Rhinelander Daily News ______________________________
ABU DHABI - The capital's traffic police has registered a record number of 10,552 traffic violations in a week, with speeding topping the list. According to the department, 7,981 tickets were issued to drivers found speeding during the week from June 19 to 15 [sic]. The Traffic Police in recent days stepped up its campaign to rein in errant drivers not only for speeding but also for careless parking in public places causing inconvenience to other motorists. According to statistics provided by the department, 2,067 tickets were issued for various violations, while 102 drivers were booked for not using the seatbelts, 209 for not keeping proper distance from the vehicle in front that led to accidents. Ninety were booked for driving without licence, 44 for red-light jumping, while 56 tickets were issued for using mobile phones while driving, and 60 vehicles were booked for not being fit to move on the roads. Full story, from the Khaleej Times ______________________________
Being a "safe driver" can look great on your driving record and also help your bank account thanks to insurance discounts. But while most people believe they are safe drivers, law enforcement officials and insurance agents may disagree. So what is a safe driver? A driver who has one or fewer accidents or tickets over three years is considered a safe driver by insurance companies - and may qualify the driver for safe driver discounts. Some companies offer added savings the longer you keep a clean record. Companies say that good drivers offer them the least amount of risk, so it is only appropriate to pass along the savings to them. Despite today's safer cars, almost three million people were injured and about 43,000 people were killed in car accidents last year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The World Health Organization predicts the number of traffic deaths to increase by 65 percent over the next 20 years unless drivers step up their skills. While laws on speeding, seatbelts and even helmets have helped the problem, insurance companies hope discount savings talk will also get more drivers to pay attention to safety. [Source: Allstate] _____________________________
A stark new advertising campaign warning that it takes less than you might think for your driving to be impaired by alcohol was launched today by Road Safety Minister David Jamieson. The new £1.4million TV, radio and cinema campaign, which graphically depicts the consequences of having a small amount of alcohol, is aimed primarily at 17-29 year olds and will run over the summer. David Jamieson said: "Many people need to rethink how much they drink before they drive and this graphic campaign highlights the dangers of drinking even a small amount of alcohol. Far too many people are killed and seriously injured in road accidents involving drinking and driving every year. If you need to drive then don't drink - it's safer." The campaign also includes a new cinema and radio ad as well as leaflets and posters which reinforce the message that it's impossible to calculate alcohol limits. In 2002, 560 people were killed in drink-drive related accidents in the UK and 2,820 were seriously injured. 20,140 people were slightly injured. The new campaign aims to maximise the existing social stigma around drink driving and to increase awareness of the dangers of having a couple of drinks and driving. [The THINK! drink driving factsheet can be found at www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk ] Source: Dft News Release 2004/0075 -- 30 June, 2004 _____________________________
TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 500 -- Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan; Volume 8: A Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Utility Poles provides strategies that can be employed to improve highway safety. View the pdf _____________________________
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General has released a report on the DOT’s Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Program. The report found that the Department came close to meeting its highway-rail grade crossing goals; however, it also found that six states continued to have a large number of public grade crossing accidents; accidents continued to occur at public grade crossings equipped with automated warning devices; some public grade crossings with warning signs and pavement markings continued to have accidents; motorists caused most public grade crossing accidents; and grade crossing closures continued to occur, but at a slower pace. More _____________________________
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a report that examines the effects of first- and second-generation antihistamines on impairment. More _____________________________
The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute has released a report that examines performance of snow tires, both studded and unstudded, in terms of age, tread depth, tread rubber hardness, stud protrusion, and stud force. The report is in Swedish with an English summary. View the pdf _____________________________
The Land Transport Safety Authority have commissioned research that should be of great interest to road authorities in any regions which see an influx of overseas drivers, and also to anyone intending to visit New Zealand or other countries. _____________________________
Ahmedabad: After issuing several appeals to parents to restrain their below-18-years children from driving two-wheelers, the city traffic police has now decided to enforce the law. In the last two days, the traffic police fined and [impounded the] vehicles of 302 students who are below the age of 18 years and found driving a two-wheeler without a valid driving licence. Of this, 162 cases were registered on Monday and 140 on Tuesday. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vikas Sahay said, "The drive will continue as it is to make the parents aware that it is illegal and hazardous for their below-18-years children to drive vehicles without a licence." The impounded vehicles are released after payment of a hefty fine which ranges from Rs 400 to Rs 600 [U.S. $9 to $13]. ‘‘The parents have to come personally to the detention station and get the vehicles released after payment of the fine. It is then that we appeal to them and try to make them aware about the hazards involved,’’ said a traffic police inspector involved in the drive. [Source: Ahmedabad Newsline] _____________________________
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National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners will present safety awards to Virginia state lawmakers at today's kickoff of Checkpoint Strikeforce - the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Mid-Atlantic campaign to reduce drinking and driving. At the kick-off event the Chairman will present State Safety Leadership awards to Virginia state legislators responsible for getting 25 new drunk driving bills passed in May. Chairman Engleman Conners applauded the new legislation saying, "Every person who gets behind the wheel needs to be 100% committed to safety. These new laws and Checkpoint Strikeforce send a very clear message to Virginia drivers: 'Don't drink and drive. We won't tolerate it'." The awards will be presented to Senator Thomas Norment, Senator William Roscoe Reynolds, Senator Kenneth Stolle, Delegate David Albo, Delegate Robert Bell, and Delegate Robert McDonnell in honor of outstanding leadership in promoting and adopting laws to reduce alcohol related fatalities in Virginia, especially those involving hard core drinking drivers. [Source: NTSB Advisory] _____________________________
LAHORE: The National Highway and Motorway Police (NHMP) Section N-5 central zone booked 39,044 vehicles and collected fines worth a total of Rs 10.375 million [US $178,000] during the month of June. The NHMP has recently launched a mobile education van operating between Lahore and Rahimyar Khan, to create awareness among the general public about the traffic rules and 184,316 people have been educated through this campaign, said NHMP sources. They [also] said the NHMP helped 16,338 passengers in different incidents on the Motorway. [Source: The Daily Times] DSA Comment: We are curious about how the NHMP could educate so many people about traffic rules in such a short time, using just one van. _____________________________
MINNEAPOLIS - A man was charged with drunken driving for the 23rd time in 20 years after allegedly leading state troopers on a chase through the southern metro area. State Patrol Capt. Jay Swanson said troopers arrested Raymond J. Sherman, 41, after dawn Thursday after using stop sticks to deflate Sherman's tires on state Highway 77. The chase allegedly started about 3 a.m. He said Sherman showed obvious signs of intoxication and was uncooperative. Sherman refused to give his name, Swanson said, but one of the troopers on the scene knew him. That trooper had arrested Sherman for his 22nd DWI in July 2002. Two years ago, Sherman told the trooper that "he would not go to treatment or quit drinking," according to the criminal complaint filed in that case. Sherman was later sentenced to one year for first-degree drunken driving and another year for driving with a canceled license. He was [only] in the Dakota County jail from Dec. 26, 2002, to March 29, 2004, according to jail officials.... Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar said she cited Sherman's drunken-driving history and light sentences when she testified at the Legislature in support of a new law making a fourth drunken-driving offense within 10 years a felony with a sentence of as much as seven years. The felony DWI law was less than a month away from taking effect when Sherman was charged in 2002, but Klobuchar said she would prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law this time. "I'm glad he came into my county because he was my example, and now he is going to see the effect of the new law," Klobuchar said. "After his 22nd arrest, he boasted that he was going to keep drinking and driving, and he has.".... Full story, from the Sun-Sentinel _____________________________
...Brewing mogul Pete Coors and Bob Schaffer, both seeking the Republican nomination for Colorado's vacated U.S. Senate seat, touched on the drinking-age issue during a debate last week, making some in Boulder contemplate what a change might mean for the college town. Coors said his position "hasn't changed at all" since telling USA Today in a 1997 article that he felt lowering the drinking age to 18 would encourage young people to drink more responsibly.... [But] years [after the 1987 change that raised Colorado's legal drinking age to 21], a political coalition, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Parent-Teacher Association, lobbied the federal government with undisputed statistics that showed when the drinking age changed from 21 to 18, the number of highway deaths for those age groups went through the roof. In addition, the numbers skyrocketed in conjunction with the timing of social events for high-school seniors -- proms, weekends and graduation. Full story, from the Colorado Daily _____________________________
With recently approved hand-held cell phone bans taking effect in New Jersey and the District of Columbia on Thursday, July 1, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the organization that represents state highway safety agencies, is reminding drivers that cell phones are not the only distractions they need to safely manage while driving. GHSA is also urging other states to refrain from passing hand-held cell phone legislation because the association believes these laws are not likely to have a significant safety benefit. Hands-free devices, while perhaps offering some added convenience to the driver, do not mitigate the intellectual distraction -- the conversation. Drivers are similarly distracted when using either a hand-held or hands-free phone. In fact, hand-held cell phone bans send the wrong message to drivers and gives them a false sense of safety as it encourages them to drive while carrying on a conversation, albeit on a headset. Last summer, GHSA joined AAA and its Foundation for Traffic Safety in announcing research from the University of North Carolina showing that reading and writing, eating, adjusting the radio, interacting with others in the car, grooming, as well as cell phone use, were major distractions. Employing in-car video cameras to observe how drivers behave, the study concluded that all drivers in the study had been distracted to some degree, 90 percent by something outside the car and 100 percent by something inside the car. Kathryn Swanson, Chair of GHSA, says, "The AAA research reaffirms that cell phones are the distraction that drivers love to hate, but in fact they are just one of many that drivers encounter on a daily basis. Anything that takes a driver's attention away from the task at hand can be potentially fatal, especially distractions that require a cognitive element." Swanson continues, "Driving is a complex task and full attention to the matter at hand is needed to reduce the chance of error. The best advice is for drivers to limit these distractions as much as possible: pull over to a safe location to eat, set your radio station/CD player before you start driving and do not use a cell phone, either hand-held or hands-free, while driving." [Source: GHSA] _____________________________
"After you unlock your car, you then blow into the breath-sensing device in the end of the key and it reads the blood-alcohol content of your breath and determines whether or not you're fit to drive, based upon a pre-programmed threshold that is set into the system," said Saab's Kevin Smith, describing the procedure for using it. Full story, from VOA _____________________________
The death toll in the accident in the Karoo in the early hours of this morning has risen to 16 with the discovery of the body of a baby girl in the veld next to the road. Twelve people were also injured in the head-on collision between a minibus taxi and a bakkie. [Source: SABC News] _____________________________
In the immediate wake of a car which in the DSA editor's opinion is one of the most beautiful four-door cars of all time -- the Maserati Quattroporte -- comes another stunning new addition to the marque, the Maserati MC12.
The MC12 was piloted by the MC12 development driver Andrea Bertolini for its second outing on the hill in the sunshine on Sunday. It is 37 years since the last victory for Maserati in international championship racing (1967, Cooper Maserati F1, South African Grand Prix) and this new road-going Grand Tourer is being developed into a GT racing version with its V-12 engine sprinting the car from 0 to 62 mph in just 3.8 seconds. (And yes, the DSA editor admits that this story has nothing to do with safety but his excuse is that driving is about fun, too!) _____________________________
A recent series of tests conducted for The British Rubber Manufacturers Association by MIRA has shown that the stopping distance significantly increases and cornering performance deteriorates when tyre tread depth falls below 3mm (0.12 inches). Given that the current, UK legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm, when the tyre is only performing at 60% of its full potential, safety professionals need to be aware of these findings. Further
information can be obtained from: Rogers Sanders at: roger.sanders@conti.de _____________________________
The latest TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) survey of car seat belt use was carried out in April and has produced some encouraging data. In all, some 27,675 cars were observed, carrying 7,833 passengers in the front and 4,003 in the rear. With regard to rear seat passengers, 66 per cent of those over the age of 14 years were wearing a belt, compared to 57 per cent in October 2002. The figure for those under the age of 14 has also risen, from 90 per cent to 92 per cent, in the same period. With regard to drivers and front seat passengers, rates have also increased. For drivers, the figure has risen from 90 per cent to 93 per cent between October 2002 and April 2004, and in the case of front seat passengers the figure has risen from 92 per cent to 94 per cent. In all age groups, seat belt wearing among females is higher than among males. One factor that influences the wearing rate is the speed limit. Rates remain higher on non-built up roads (where the speed limit exceeds 40 mph) than on built up roads (where the speed limit is at most 40 mph).
For more information on the survey and further road safety news visit: http://www.larsoa.org.uk/ _____________________________
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Southeast Region today launched its "100 Days of Summer HEAT" traffic enforcement campaign. The initiative combines the efforts of each State Highway Patrol, State Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, local sheriffs and police departments, focusing enforcement on three main traffic violations: speeding, impaired driving, and failure to use safety belts. "Never before has such a wide range of agencies from multiple states across an entire region combined their efforts to make our roadways safer," said Terry Schiavone, NHTSA Southeast Region Administrator. '"Because the summer months are particularly dangerous for travelers, law enforcement leadership in this region has come together to crack down on all motorists, including commercial motor vehicle operators, who are speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or not wearing a safety belt." Highway safety agencies from each state in the region will join together in an unprecedented manner - State Highway Safety Offices, State Highway Patrol, State Motor Carrier Enforcement, local sheriffs and police departments - to enforce laws and collectively reduce fatalities on the roadways. "The fatalities and injuries that occur on our highways each day are totally unacceptable," said Jerry Cooper, Field Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). "FMCSA is delighted to join NHTSA, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and other state and local traffic enforcement agencies to hold unsafe drivers accountable for the safety risk they pose."... Full story, from the Winston County Journal _____________________________
Drivers would need a special licence to use four-wheel-drive vehicles under a new recommendation flagged this week by a federal parliamentary committee.... The report, prepared by the House of Representatives Transport Committee, found that the recommendation, together with introducing graduated licences for novice drivers and special licences for caravans [i.e. 'trailers'], would improve road safety.... Most stakeholders agreed that with the number of 4WDs on Australian roads increasing by more than 224 per cent – 150,578 nationally – over the past 10 years compared with total market growth of 63 per cent, better education was needed... A 2002 Australian Transport Safety Bureau report found the popularity of 4WDs was rising so significantly that they were starting to replace more traditional passenger cars on urban roads. The study found the incidence of fatal crashes involving 4WDs skyrocketed 85 per cent – from 101 deaths to 187 deaths – between 1990 and 1998. [But by] comparison, the number of fatal crashes involving all vehicles dropped 25 per cent in the same period.... WA 4WD Association spokesman Terry Machin said he supported the recommendation. He said the association was divided on the issue but he believed it would help save lives. "Just as motorcyclists have to upgrade their licence to ride a higher powered bike, I think it's appropriate that special vehicles come under the same category," he said. Mr Machin [also] said there was no real use for 4WDs on urban roads.... Full story, from News.com _____________________________
HCM City’s Transport and Public Works Department has listed six city routes where traffic accidents frequently occur. They are: Truong Chinh, Ly Thuong Kiet, Bach Dang, An Duong Vuong, Tran Hung Dao and March 2nd roads. The department also said the scarcity of police and traffic lights contributed to the accidents. [Source: Viet Nam News] _____________________________
Police are warning people about a scam that tells them to pay fines for fake traffic offences abroad. One man, from near Leamington Spa, received a letter from Gran Canaria after returning home from using a hired car on holiday in the region. Harbury resident Paul Hyde paid the 'fine' for committing an unnamed 'traffic violation' but later became suspicious and went to the police. He said: "I'm really vexed I should be so stupid, and mad with myself for being taken in by it. "I have written the money off, but I want to stop other people being taken in and making the same stupid mistake I made." The letter gave Mr Hyde just five days to pay fines and costs totalling 129 euros -- about £85.... Head of the economic crime unit Det Insp Dave Churchill said: "Obviously these fines should not be paid - this is a scam." He advises anyone who receives these letters to refer them to police in the Canary Islands by writing to Comisaria General de Policia, (Seccion de Deltos Patriomoniales), Calle Luis Doirest Silva No 68, 35004 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Full article, from The Courier _____________________________
All Traffic Police motorcycles are to be fitted with radar guns which will allow cops to nab speeding motorists almost instantly. Yesterday, Traffic Police commander Teo Kian Teck revealed the latest strategy to make Singapore's roads safer: Radar guns mounted on all patrol motorcycles.... Right now, police rely on speed cameras at designated locations, hand-held radar guns and laser cameras, mounted laser cameras on overpasses, and patrolmen clocking a motorist against their own speedometers.... The number of tickets issued for speeding has risen sharply, from 35,361 in 2002 to 48,667 last year. And in the first three months of this year alone, more than 13,000 motorists were booked for speeding.... The motorcycle-mounted radar guns will give the motorist's speed almost instantaneously. This means speeding drivers will not have time to react - the most important change of all, because it could motivate motorists to drive more carefully all the time, and not only when someone is watching them. Full story, from The Straits Times _____________________________
Reckless middle-aged "born again bikers" with a taste for smashing the speed limit on rural routes have been blamed by the government for the highest annual death toll on Britain's roads since 1997. The number of people killed on the roads rose by 77 to 3,508 last year. According to the Department for Transport, casualties among pedestrians and car users were static or falling, but deaths among motorcycle users jumped by 84 to 693. Motoring organisations said last year's unusually hot summer fuelled a boom in biking among affluent people in their late 30s and 40s. Full story, from The Guardian For the full article on Britain's 2003 casualty toll, click here. _____________________________
Criminals planning to use roads in the Avon and Somerset force area are being warned by police: “We are watching!” The force’s use of the ANPR system – Automatic Number Plate Recognition – is being stepped up a gear in a bid to disrupt the movements of offenders.... Avon and Somerset Constabulary first acquired ANPR in May 2000 and was [then] one of only 15 forces to use the technology. Linked to the Police National Computer, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency at Swansea, the ANPR system can read around 5,000 vehicle registration plates per hour.... Identifications can take place very quickly, allowing officers to stop a vehicle and question its occupants.... Full article, from the Avon and Somerset Police newsroom [Glossary note: the British 'registration plate' or 'number plate' is the same thing as an American 'license plate'.] _____________________________
for .08 BAC Laws -- Delaware is the Last State to Put Dubious Principles Before People's Right to Stay Alive U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today announced incentive grants totaling $47.8 million to 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for improving highway safety by lowering the legal threshold for impaired driving to .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The fiscal year 2004 incentive grant recipients from the U.S. Department of Transportation include all the states except Colorado, Delaware and Minnesota. These states had 2 percent of their federal highway construction funds withheld as of Oct. 1, 2003.... “The people of 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have shown that they will not tolerate alcohol-impaired drivers on their roads,” said Secretary Mineta. “We urge Delaware to complete our work by enacting tougher laws reduce alcohol-related crashes, injuries and fatalities.”
DSA Comment: Delaware performs slightly worse, in terms of the per capita death rate, than the average for the whole of the USA. Delaware has a rate of 15.5 deaths for every 100,000 members of the population (and lies in 26th position among all states) compared to an overall rate of 14.8 for the USA as a whole. Click here to view results for every state. _____________________________
This week the state began a new ad campaign aimed at curbing drunk driving -- it's called the D2 program. Restaurants and bars are applauding designated drivers by giving that person free soft drinks. The Department of Transportation says this program, which specifically targets young adults, is an important cause. And thirty Oahu businesses have signed on. "I like it because it gives the designated driver incentive to go. It gives them incentive to do this big thing for all of us and help us out. It's always safer to have a DD," said Krista Kelley. Full story, from News 8
DSA Comment: Congratulations, Hawaii, on an excellent incentive. So often, one hears people make the narrow-minded claim that tightening drunk-driving laws has an adverse effect on bars and restaurants, but in this case the bar and restaurant owners have taken wise and undeniably beneficial action which will not only attract extra custom but will also help protect people from the massive dangers of drunk driving. _____________________________
The National Road Safety Council wants the Land Transport Authority to invoke demerit points on offending drivers immediately to [help] control the rising number of road fatalities. Acting NRSC executive director Timoci Satakala said dangerous and reckless drivers were the main cause of loss of life on the road. He said speeding, drunk driving and carelessness continued to be the major causes of road accidents. He said it was not the lack of knowledge but the lack application of it that was the problem... Full story, from the Fiji Times _____________________________
One Turkish soldier was killed and 34 others were wounded in a traffic accident in eastern Turkish city of Agri on Thursday. 5 citizens were also wounded in the same accident. A military vehicle transporting soldiers from the town of Malazgirt to [the] city of Agri collided with the coming automobile on [the] road. Two vehicles plunged into Murat river. One soldier was killed and 39 passengers, including 34 soldiers, were wounded.... Turkey has the highest percentage of road accidents in the world - followed by Japan, England and Germany. Nearly 9,000 people are killed every year in traffic accidents across Turkey. Full story, from the Turkish Press
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Accidents continue to plague our roads. Three days ago, two buses were involved in a violent crash causing forty factory workers and pupils to be injured. Two days ago, the same pattern: two buses were involved in a spectacular crash causing 36 slightly injured persons among which pupils from SSS Bel Air. A sign - once more - that it is high time for concrete measures instead of useless "blah, blah, blah". The figures for the first half of the year 2004 are frightening: according to the Road and Safety Unit (RSU) data, there have been 62 deaths due to road accidents from 1 January to 15 June - an increase of 13% compared to last year. In 2003 already, there were 19,178 road accidents reported to the Police among which 121 were fatal and 211 caused serious injuries. The situation is getting worse and there are reasons to worry.... Dr Ben Veeraragoo, a company doctor, recently highlighted the urgent need to initiate measures to regulate the long working hours of drivers and the absence of tests to ascertain the ability and fitness of people driving lorries or school vans. But the authorities should deal without delay with the absence of barriers between the opposite lanes on the motorways. Bougainvillées are certainly a very pleasant sight. A touch of greenery and brightness on the grey motorway is enjoyable but it is not enough as protection. Moreover, at some specific parts of the motorway, [having barriers would not prevent us] from having flowers but [the barriers] could well prevent fatal accidents.... Full story, from l'express, via allAfrica _____________________________
TEHRAN - A gasoline truck exploded after smashing into a bus in southeast Iran late on Thursday, killing 90 people and injuring more than 100, officials say. Haidar Ali Nourai, governor of the southeastern city of Zahedan, said the accident happened when the truck lost control and ploughed into a bus waiting at Nosratabad police checkpoint. The fireball then enveloped five other buses... Iran has one of the highest road accident rates in the world, averaging five deaths every two hours. Full story, from Reuters, via MSN News, UK. _____________________________
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Speaking to the media along with Rohit Baluja, the President of Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), R N Prasher, [Transport Secretary to Government of Haryana], said that the Haryana Highway Patrol was an internationally acclaimed example of traffic management. ‘‘On all four major national highways through Haryana, we set up traffic aid centres at every 30 kilometres. Each such centre has an ambulance, crane, trained staff, patrol vehicles and modern communication equipment to reach to an accident spot immediately and save the victim in the critical golden hour,’’ Prasher said. He told the media that the number of fatal road accidents on these four highways had come down from 1132 deaths in year 2000 to 821 in 2003. ‘‘Speed radars, breath analysers and night reflecting equipment has also acted as a preventive measure,’’ Prasher added. Full story, from Chandigarh Newsline _____________________________
With the death toll from a recent Noida-Greater Noida Expressway accident rising to six, concerns are being raised about the frequency of crime and collisions on the 23.5 kilometre stretch. Monday's collision occurred when a speeding light truck rammed into a stationary dumper which had broken down in the middle of the road. In the last accident, which killed a passing engineer and injured another man, another truck had been left on a central lane for a whole day after it broke down. Asked how stranded vehicles were allowed to remain in the way of fast moving traffic for several hours or days, a Noida police officer said: "It was not a healthy state of affairs. Traffic on the expressway moves fast. But, you know how limited the police resources are in these matters." [Source: The Times of India] _____________________________
"So first its Diana Ross, then Wynonna Judd, then David Hasselhoff, and now its Marty Stuart (country singer y’all), arrested in Tennessee for drunk driving. PEOPLE, you are filthy rich, rent a friggin limo, rent the entire city’s cabs....what is the problem with this picture?..." Commentary by Carolina Taylor at The Celebrity Cafe _____________________________
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles have recently made the DMV learner's permit exam available online. They are not the first DMV to do this and will no doubt not be the last; but let's think about it. One of the suppliers of the Florida exam states: "Don't sit in a classroom. Take this course [on the internet] from home!... Finish the course all at once or take your time (come and go)... Retake free until you pass... We will automatically mail your certificate when you finish your course...." Also there is: "Are you 55 or older and have a Florida driver's license? This course is for you... The six-hour motor vehicle prevention class will allow you to get a Mandatory reduction on your auto insurance for three years... Learn safe driving techniques... Don't sit in a classroom. Take this course from home!...." And: "Have you been ordered to take a course by a judge or the state?... The four-hour Traffic Collision Avoidance Course can easily be taken from home or work. You can come and go as often as you want until the course is completed. It is available on the Internet and home Video or DVD...."
DSA Comment: The day that anybody can be taught safe driving anywhere other than alongside a suitably qualified instructor, in a real car, on a real road will never happen! What lack of imagination is required in order to think that people can actually learn enough about road safety by tapping a few keys on a computer? Don't forget, if you hit the wrong keys you can "retake free until you pass"! Even the best available driving simulators can only go part way to prepare somebody for the challenges and dangers of real life driving -- internet "tests" can only have very limited benefits. Driving is a vital, life-preserving skill. The standards of driver training and the compulsory driving test in each country are undeniably determining factors in the subsequent crash statistics for that country. And the truth is that the USA does very poorly in such comparisons. Indeed, poor driver training may be one key reason why the USA has a per-capita death rate two-and-a-half times worse than in the top-performing industrialized nations (view multi-national results here). Does anyone truly believe that farming out important theory tests onto the internet is somehow going to help the situation? _____________________________
Police are appealing for information regarding a metallic green car that was involved in a hit-and-run accident yesterday, which resulted in the instant death of a nine-year-old boy who was walking home from school... The road death toll for Fiji now stands at 36, compared to 24 for the same period last year. Full story, from the Fiji Times _____________________________
Mothers Against Drunk Driving today announced the 16 winners of its second annual national MADD Media Awards program. The 2004 awards, sponsored by Nationwide Insurance and Federal-Mogul, are in recognition of outstanding media coverage advancing MADD's mission to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. At a luncheon in Washington DC, awards were handed out in several categories including the Award of Excellence -- the highest honor bestowed by MADD -- which went to Dateline NBC for broadcast media and to The Patriot Ledger in Massachusetts for print media. [Source: MADD] _____________________________
At least seven children have died nationwide in the past three months by getting strangled in automobile power windows, prompting safety advocates to charge the auto industry and the government with dragging their feet in making relatively simple changes to reduce the danger. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency responsible for auto safety oversight, has no rules governing power-window safety and no formal way of tracking such accidents despite examining the issue for several years. A spokesman said the agency plans to propose a rule requiring safer power windows in about a month. Until the recent unexplained surge in deaths, power windows were thought to be responsible for only about two to four child deaths a year, a fraction of the 43,220 people killed annually in U.S. traffic accidents..... Full story, from the Mercury News
DSA Comment: "Only about two to four child deaths a year"?... ONLY? The dangers of power windows, in terms of children being strangled by them, has been known about for many, many years, so the real question is: Why are almost all car makers in many other countries supplying vehicles with pressure-sensitive, auto-reverse power windows while American cars do not have them fitted? There is no excuse for this. Kids are dying because car makers want to save a few dollars on production costs. _____________________________
A recent federal study concluded helmets save lives and states repealing helmet requirements pay a deadly price: Fatalities rose 100 percent in Louisiana, 50 percent in Kentucky, 37 percent in Texas and 29 percent in Arkansas after those states made helmet use optional in recent years, the U.S. Department of Transportation said. Motorcycle deaths have been going up for five years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said this spring. Motorcyclist fatalities rose 11 percent last year alone, from 3,244 in 2002 to 3,592 last year, the agency said. Another study from the federal agency last fall found that the ages of those killed are rising and the engine sizes of the bikes are getting bigger. Full story, from Delaware Online _____________________________
Euro NCAP announced today the results for eight cars that have achieved the top five star accolade for occupant protection in Europe's leading independent crash tests. Highlights:
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In 2000, the UK Government announced a new road safety strategy and set new targets for reducing road accident casualties by 2010, compared with the average figures from 1994-98. It wants to see:
In 2003, the number of people killed or seriously injured was 22 per cent below the 1994-98 average; the number of children killed or seriously injured seriously injured was 40 per cent below the 1994-98 average; and the slight casualty rate was 17 per cent below the 1994-98 average. Although Britain is well on the way to achieving and even exceeding these remarkable goals, it is not a flawless progression. For example, the number of road deaths rose by 2 per cent, from 3,431 in 2002 to 3,508 in 2003.
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And new research reveals that aggressive drivers are drowsy drivers -- plus comments on banning cell phones The UK Government wants a 40 per cent cut in the number of people killed or badly hurt in road smashes, throughout England and Wales, by 2010, in keeping with pan-European targets. And the number of deaths and serious injuries on Reading’s roads will fall, according to a road safety expert. Road safety collision analyst Bruce Walton, speaking at the conference last Thursday, explained that it was easier to lower serious accident numbers in an area like Reading because it has mainly 30mph zones. Wokingham district was also projected to meet its targets but West Berkshire and the entire Thames Valley area would not, he said. An aim of 59 deaths or serious injuries per year, by 2010, was set for Reading borough in 1999. Last year there were 56 serious accidents and Mr Walton has forecast that figure will drop to 40 by 2010. Wokingham is already below its 2010 target of 61, with 57 people killed or seriously injured in 2002/2003. But in West Berkshire the target of 80 was forecast to be missed and its total by 2010 may be 113 – more than last year’s total of 110 killed or seriously injured, The conference heard that last year was a low casualty year across the UK.
At the same conference, University of Reading Professor Frank McKenna, who studies drivers’ behaviour, revealed an unexpected discovery, made during driving education sessions with speeding drivers. He said: “Aggressive people are three times more likely to fall asleep at the wheel. They are prepared to drive for longer periods and put themselves in a situation where they are more liable to fall asleep. “You would think it would be the other way, that they would be hyped up. I was surprised. It was not something we were looking for.” Aggressive people were also more likely to use their cars or motorbikes as an emotional outlet, increasing their risk-taking. Prof. McKenna also said that using a mobile telephone – even hands-free – made experienced drivers only as good as novices. He believes there should be an outright ban on using mobile telephones in cars despite new legislation permitting the use of hands-free kits. He said: “This is not about hands-free. It is what your brain is doing.” [Source: getReading] [Note for non-British readers: the name of 'Reading' is pronounced 'Redding'.] ______________________________
Ireland needs to consider adopting a partnership approach involving the public, Government and gardaí, if it is to develop a coherent strategy for dealing with road safety, a safety expert has warned. Ray Shuey, a leading Australian road safety expert, was speaking at the "Saving Lives on our Roads" conference in Dublin. Mr Shuey, the former Assistant Commissioner of Victoria Police, said: "A partnership with the private sector is important in achieving the right level of investment and flexibility that must underpin the effective administration of traffic enforcement and road safety strategies.” [Source: Ireland Online] ______________________________
General Motors has once again publicized the fact that one of the most popular vehicle modifications -- upgrading tires -- could put you and your car at risk. The $3 billion business can make cars practically undrivable, says GM. The standard-size wheel on most full-size trucks and SUVs is 17 inches in diameter, while some customizers are upgrading tires to as big as 26 inches. Increasing tire size by as little as an inch can throw today's sophisticated automotive systems out of line and affect vehicle safety. Everything from speedometers to brakes can be affected. So when you change your tires, you have to make sure all the different computers and equipment are also adjusted appropriately. ______________________________
...If, as the saying goes, people love their animals like children, why don't they buckle them up [in the car]? A loose animal in an automobile can be a serious distraction and may cause nearly as many fatalities as cellphones, research shows. Four-legged passengers can also be injured easily, even in a minor car accident, safety experts said. During a crash, they can become projectiles that bounce around inside the car, harming themselves and human occupants. "I see people driving with dogs in their laps all the time, and I always think, 'What's happening here?' It's obviously dangerous," said Cindy Deardorf, a teacher who lives in Euless. Restraint devices such as doggie car seats and seat belts are for sale in many pet stores, but industry experts estimate that just a fraction of pet owners -- perhaps fewer than 1 percent -- use them.... Full story, from the Star Telegram ______________________________
Pupils at a Capital school, Edinburgh, have received a Gold Award for their efforts to promote road safety. Carrick Knowe Primary was honoured under the Steps to Safety scheme, which was launched by Lothian and Borders Police last year. Officials today praised the school for demonstrating a commitment to undertaking a broad range of road safety measures. Monique Sanderson, road safety officer with Lothian and Borders Police, added: "Carrick Knowe Primary has actively promoted road safety across the whole school and encouraged parents to take an active part, from parking safely away from school entrances to assisting the school with pedestrian skills training and cycle training." Road safety has been incorporated as part of the school’s curriculum. [Source: The Scotsman] ______________________________
The New Vision, in Kampala, reports on a whole swathe of traffic regulations in an interview with Ahimbisibwe, the Acting Commissioner of Police for Traffic and Road Safety. Though, as the Acting Commissioner points out, it would appear that this is largely a case of new powers of enforcement, rather than new individual laws. The revised regulations include:
On the subject of the alleged harshness of proposed fines, the Acting Commissioner said: "The issue is not about harshness. We are talking about life. You cannot compare money with a person's life. We need effective deterrent and punitive measures." When asked about possible future additions to the law books, he said: "We are yet to come up with regulations on the licensing of drivers, which will address drivers' training, testing and safety of driving permits in order to eliminate forgery. We shall also have regulations governing PSVs. This one may see drivers wearing identification badges. We need regulations concerning competence, where a learner driver has to be instructed by a licensed instructor, regulations to license driving schools, specifying curriculum in driving schools, requiring drivers to learn basic vehicle mechanics, addressing disability and driving and many others." Full article here, via allAfrica.com [And no... we don't know what the 'smelly armpits' comment refers to, either!] ______________________________
Organizers for the Los Angeles Auto Show will hold the event in late November, starting in 2006, in a bid to attract more international premieres of new vehicles. The Los Angeles show, currently held in late December, often conflicts with the North American International Auto Show that opens in Detroit in early January. That overlap has hurt the Los Angeles show, as auto companies have focused on the traditionally more important venue. Full story, from the Detroit News ______________________________
The [U.S.] National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has proclaimed October "Booster Seat Safety Month." The decision, which was made at a meeting of the association's board of directors in Amelia Island, Florida, supports NADA's growing commitment to child passenger safety. New-car dealers in all 50 states will host child seat safety events at their dealerships during the month of October as part of a national public awareness campaign. Safety experts have identified proper booster seat use for children in the four-to-eight age range as one of the nation's most important child passenger safety priorities. ______________________________
A bus driver was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving Sunday after smashing a bus into a wall in Southampton, Bermuda. Police arrived shortly after the accident and arrested the man on suspicion of driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs. Police said there were no passengers on board the bus at the time of the accident but they were unsure whether the the driver was on or off duty. Full story, from The Royal Gazette ______________________________
The World Health Organisation is predicting road-traffic injuries will be the second leading cause of death or disability in developing countries such as the Pacific Islands in 20 years time. The alarming prediction has prompted a joint study between the Auckland and Fiji medical schools to find out reasons for the high road tolls. The Pacific research project will help establish the scale and nature of road-traffic injuries in Pacific nations, starting with Fiji and extending to Samoa and Palau.... "If the factors that make road crashes more likely can be established, then the best ways of preventing them can be identified," said Professor Rod Jackson, from the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland and co-leader of the project team. The first step for the team will be to set up a traffic-injury trauma register in Fiji. The project has received a substantial grant from the Wellcome Trust in Britain and the Health Research Council of New Zealand. The research has already drawn attention from the World Health Organisation and Dr Ameratunga represented the project team at the World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion in Vienna this month. Full story, from the New Zealand Herald ______________________________
Taiwan vehicle drivers who violate the rights of road of pedestrians and other motorists will be served with tickets carrying fines ranging from NT$600 to NT$2,400 (U.S. $18 to $72) starting on July 1, city officials said. More than 1,000 traffic police officers started yesterday a 10-day publicity campaign by giving violators of traffic regulations flyers and oral explanations at major street intersections on the island. Officials at the National Police Administration said that drivers who fail to keep a safety distance of 120 centimeters from the "zebra lines" reserved for pedestrians will be given the tickets. Drivers who cut into lanes reserved for other types of vehicles — such as scooters or motorcycles — and fail to flash signal lights before turning will also be fined. Those who cross the double white lines at the entrances and exists of expressways or elevated ways will be fined between NT$900 and NT$1,800. The highest fines of NT$1,200 to NT$2,400 will be levied to motorists who illegally over-take other vehicles. Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou gave an order to whip wild drivers into line after the police recorded 70 serious traffic accidents so far this year with 46 deaths and 26 people injured in the capital city.... Throughout Taiwan, there were more than 120,000 traffic accidents last year, causing 4,389 deaths, and over 150,000 people were injured. [Source: China Post, Taiwan] ______________________________
Two newly installed loudspeakers, intended to help blind people cross a Nanjing Road intersection, will be turned off for 12 hours each day after residents complained about the noise, traffic police said yesterday. Last Thursday, two intersections along Nanjing Road became the first in Shanghai to be installed with a flashing countdown indicator and a speaker beside traffic lights. While a flashing indicator informs pedestrians of the time remaining before the light will turn red, the speakers produce different sounds to inform visually-impaired pedestrians whether it is safe to cross the street. These so-called traffic assistance facilities, which have been introduced from foreign cities, were long-awaited locally, according to traffic authorities. "We never expected that the speakers would be such a nuisance to people living near the traffic lights," said Sun Guofu, traffic police spokesman, yesterday. "The speakers will be switched off by patrolmen between 9pm and 9am to reduce the impact on the lives of nearby residents," he added. [Source: Eastday.com] ______________________________
New Jersey is joining New York and many countries -- but not most other states -- in banning the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, though officials admitted yesterday they lack data proving the practice imperils motorists. And with the new law becoming effective on July 1, the state will look toward banning other distractions -- such as eating at the wheel or applying makeup -- though no system exists to gauge those dangers, if any. Those admissions came yesterday from Roberto Rodriguez, director of the state's Division of Highway Safety. Rodriguez and others appeared at a press conference to publicize the start of the new enforcement of a law that received bipartisan support in the state Legislature. But when pressed for data on how many motor-vehicle mishaps could be blamed on drivers being distracted by cell phones, Rodriguez said no statewide system existed to amass that data, even before the Legislature created the ban.... New York state bans driving while using cell phones. So do almost 50 nations, according to the Cellular-News Web site, ranging from industrialized Sweden, Britain, Japan and Germany to developing countries like Zimbabwe, Turkmenistan and Slovenia. Full article, by Tom Baldwin for the Gannett News Service, via the Home News Tribune, NJ
DSA Comment: For the above headline to actually be accurate, it needs to read: "...isn't driven by state safety data." Why? Because vast amounts of data that support this legislative decision have been accumulated all over the world (as the final paragraph of the article even intimates). Meanwhile, the Courier Post Online (South Jersey) used the headline: "State has no proof cell phones cause motor vehicle crashes," which is blatant nonsense. Why Tom Baldwin needed to write his article in such a critical fashion is lost upon us. Not only is there plenty of data to support the legislation -- wherever the research may have been done -- but also this life-saving issue is undeniably driven by common sense. End of story. ______________________________
VANCOUVER -- A focus on safer behaviour on the road has shown positive results, with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia recording preliminary results of more than 2,000 fewer crashes in B.C. between May 5 and 27, 2004 -- a reduction of almost 15 per cent. During this time, the provincial government, ICBC and Autoplan brokers challenged communities across B.C. to reduce crashes and road related harm by participating in the Community Crash Reduction Challenge. "I am pleased that communities across the province showed their support for this initiative because road safety is an important issue to all British Columbians," said the Honourable Rich Coleman, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. "Safer streets and communities are a priority for this government and we will continue to focus on reducing crashes on our roads." [Source: ICBC press release] ______________________________
A Detroit police officer caused an accident on the east side that sent two people to the hospital Sunday, [when he drove his squad car the wrong way on a one-way street and broadsided another car at an intersection]. The squad car was going to the aid of other officers that were tailing four suspects who were running from a stolen vehicle. Comdr. Robert Dunlap, of Detroit Police, told 7 Action News, "The officer was going against traffic. He did not have his lights and sirens on, and this is according to the officer himself. He acknowledged that the citizens had the right of way." Full story, from the WXYZ.com, Detroit.
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The first time you buy a new vehicle, or the third or fourth time you buy a new vehicle, don't leave the dealership without the Monroney label, the official name for the window sticker. The Monroney label uncodes the vehicle's DNA -- item by item -- and thus provides information that will prove useful from the day you buy it until the day you dispose of it. To some consumers, the label is simply the pricing paper glued to the window that's the starting point for negotiation with the salesman. But federal law requires that a Monroney label be displayed on each new vehicle sold -- and for good reason.... Consumers also should use the Monroney label to double-check claims by the salesman. If the salesman says you're getting something as standard or as an extra-cost option, the label will verify that the item is on the car as standard or has been added to the car as an option and at what price. Full article, by Jim Mateja of the Chicago Tribune, via the Buffalo News ______________________________
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Your profession could land you a discount on auto insurance, but you might be surprised which occupations get a break — or annoyed about which ones don’t. Several auto insurers have started granting discounts of 5 percent to 15 percent to attract doctors, engineers and firefighters, among others, in certain states. But salespeople, politicians, clergy, homemakers and others with a lower-than-average frequency of crashes do not usually get an occupational discount. Yet some of the occupations on their most wanted lists, such as physicians and architects, have some of the highest accident rates, according to a study released last fall. In a look at 40 job categories, Quality Planning found that doctors had the second-highest frequency of accidents. Only students were worse. Doctors racked up 109 accidents a year for every 1,000 members of that profession. Lawyers weren’t far behind, with 106, followed by architects, with 105.... Full story, from The State, South Carolina ______________________________
Private firms are offering Russian motorists the chance to avoid driving while drunk. Among the options on offer is a special "evacuation service", with pick-up trucks available for hire to tow drivers home in their cars after a heavy night of drinking. The service does not come cheap, but customers are choosing to fork out rather than risk breaking the law. As Russia's NTV channel reported, last year saw over 35,000 people die on Russia's roads. Around 70% of accidents were caused by motorists, who were often found to be over the limit. And in Moscow alone, traffic police are still stopping up to 400 drunk drivers every day. Full story, from BBC Monitoring _____________________________
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, the need for an integrated city transport system by dedicating the main streets to mass-transit transports like buses, introduction of circular waterways and rail commuter services was emphasised at a roundtable discussion yesterday.... The speakers [also] emphasised that need for ensuring road safety by taking necessary measures including abiding by the traffic rules and modernizing the signal system. Full story, from The New Nation _____________________________
Back by popular demand, the Supercar Sunday event will be held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire on Father's Day, Sunday 20 June. For a charitable donation starting at £10, The Sporting Bears charity are offering dream rides at the Show in a selection of cars including: Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini. The Show includes entry to the world's largest collection of British historic vehicles and the Jaguar Racing Car exhibition. The Centre is situated in the Midlands, close to Junction 12 of the M40 between Warwick and Banbury. As well as Vipers, Cobras and Jaguars, there are more exotic cars on show too, including a rare Swedish Koenigsegg CC8S, as seen on Top Gear TV. Owned by a dealer in High Wycombe, there are only three such cars in the UK, and they cost around £400,000 (U.S. $728,000). 0-60mph for this car takes less than 3.5 seconds and it has a top speed of 240mph. (See the DSA Car Collections and Special Events web page.) _____________________________
Maine (AP) - Prosecutors will determine whether charges are brought against a teenager who was driving a sport utility vehicle that crashed, claiming the life of a 7-year-old boy. The 16-year-old driver, whose name was not released, had a learner's permit but there was no adult in the vehicle as required, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Tristan Peltier was killed in the crash. Injured were Peltier's 9-year-old brother and the driver, along with the driver's 12-year-old brother. Trooper John Hainey said the accident happened when the driver lost control of a 1988 Toyota 4Runner at 12:30 p.m. Friday. The sport utility vehicle overturned and hit a tree, Hainey said. [Source: AP, via the Providence Journal] DSA Comment: As tragic as this might be for the young driver, what message will it send to other unlicensed teens if the boy is not charged? And what of the vehicle owners... Did they knowingly allow the youngsters to use the pick-up without adult supervision? _____________________________
They are known to police officers as lawnmowers on two wheels, pocket bikes and mini-motos. They are so small they can be carried under one arm, so fast they can reach 70 mph and so cheap they can sell for $200 at a flea market. Not to be mistaken for a child’s toy, these miniature motorcycles are proliferating so quickly in the state that the California Highway Patrol has branded them a traffic hazard and begun an enforcement campaign against them. Popular with both adults and children, pocket bikes -- as they are commonly known in the industry -- stand only 16 to 20 inches tall.... Full story, from the Detroit News ______________________________
FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company, and the Dubai Police joined forces this week to promote safe driving throughout the FedEx fleet of drivers with an inter-Gulf safe driving competition. Designed to encourage 'best practice' driving skills among all FedEx couriers in the region and to reinforce the importance of safe driving on a daily basis, the FedEx Middle East Safe Driving Championship was open to all FedEx couriers throughout the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait. Commencing with a written theory and driving test in each country, station champions were subsequently selected from each country and flown to Dubai to compete in the main competition, held on Tuesday, 15 June. Participants then underwent another written test and a practical on-road test that was organised and invigilated by the Dubai Police Traffic Department. Brigadier Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Director of Dubai General Traffic Department, praised the initiative taken in organising this competition, which represents a logical extension to the 20th Gulf Traffic Police Week, themed 'Traffic Safety is the Responsibility of All'. He urged all other groups within the community to take part in supporting this vital safety message. Full story, from AME Info _____________________________
As early as January next year, learners will have an option never open to them before -- doing the test in an automatic car -- but those who pass will not be allowed to drive a manual [i.e. 'stick shift'] vehicle. The major driving schools have already prepared for the change. Two of the leading schools... have already budgeted for a fleet of automatic vehicles, trained their instructors, and come up with new curricula.... Going by the example in Japan [it is believed that] demand will be strongest from women learners. 'Such forms of testing is available in other countries. The public too has sought to have such testing choices made available here in Singapore,' said Traffic Police spokesman Phillip Mah. Full story, from the Straits Times _____________________________
Twelve people were killed on the spot and 50 other passengers badly injured in a traffic accident in southwest Tanzania on Saturday. Eyewitness said that the accident happened early Saturday morning, and a passenger bus... overturned during the high speed driving on a road from Mbeya to Sumbawanga. [Source: Xinhuanet] _____________________________
Bolgatanga - Motor accidents in the Upper East Region dropped from 32 during the first three months of 2004 as compared to 37 for the same period last year due to rigorous road safety campaigns, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Benson Arnong-Quarshie, chairman of the Regional Road Safety Committee said on Thursday. He [added that] during the first quarter of last year, 51 vehicles were involved in 37 accidents, resulting in 10 deaths and 38 injured, while from January to March this year, 32 accidents had been recorded involving 51 vehicles, six lives lost and 33 injured. In an overview of road accidents in the region in 2003, he said 232 accidents were recorded involving 144 vehicles, thus leading to the lost of 28 lives and 203 injured. "But from the beginning of this year, the Regional Road Safety Committee has intensified its educational campaigns on road signs, defensive driving, and observance of road safety regulations", ASP Arnong-Quarshie said, adding "this has gone done well, thus reducing avoidable accidents in the region". ASP Arnong-Quarshie, also head of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) in the region, was speaking at the regional launch of the Donewell's Road Safety Campaign and Best Driver Award Scheme in Bolgatanga. Full story, from Ghana Web _____________________________
Dozy drivers have put lives in danger by pulling on to motorway hard shoulders for a snooze, traffic bosses have revealed. Tiredness might even be a bigger killer than alcohol on the roads this summer. Signs on the motorway urge drivers to 'Think, don't drive tired' But some motorists have done anything but 'think' after seeing the signs. According to the Highways Agency, drivers are taking a roadside nap in one of the most dangerous places possible - the hard shoulder. Sleepy motorists have dozed off as hundreds of cars and lorries have thundered past. Worried Highways Agency officials, road safety groups and police say roadside naps are extremely dangerous. The electronic signs have now been changed so they mainly flash up near service stations, where drivers can have a proper break. Inspector Paul Tupper, of Nottinghamshire roads policing unit, said: "The hard shoulder is one of the most dangerous places to be on the motorway with 38-tonne trucks passing within feet of you." Traffic officers, based at the M1 motorway post, say they have handed out fixed penalty notices [i.e. fixed fines] to drivers who have stopped on the hard shoulder to nap and swiftly moved them on to a safe spot. Latest figures from the Department for Transport show that nearly 30 people are killed or seriously injured on the country's motorway network every week - although there are no official figures showing how often sleep was involved. Kevin Delaney, of the RAC Foundation, said: "We have all nodded off in front of the television but if you do it behind the wheel of a car at 70mph then you are going to die." Full story, from This is Nottingham _____________________________
Frustrated by a surge in fatal road accidents caused by speeding motorists, the Swiss authorities are now moving to strip reckless drivers of their vehicles. A Zurich district prosecutor is this week taking legal steps to impound a 23-year-old man's car, after he was caught racing through a tunnel at 200kmh [125mph]. The move comes amid increasing public anger at fatal accidents involving young drivers engaged in street racing, similar to that depicted in the popular Hollywood film, “The Fast and the Furious”.... Attention has been drawn to the fact that in many [fatal crashes] the drivers were immigrants, mainly from the former republics of Yugoslavia. This was recently highlighted by Peter-Martin Meier, the chief of St Gallen’s traffic police. Meier said a study showed that young men from the Balkans were over-represented in cantonal accident statistics. In 2002 they were responsible for 17 per cent of major speeding-related accidents. That figure has risen to 24 per cent so far this year. Similarly, Balkan men have been responsible for 30 per cent of all speeding infringements in St Gallen this year. Tougher Road Laws The Swiss authorities recently launched a national media campaign aimed at young drivers, with slogans such as “racers die a lonely death”. In canton Basel Country, police have also begun showing young adults graphic images of road accidents, in an effort to build awareness of the consequences of reckless driving. In addition, new road rules – due to come into force from 2005 - will make it possible to permanently strip repeat traffic offenders of their licences. Those who commit more than four “serious traffic offences” – such as driving more than 155kmh [97mph] on a motorway – will be denied the right to drive for life. However, some experts question whether such measures will stop determined racers and they are calling for [other] serious sanctions such as the impounding of cars. [Source: Swiss Info] _____________________________
Furious Holywell parents are demanding traffic-calming measures on their estate after two more children were knocked down. Holway resident John Kent, 22, has started a petition after his three-year-old niece Alisha Kent and her friend Connor Jones, four, were hit by a car in Meadow Bank Road, Holway, on Friday. Alisha's mum Jenny Kent, 24, said: 'I heard shouting from outside the house and rushed out to see my baby sitting there and Connor lying in the street. I held his hand and cuddled my daughter. I was shaking and felt sick.' The incident comes three weeks after 10-year-old Scott Ferguson sustained critical head injuries when he was hit by a car while crossing the road near his home in Moor Lane, Holway. Jenny's brother John has collected more than 200 signatures for a petition urging Flintshire County Council to introduce traffic-calming measures. "We have asked for speed bumps before, but people say they will damage cars and buses," said John. "But what is more important - a damaged car or a child's life? Moor Lane is the only exit out of the estate and we have a lot of problems with teenage drivers who speed. It doesn't matter if it's speed cameras or ramps - we just want anything that will slow people down." However, campaigners face an uphill battle after Flintshire's moratorium earlier this year effectively put the brakes on any traffic-calming measures for 12 months. Leader Alex Aldridge said there needed to be a 'period of assessment and consultation to see what people actually want'. [Source: IC North Wales] _____________________________
Stop, look and listen Before you cross the street. Use your eyes and ears Before you use your feet.
The Children of the Specialist Learning Centre, St Augustine, were all smiles as they chanted this rhyme, taught to them by Norbert Knight. a traffic and safety officer from the Ministry of Works. Full story, from the Trinidad and Tobago Express _____________________________
A recent safety message issued by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: We continue to lose service members in motor vehicle crashes. Last year, we lost 113 service members in private motor vehicle crashes between Memorial Day and Labor Day. We must stop this needless loss of life, and I want every commander and supervisor in the department to focus on this issue. To that end, I expect everyone to enforce the use of seat belts. Almost one-third of vehicle fatalities in fiscal year 2003 were unbelted victims. Remind your people to wear seat belts when they are driving and tell them to: * Make sure their passengers are wearing seat belts. DOD has joined the "Click It or Ticket" program for seat belt enforcement. * Eliminate impaired driving. Over 20 percent of vehicle fatalities in fiscal year 2003 involved alcohol. Make sure your people know the danger and foolishness of driving drunk. We have joined the national program "You drink & drive, you lose" to help prevent these fatalities. * Insist on motorcycle helmets. DOD has seen a sharp increase in motorcycle fatalities. Be sure riding without an approved helmet is not being tolerated either on or off base. Talk to your people. Remind them about the risks and how to avoid those risks. Enjoy the summer, but enjoy it safely. (Courtesy of 11th Wing Safety) _____________________________
Speeding, Impaired Driving, and Safety Belt Use are to be the key targets of 100 Days of Summer HEAT The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Southeast Region today launched its "100 Days of Summer HEAT" traffic enforcement campaign. The initiative combines the efforts of each State Highway Patrol, State Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, local sheriffs and police departments, focusing enforcement on three main traffic violations: speeding, impaired driving, and failure to use safety belts. "Never before has such a wide range of agencies from multiple states across an entire region combined their efforts to make our roadways safer," said Terry Schiavone, NHTSA Southeast Region Administrator. "Because the summer months are particularly dangerous for travelers, law enforcement leadership in this region has come together to crack down on all motorists, including commercial motor vehicle operators, who are speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or not wearing a safety belt."... The "100 Days of Summer HEAT" traffic enforcement campaign is a national model focusing on law enforcement to reduce the injuries and needless deaths that occur each year due to speeding, impaired driving or failure to wear safety belts. Strict crackdowns have proven to be the most effective way to keep the region's roads safe. "Each year during the summer months we lose more than 2,500 lives across the Southeast. Out of those fatalities, about 32 percent are killed because of speed-related traffic crashes," said Schiavone. "The Southeast Region's '100 Days of Summer HEAT' campaign will increase enforcement through the summer months to make our roadways safer." [Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] _____________________________
Cracking down on drivers who display "road rage" could pay dividends in the fight against impaired driving, a University of Western Ontario law professor says. "The link between road rage and impaired driving is the people who have behaviours described as road rage also tend to have poor driving records in terms of impaired driving," said Robert Solomon yesterday. He is examining how the legal system deals with offences such as tailgating, ramming and speeding -- behaviour typically described as road rage. Solomon, who's working with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, presented preliminary research findings yesterday in Montreal at the AUTO21 2004 Scientific Conference. Full story, from the London Free Press, Ontario. _____________________________
...driving a Bentley Continental GT down a Michigan country road, as I did this week, is to experience two things most of us never will: the nearly perfect marriage of automotive luxury to sportiness and, secondly, how the superrich must feel behind the wheel of a $156,000 British-built, four-seat coupe most of them can buy with cash.... Full story, from the Detroit News _____________________________
into Past Repair Directives Tokyo, June 18, 2004 — "I would like to take a few moments of your time to outline the progress of our investigation into past repair directives for passenger cars announced on June 2 and explain why we have decided to extend the investigation even further...." _____________________________
Road accidents have [had a serious effect on Sri Lanka's] economy. When estimating the damage caused to vehicles, casualties, medical treatment, traffic, pollution and the loss of man hours, it leads to a significant negative impact on the country's economic growth, said IGP Indra de Silva. "Road accidents kill five people daily in Sri Lanka. Bus drivers cause most of the road accidents. Motor cycle riders and three wheeler drivers are second and third. When compared with deaths caused by crime, the number of deaths caused by road accidents is very high," he said. [Source: Sri Lanka Daily News] _____________________________
Speaks Out No matter what time of day or night, the Alabama Department of Public Safety doesn't have enough troopers to patrol our highways.... The result is becoming evident. Mayhem reigns on our highways from accidents and the death toll is rising. 37 people have died in Morgan, Lawrence, Limestone and Madison counties since the first of the year. That number equates to eight more fatalities than troopers recorded in 2003 during the same time period [an increase of 28%]. The fault can't be placed upon the troopers. They do a good job of patrolling the thousands of highway miles they cover across this area. It's the quantity, and not the quality of coverage, that should bother those who travel our roads.... When we see the death toll rising, we need to blame ourselves for not supplying the DPS with the resources it needs to protect our highways and save lives. Full Op-Ed, from the Decatur Daily _____________________________
Now that the Montana Republican Party has endorsed an open container ban in its state party platform, the issue should have strong bipartisan support in the 2005 Legislature.... Montana has a terrible record on drunken driving. The state's high rate of alcohol-related fatalities has gained notoriety nationwide, even earned an F from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Many cities throughout Montana have open container laws that prohibit drinking while driving city streets. But no law restricts sipping an alcoholic beverage while cruising at 75 mph on Montana's interstate highways - or any other road outside city limits.... We call on those legislative committee members to get this safety effort in gear. Let's make 2005 the year Montana puts the brakes on state-sanctioned drinking while driving. Full Op-Ed, from the Billings Gazette _____________________________
A systematic review of ad campaigns against drunk driving, published in the June issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, suggests these mass media campaigns can reduce alcohol-related car crashes by 13 percent. The review suggests that all of the campaigns were released to a large audience over a long time period and were thoroughly tested before they were aired, which may have contributed significantly to their success, according to Randy Elder, Ph.D., of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and colleagues.... “The studies reviewed here indicated that under some conditions, well-executed mass media campaigns can contribute to a reduction in alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes. They also suggest that such campaigns are cost-saving,” they add. Elder and colleagues analyzed costs and benefits for two of the campaigns. One campaign cost $403,174 per month, but the estimated savings from medical costs, job productivity losses, pain and suffering and property damage were $8,324,532 per month. The cost-benefit analysis for the second campaign revealed similar savings. For their analysis, the researchers chose eight studies that measured changes in alcohol-related crash rates or blood alcohol concentration among drivers. Three of the campaigns emphasized the legal consequences of drunk driving, while the other five focused on the negative social and health aspects of drunk driving. The different approaches were equally effective, the researchers found. One study indicated that paid ads, which usually received more airplay and reached a wider audience, were more effective at reducing drunk driving incidents than public service ads. In Kansas, for example, the same campaign was used in paid and public service ads in different cities. The public service ads received half as much exposure and had about half as much effect on alcohol-related crash rates. [Source: Health Behavior News Service] _____________________________
Police have called on drivers in the West to practise more caution following two separate accidents in which six people were hospitalised. Spokesman Mesake Koroi said the road death toll, which is 31 compared to 24 for the same period last year, was very high and they were conducting operations to try and reduce the number of serious accidents throughout the country. Full story, from the Fiji Times _____________________________
Civil servants in this Chinese capital may lose their jobs if they are found drunk driving, reported Thursday's Beijing Morning Post. The paper said the city's traffic police are stepping up supervision and punishment over drunk-driving and other violations of traffic rules. When a drunken driver is stopped by police, they will first ask where the driver has drunk, and which institution is the driver's employer. If a restaurant where the driver drank is found to have no sign warning against drunk-driving, the restaurant will be punished. If the drunken driver is a civil servant and the case is serious enough, the driver will be dismissed from the government department. In addition, the leader of the department may also be held responsible for negligence. [Source: Xinhuanet] _____________________________
One sometimes hears people ask why it should even be possible to buy cars that can dramatically exceed legal speed limits if speed is a factor in so many serious crashes. [See: "Speed Kills..." June 6, below.] In a way, these people have a very valid point -- similar to the question of individuals being allowed to own guns -- but those on the other side of the argument will swiftly point out that it is the person behind either the steering wheel or the trigger that is the potential danger, not the actual car or gun. And that is also correct. But there is one other inescapable truth: So long as we have a free society where such things are available, men -- young, old, and at all points in between -- will lust after fast, beautiful cars. Show us the ordinary guy who would not want to drive a Lamborghini, a Maserati, a Mercedes MacLaren, a Ford GT or others of that ilk, and we will show you a member of a very small minority group! Many would say that Ferraris are probably the most sought-after sports cars of all, and they certainly have the biggest fan base. And now, Ferrari fans and "lusters" around the world can enjoy the excellent new website, here. _____________________________
"Young, male, on the way home from work via the pub and well versed, both in the dangers and in the penalties if caught." Read the full press release here, from the RAC Foundation. _____________________________
The Role of Theatre in Road Safety for Youngsters Schoolchildren at Maple JMI School in St Albans can look forward to a road safety theatre production this month called 'Cat Nine Lives in Deepest Trubble'. Following last year's debut success, Hertfordshire County Council's Road Safety Unit has asked the Walking Forward Theatre Company to perform the play in primary schools across the county. The story, which aims to improve road safety awareness, centres around Cat, who has been given a scooter for her birthday. There is only one problem -- common sense was not included in the package. The 50-minute play teaches children to be careful on the roads, whether they are walking or cycling. County Councillor Derrick Ashley, executive member for the environment, said: "Theatre in education is a great way to get serious road safety messages across to children. "We hope that initiatives such as Cat Nine Lives will help children to be more aware of safety on the roads, and, as a result, we see the number of children involved in road accidents continue to fall across Hertfordshire." [Source: St Albans Observer] _____________________________
A visit to a hospital morgue will bring the realities and effect of road accidents crashing home to a group of Mid Canterbury secondary school students. Students will attend a simulated road accident before moving on to four workshops.... The morgue trip is one of the four workshops being held as part of the Ashburton Trust Road Crash Forum on June 23.... The workshops involve a visit to the police station to witness evidential breath testing procedures, a talk on the insurance aspect of being involved in a crash, a scenario with actors and police breaking the news of the death of a family member in a car crash and a visit to a hospital morgue to see where a body is taken.... Ashburton District Road Safety co-ordinator Kate Molloy said it was no coincidence that the road crash forum should be run in conjunction with Students Against Driving Drunk week and the Ashburton College ball, as one of the forum’s objectives was to demonstrate to students, the consequences of drinking and driving. Full story, from the Ashburton Guardian _____________________________
Wellingtonians are being encouraged to wear something orange this Friday to help support the work of school road safety patrol teams in the Capital. More than 900 primary and intermediate pupils from 34 schools in the Wellington to Linden area are parading from Parliament to Civic Square to celebrate the critical role patrols have in helping children safely negotiate pedestrian crossings outside school gates.... Deputy Mayor Alick Shaw will welcome the patrols to the old Town Hall where the children will be entertained by road safety rappers Ete and Tofiga, the Extreme Dance Company cheerleaders and break-dancers Praise and Stepkingz.... "The parade is an opportunity for police, the council and the public to thank the patrols for the work they do," said Senior Constable Roly Hermans, Wellington Police youth education officer. "It’s a fun day with a serious message. "These young people do a fantastic job in helping ensure the safety of their peers and it’s not always appreciated by other road users. "Support Orange Day but most of all support the school patrols in your community. When the signs go out, make sure you stop and obey the patrol’s instructions." Full press release, from the New Zealand Police _____________________________
About a quarter of speed cameras have made no effective contribution to road safety, according to official figures released by the Department for Transport yesterday. The first detailed analysis of camera sites, recording casualty rates before and after the equipment was installed, showed that numbers of accident victims had risen rather than fallen at 384 locations [i.e. 21% of the 1,793 sites surveyed]. The report also disclosed that the Treasury rakes off a 20 per cent annual profit from camera-enforced fines, once the costs of the system are met. Gordon Brown's department made almost £15 million in 2002-03.... Alastair Darling, the Transport Secretary, said the statistics showed that cameras saved lives. But he accepted that some sites were making little difference to safety. "Most sites have achieved good results," he said. "I have asked the partnerships to ensure that the cameras which have had less impact are needed and are still the best road safety solution." However, decisions about the future of individual cameras remain with council and police officials. Mr Darling has no specific power to require partnerships to move or dismantle them.... Tim Yeo, the newly-appointed shadow transport secretary, said that the DfT report underlined the need for a fully independent audit of speed cameras to establish safety requirements and determine their positioning. Full article, by transport correspondent Paul Marston, Daily Telegraph
DSA Comment: This piece adds perspective to a press release dated June 15, from the Department for Transport. Click here to go to that headline. _____________________________
The debris littering roadways causes 25,000 crashes and up to 90 deaths a year in the United States and Canada, says the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, research arm of the Automobile Association. "It's not an insignificant figure, especially since we believe that a majority, if not all, of these crashes are totally preventable just by exercising common sense,'' foundation president Peter Kissinger said in an interview Tuesday. A report released yesterday by the foundation presents the first comprehensive tally of such accidents, according to AAA. Debris-related crashes could be avoided if truckers and motorists secure their loads properly and report debris they encounter on the road, the report says. One such crash occurred in November 1998, when film director Alan J. Pakula was killed on the Long Island Expressway when a pipe that had fallen off a truck crashed through his windshield. Pakula had directed many films, including "All The President's Men'' in 1976, "Sophie's Choice'' in 1982 and "The Pelican Brief'' in 1993. See the full AAA Foundation report here (2Mb pdf) _____________________________
Three black bears have been killed on southeastern North Carolina highways in the past month, moving the state Department of Transportation to add wildlife crossings to plans for its latest highway project in the area.... Transportation planners and wildlife experts say they intend to add about a half-dozen wildlife crossings to the Brunswick County leg of the U.S. 17 Wilmington bypass. [Source: WRAL.com] _____________________________
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and BMW of North America are funding a research project to develop guidelines for how to evaluate driver education programs. More details are available here. _____________________________
New regulations to govern road traffic have come into effect, with the hope that sanity will be restored on Uganda's roads. The rules have coincided with a reorganisation of the Kampala City road system. The wide-ranging rules should reduce accidents that kill hundreds and maim thousands every year. They should make the experience of the motorist, the passenger and the pedestrian much less [frightening than the one] we have all become wary of. But the other big challenge is going to be in the enforcement. Both the police and the roads and works ministry would do well to study the Kenyan experience. Last year, Kenya, whose roads were even more notorious than ours, implemented deep reforms, complemented by police salary rises to mitigate bribery, that are steadily becoming effective. The Kenyans have had their challenges as well; these are probably similar to what we are likely to experience. At the same time, Uganda will almost certainly have to increase the complement of traffic police officers and give them more implements to ease their work. There are less than 500 traffic police officers in the entire country; more than 500,000 vehicles plough our roads, and that number is rising. Alongside the absolute numbers, traffic police operations can be made more efficient with implements like cameras and speed guns, breathalysers, motorised patrols and communication equipment. [Source: New Vision, Kampala, via allAfrica.com]
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At least 37 passengers were killed and 16 wounded when a packed bus was hit by a tractor and careered off a bridge into a dry river bed near Islamabad early on Wednesday, police said.... Pakistan, where roads and highways are poorly maintained and poorly patrolled, has one of the world's highest traffic death rates. More than 7 000 people die in road accidents every year, according to Kaiser Khatana of the Institute of Road Safety Traffic Environment Pakistan. Nine days ago, 40 people were killed when the truck carrying them skidded off a narrow road and plunged 240m into a ravine near the mountain resort town of Nathiagali, about 80km northwest of Islamabad. Full story, from News24.com _____________________________
A package of new measures to increase levels of cycling and walking in Britain was announced today by Transport Minister Kim Howells. The measures form part of 'Walking & Cycling: an Action Plan', which aims to promote these modes as healthy and convenient ways to travel. The measures include:
Launching the action plan at the annual Parliamentary Bike Ride, Kim Howells said: "I am delighted that we have been able to bring forward measures which will make cycling and walking easier, safer and more attractive. Walking and cycling offer tremendous health, transport and social benefits, as well as being enjoyable means of getting around. We want more people to choose to walk and cycle more often...." [Source: Department for Transport news release 2004/0068] _____________________________
The Land Transport Safety Authority is ordering 343 used imported Mitsubishi Galant and Legnum vehicles with potentially serious brake defects off the road until replacement parts are fitted. The affected vehicles are 1996/97 Galant/Legnum VR4s with automatic transmissions fitted with the "active stability control" option. A list of affected vehicles has been posted on the LTSA website, at www.ltsa.govt.nz/vehicle-safety/alerts/index.html The action follows the provision of new information from Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand highlighting the potentially dangerous nature of the brake defect. Leaking nitrogen can cause the brakes to become spongy and potentially to fail altogether. Full story, from Scoop _____________________________
The most dangerous workplace of all must be the side of a busy freeway. Grapevine police lost an officer on the shoulder of Texas 121 over the weekend. Dallas firefighters lost two trucks. And if you've ever tried to change a tire on the freeway with drivers zooming past at 70 mph, imagine the courage of emergency workers and law officers at every accident or traffic stop.... See red-and-blue lights up ahead? Police unit, firetruck or ambulance on the roadside? Texas law says to slow down at least 20 mph under the posted speed limit. Or, on a highway with two lanes or more, just move over and away from the outside lane.... [And] if you don't slow down or move over you might be getting the next $200 ticket. Drivers everywhere have been poky [i.e. slow] about obeying the new law, which passed in similar versions recently in Florida, North Carolina and much of the Midwest. Full story, by Bud Kennedy of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, via Officer.com _____________________________
Massachusetts had the lowest rate of safety-belt use among the 47 states recently compared by a federal transportation safety agency. As of September 2003, the national rate of safety-belt use stood at 79 percent. In Massachusetts, it was 62 percent, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration found. The state also had an unusually large percentage of teens and young adults who weren’t wearing seat belts when they died or suffered incapacitating injuries in car crashes, according to another federal agency’s figures. In 2002, nationally, 64 percent of people between the ages of 16 and 20 and 68 percent of those between ages 18 and 34 who were killed or seriously injured in crashes weren’t wearing seat belts. In Massachusetts, the percentages were 82 percent and 83 percent, respectively. One obstacle to enforcing more seat-belt use, the [Telegram & Gazette] newspaper reported, is that Massachusetts is one of 29 states with a so-called "secondary" law, which doesn’t allow police to ticket people for seat-belt violations unless they have first pulled over a vehicle for some other reason. Maine also has a secondary seat-belt law, and New Hampshire has no adult seat-belt law. States that have a "primary" law that allows police to stop a car solely for lack of seat-belt use have, for the most part, substantially higher rates of seat-belt use, including California, at 91 percent; Oregon, at 90 percent; Indiana, at 82 percent; and Iowa, at 87 percent. Full story, from the Portsmouth Herald
DSA Comment: Many factors must come together to create good road safety, and similarly many things can spoil it. The irony is that in 2002, on a per capita basis, Massachusetts actually had the safest roads of any state in America, with a rate of 7.17 deaths for every 100,000 members of the population. If the state adopted a primary seatbelt law, many more lives would inevitably, irrefutably be saved and the death rate could quite possibly get down into the "6" range, rather than the "7's". The best-performing countries in the world for road safety (a "title" for which the UK and Sweden tend to alternate) have death rates of 6.0 -- 6.1, so getting close to their results is no mean achievement. The point is that although many American states perform very badly on this scale (as high as 35.2 deaths per 100,000 in Wyoming, for example) and the USA in general performs poorly, with a rate of 14.9, Massachusetts could get itself right up there with the world leaders in road safety -- all for the sake of a morally unarguable, life-saving law. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. -- View the comparative, state-by-state death rates here. -- View the comparative, country-by-country death rates for 1988-2002 here.
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Just when we might have presumed the debate over seatbelt use was a thing of the past, new statistics suggest it isn’t. The Prince Edward Island Highway Safety Division has been conducting random surveys of front-seat vehicle occupants in communities across the province, and here’s a sampling of what the survey teams have found out so far. In Cornwall, based on a survey of 200 vehicles, 29.5 per cent of front-seat occupants weren’t buckled up. In Tignish, where 500 vehicles were observed, 42.5 per cent of front-seat occupants were not using seatbelts. In Charlottetown, where 200 vehicles were observed, 13 per cent of the occupants weren’t using seatbelts. In Souris, where 500 vehicles were surveyed, 19 per cent were unbuckled. And in O’Leary, where 500 vehicles were observed, 41 per cent of the occupants weren’t using seatbelts.... So why aren’t Islanders buckling up? That’s not clear. What is clear is the need for the police and the province to crack down on those who don’t. The police may need to conduct more random checks to enforce the law. And the province may have to impose stiffer penalties. Elsewhere violators of the law get a fine and lose demerit points. In Prince Edward Island, violators get a small fine. The loss of a few points might make motorists take the law more seriously. Full article, from The Guardian (which has a great slogan, because it "covers Prince Edward Island like the dew.") _____________________________
About two million road accidents have been fixed in Russia over the past ten years, the chairman of the State Duma’s sub-committee for insurance legislation said at parliamentary hearings on Tuesday. According to Alexander Koval, over 350,000 people have been killed in those accidents and almost 2.2 million people have received injuries. Over 30 percent of the casualties were aged between 26 and 40.... Koval emphasized that road safety is getting a more and more pressing problem in the country. “This national problem cannot be solved through a fragmentary patching up of the legislation, including one-time measures of a regional scope,” the deputy emphasized.... Full story, from ITAR/TASS _____________________________
Baghdad drivers beware. The many motorists who try to beat the traffic jams by driving the wrong way down streets, stopping in the middle of the highway or hurtling over pavements could be in for a shock. Traffic police are cracking down on the reckless driving that has thrived on the chaos and congestion that followed last year's U.S.-led invasion with new fines, car confiscations and a media campaign to restore a degree of order.... New rules come into force on Saturday imposing fines of up to about $20 for flagrant traffic violations like driving the wrong way around junctions, a relatively common ploy among drivers desperate to escape the grip of traffic jams. The sum, while not as high as some law-abiding Baghdad residents might have hoped, is nevertheless significant for many in the city where unemployment is rife and is three times the maximum fine under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.... Full article, from Reuters, via CNN.com _____________________________
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 500 -- Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan Volume 7: A Guide for Reducing Collisions on Horizontal Curves provides strategies that can be employed to reduce the number of collisions on horizontal curves. ISBN#: 0-309-08760-0 Price: $22.00 Details here _____________________________
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A new research project investigating the role of road markings in reducing congestion and improving vehicle safety at motorway junctions has been launched by the Highways Agency. The initial phase of research will study the response of drivers to chevron markings at motorway junctions. The study will investigate whether there is a link between the length and width of chevron road markings and how frequently motorists overstep them. The results will be used to provide better advice to road designers to form part of new safety standards. The consultants carrying out the research would like to hear from other consultants, local authorities and other practitioners who are carrying out similar research, or interested parties who have views on the subject. _____________________________
Johannesburg -- Road traffic injuries are a major cause of death and disability in the developing world, and the toll is forecast to rise over the next two decades as societies become more motorised, says the World Health Organisation (WHO). Although it has fewer cars on the road, Africa leads the world in deaths from traffic injuries - an indication of the poor safety standards of motorists, their vehicles, the transport network, and the limitations of the health system. _____________________________
Mr Johnson Clifford Aboagye, Chairman of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), on Monday appealed to insurance companies to support the NRSC with funds to enable the commission to work effectively to minimise road accidents in the country. He suggested that they should contribute at least 5,000 cedis of premium charged on each vehicle insured for road safety activities. Mr Aboagye said: "We have estimated that with about 700,000 vehicles insured in this country, we can raise at least 3.5 billion cedis (approx. US $391,000) if the insurance companies responds positively to our plea for 5000 cedis of premiums on every vehicle insured". Full story, from GhanaWeb Similar article, from the Accra Daily Mail _____________________________
(Quote): Mauritius has one of the highest death rates due to road accidents.... According to the Central Statistics Office, there were 19,178 road accidents reported to the Police in 2003 among which 121 were fatal and 211 caused serious injuries. Compared to the statistics of 2002, there was a drop representing around 16% in the number of fatal accidents but serious injury accidents rose by 30.2%. The figures for the first half of the year 2004 are not that marvelous either. According to the Road and Safety Unit (RSU) data, there have been 62 deaths due to road accidents from 1 January to 15 June – an increase of 13% compared to last year. The Road and Safety Unit is striving to set up campaigns and programs to prevent such tragic accidents: “Talks are very regularly delivered in Youth centres, Community Centres, Municipalities, Village Halls, Factories, Transport Companies and Commercial Firms and Sugar Estate etc." The unit also organises seminars in collaboration with the private sector to make people more conscious of road dangers. Likewise TV and radio programmes have been set up in this context. But such “theoretical” measures are not enough to prevent people from being thoughtless on the roads. This is why the RSU also carries out effective measures such as “speed checks, breathalysers, checking of vehicles in dangerous condition and preventive patrols to discourage careless, negligent and dangerous driving”, for instance. It is not just a question of educating drivers but also of discouraging them from driving in a reckless manner. Full article, by Pauline Etienne, at l'express _____________________________
The threat of double demerit points and warnings by police to slow down were not enough to prevent at least 15 road deaths across the nation during the Queens Birthday long weekend. Between Friday and the end of the long weekend on Monday night, Queensland had the worst road toll with six deaths, NSW recorded five, Victoria had three deaths and Tasmania one. Full article (and details of individual incidents) from SMH _____________________________
Phoenix -- Singer Glen Campbell was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 days in jail for extreme drunken driving and leaving the scene of a accident last year, court officials said.... Campbell, a longtime area resident, was arrested by Phoenix police in November 2003 and registered a 0.20% blood-alcohol level. The legal limit in Arizona is 0.08%, with extreme drunken driving at levels greater than 0.15%. Full story, from Reuters _____________________________
Radio stations, the media, police, the IDF and other agencies are all combining efforts this week to raise public awareness about the dangers of injuries and fatalities related to road accidents. Though the number of fatalities dropped more than 13% in 2003 (to 486, from 548 the year before), the rate this year is up sharply. Close to 250 people have been killed on the roads so far in 2004. Statistics also show an alarming increase in the number of fatal accidents involving young drivers; 45 drivers under 25 were killed this year. Shlomo Yosefberg, ex-chairman of the Drivers' Teachers Council and presently the director of a center providing services for driving teachers and students, recently told Arutz-7 that the main problem, as he sees it, is "one of education... There must be a basic education for patience, tolerance, responsibility, courtesy, caution, self-discipline, etc." A new study, however, shows that much of the blame must also be apportioned to bad road infrastructures. A study carried out in the Technion - The Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa - shows that 50% of the accidents that occurred in northern Israel between 1996 and 2001 could possibly have been avoided had the roads been built and paved according to international standards. Conditions have improved significantly since 2001. [Source: Arutz Sheva] _____________________________
Great Falls, Montana: A woman who witnesses said was driving erratically crashed into a pickup truck and rolled, then took off in her damaged sport utility vehicle and crashed again, killing herself, authorities said. The Montana Highway Patrol said it received reports of a possible drunken driver Sunday afternoon on U.S. Highway 87 south of Carter. Patrol Officer Laurie Carlson said callers reported a southbound SUV was driving erratically and having trouble passing other vehicles. Witnesses said the SUV collided with a pickup truck pulling a camper and rolled. Despite losing a tire, the driver took off at a high rate of speed, crashing again about 1½ miles later. The woman was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected. She died at the scene. Alcohol is suspected in the crash. Carlson said liquor bottles were found inside the SUV. Full story, from the Billings Gazette _____________________________
Chandigarh: A word of caution for drivers high on life and liquor. Mixing drinking with driving can leave them poorer by Rs 900 if the UT traffic police catch them on the four forbidden routes. Every Saturday night — from 9.30pm till midnight — the traffic police lay special nakas on the Sukhna lake road, Chandigarh-Panchkula road near Kalagram, Chandigarh-Ambala road near ITBP [or] the Sector 9-10 dividing road behind the Police Headquarters. The exercise has been going on for the last three months now. [But] given that the police have only one alchometer (the other one is out of order), the drive can be carried out at only one point every Saturday. Any one of the four determined points is chosen by surprise. Yet, as many as 60 challans are issued each time the naka is put up, traffic officials say. The police first stop vehicles found to be over-speeding on the speed radars. ‘‘Drivers who appear tipsy are asked to blow into the spout attached to the alchometer. Those who clock more than 30ml on the meter are challaned for drunken driving (Rs 500 fine) as well as overspeeding (Rs 400),’’ officials say. A couple of pegs are enough for a person to clock more than 30ml, the police say. ‘‘Many, in fact, record as high as 100ml and even more,’’ officials say. But why is the naka only a once-a-week affair? ‘‘Late night is the time when incidence of drunken driving is maximum,’’ says SP (Traffic) A S Dhillon. ‘‘Adequate precautions need to be taken to ensure no accidents occur,’’ he says adding, ‘‘The drive is supervised by DSP (Traffic) Jaspal Singh and at least two inspectors. Heavy force with barricades and interceptor Gypsys are also deployed. Which is why, the naka can be organised only once a week.’’ SP Dhillon says he is himself present at the naka at least once a month. [Source: ExpressIndia.com] _____________________________
A police pursuit in west Auckland [New Zealand] early this morning was called off after a driver took off the wrong way down the motorway in thick fog. Inspector Darroch Todd says the car was being pulled over by a routine police patrol in Lincoln Road just before 6am, but failed to stop. The chase was called off when the driver turned onto the north-western motorway heading against the traffic towards the city. Inspector Todd said that the car is a 1989 White Honda Civic, registration OJ 3056, and if anyone knows where it is, they should call the Henderson police. Police are angry the person could endanger himself and others in such a way. [Source: NZ City] _____________________________
Four people were killed in car accidents on the state's roads during the weekend after animals wandered on to rural highways. Three people were killed after the driver of a four-wheel-drive lost control [when swerving to avoid cattle] 50km west of Durong, on the Durong-Chinchilla Highway in western Queensland, at about 6pm on Saturday. An hour and a half after the three died, a 19-year-old man, believed to be from Caboolture, north of Brisbane, was killed when he lost control of his Toyota Corolla, colliding with a utility on the Bruce Highway 10km south of Tiaro. Both cars burst into flames, with the teenager trapped behind the steering wheel. Senior-Constable Bill Everlyn said it was the worst accident he had seen. "From what we know, a stray or feral dog had run out on the highway and the north-bound vehicle has hit that and has lost control and collided with the south-bound vehicle," he said.
RACQ spokesman Jim Kershaw said there is no "black and white answer" for what motorists should do when confronted by an animal on the road. "The textbook answer is not to swerve and hit the animal, but the reaction of most people is to swerve," he said. Mr Kershaw added, however, that in the case of larger animals, such as kangaroos and cows, it was sometimes safer for drivers to avoid them. Full story, from NEWS.com
DSA Comment: Many experts think the answer is much more clear cut than implied above. If the animal is large -- such as a horse or cow -- then the creature's bulk and high center of gravity make a collision very dangerous in itself and so such impacts should be avoided if at all possible. If, however, it is a smaller animal -- such as a dog or fox or cat -- then no matter how much we might love pets or wildlife, it is never worth risking one's own life, or our passengers' lives, or other road users' lives for the sake of that animal. The best advice is do NOT swerve for smaller animals, the risks far outweigh the possible rewards. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. _____________________________
Seventeen people were killed and 15 others injured when a coach ran off a bridge in Fengcheng of Dandong City in northeast China 's Liaoning Province Sunday night.... A task force has been established to investigate into the cause and to deal with the aftermath of the accident. Local villagers said traffic accidents have occurred frequently in this section as the highway is steep and turns sharply. Full story, from Eastday _____________________________
As one small example of the twenty incidents listed in this press release, a Brentwood AA patrol attended a van [i.e. cargo van] breakdown only to find there were three lions inside the vehicle. After it was repaired, it is alleged that the van roared off towards Longleat Safari Park. _____________________________
Three new vehicles performed well in a recent series of frontal offset crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Two cars, the Volvo S40 and BMW 5 series, earned overall ratings of good. A new large pickup design, the Nissan Titan, also earned a good rating. All three of these vehicles earned the designation of "best pick" for frontal crash protection. The Ford Escape (twin: Mazda Tribute), a small SUV modified by Ford to improve offset crash performance, went from a marginal rating to acceptable. Full report, from the IIHS _____________________________
A Grapevine police officer who specialized in taking intoxicated motorists off the road was struck and killed by a drunken-driving suspect early Saturday while making a routine traffic stop, police said. Darren Medlin, 34, a four-year veteran of the Grapevine Police Department and a former Marine, was standing beside a Ford Mustang he had pulled over on southbound Texas 121 in Euless near the Grapevine border when he was struck by a Lincoln driven by a Bedford man, Sgt. Todd Dearing said. Medlin, who was thrown about 50 yards, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Lincoln's driver, Roy Alvin Adams Jr., 27, was arrested on suspicion of intoxication manslaughter. He was released Saturday afternoon from the Euless Jail after posting $50,000 bail, officials said.... "What is most striking about this is that part of the guy's job was to get out there and fight drunk driving," Grapevine City Manager Roger Nelson said. "Any death like this is senseless and tragic, but there's a double-senselessness to it in that it was a drunk driver, or an alleged drunk driver, that took his life." Medlin's death was captured on videotape at 2:32 a.m. by a camera in his patrol car. As with any routine traffic stop, he approached the Mustang from the driver's side and spoke to the woman through her rolled-down window, Dearing said. The lights atop his patrol car were flashing.... Being a traffic officer is one of the most dangerous forms of police work, according to national statistics. In 2003, 13 police officers were killed when they were struck by vehicles while outside their patrol cars, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. In Texas, a new law, nicknamed "Move Over," took effect last September. The law requires motorists to slow down or switch lanes when approaching an emergency vehicle that is stopped on a roadside and that has its lights flashing. Full story, from Officer.com _____________________________
Despite the headline sounding like a major drugs bust, 'the Dragon' is a section of U.S. 129 (Calderwood Highway) that is a favorite trip for motorcyclists, with 318 curves along the 11-mile stretch from the Tennessee/North Carolina line to Tab Cat Creek at Chilhowee Lake. But eleven reported accidents on 'the Dragon' in the preceding week prompted intensive traffic enforcement efforts on Saturday. As a result, twenty-nine citations, most of them for speeding, were issued during a three-hour period on Saturday afternoon. An April 9 fatality was the first on 'the Dragon' since Aug. 4, 2002. Two people died there in 2002 and three in 2001. Intensive traffic enforcement efforts by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Blount County Sheriff's Office are credited with cutting the number of fatalities in 2003. Full story, from the Daily Times, Maryville, TN _____________________________
Three people were killed two others were wounded in traffic accident on Sunday in Istanbul. In traffic accident in quarter of Küçükçekmece, Istanbul, 3 people lost their lives and 2 other wounded when a car of driver, who was under influence of alcohol, crashed with [a] minibus. [Three people] traveling in the car lost their lives in scene while two passengers in minibus were wounded. The driver of minibus was detained by the police. Nearly 9 thousand people annually lose their lives in traffic accidents across Turkey. [Source: TurkishPress.com] [Glossary note, for U.S. readers, a minibus is generally the equivalent of a 12-15 seat passenger van] _____________________________
Federal legislators met this week to start hammering out a transportation bill. U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., believes Congress can approve a six-year spending plan worth $300 billion or more. Some of his colleagues are even more optimistic, aiming for $375 billion. White House spokesmen continue to say President Bush will veto any legislation that exceeds $257 billion. "We can no longer let jobs and safety take a back seat to election year politics. Too much is at stake," Bond said. "The time has come to pass a transportation bill." Full story, from the Quincy Herald-Whig, IL _____________________________
Road safety groups want Victoria to introduce wheelie bins equipped with speed cameras. They said Victoria should follow South Australia, where police will introduce one of the controversial speed traps next year. But the Victorian Government said the move would be unfair to motorists.
The $120,000 camera is expected to arrive in Adelaide from Germany before the end of the year. [Source: The Herald Sun] DSA Comment: In the Victorian Government's claim that the camera would be "unfair to motorists", do we detect a hint of politicians valuing the retention of their seats at the next election over and above the lives that can be saved by the enforcement of speed legislation, by any chance? After all, "narrow suburban streets" are exactly the sort of place where speeding is most dangerous. _____________________________
HA NOI — The transport minister came under fire over Viet Nam’s appalling road safety and lack of co-ordination in the transport system at Thursday’s National Assembly question-and-answer session. Transport minister Dao Dinh Binh told the legislature that in the first four months this year, 6,364 reported traffic accidents killed 4,156 people and caused 5,930 injuries. Compared to last year, the nation’s road toll was up 4.7 per cent, but reported accidents dropped 23 per cent and injury numbers by 35.5 per cent — in all areas, motorbikes were the main vehicles involved. Binh blamed road users’ disobedience of road rules, local traffic police’ lax control and poor quality of driver education. Responding to a question from Nghe Nguyet Han, a deputy from Ca Mau Province, Binh said his ministry was unable to prevent traffic accidents if there was no effective co-ordination between the ministry, relevant bodies and provinces. The transport minister listed a number of immediate measures to reduce traffic accidents, including reorganising inter-provincial bus routes and tougher penalties for traffic violations. He said the ministry would focus on public education campaigns on traffic rules and safety, as well as increasing traffic inspectors. Binh said the ministry had formed four new traffic teams that will patrol the nation’s roads from this month. Full story, from Viet Nam News _____________________________
Accident statistics for the first quarter of this year look grim, with 29 motorcyclists and pillion riders dying on the road -- a 16 percent increase over the same period last year. Motorcyclists were the most vulnerable group, making up almost half of total deaths from road accidents in the first three months of this year. The second largest group were elderly pedestrians. One out of every two pedestrians killed on the road was 60 years old or older. In total, there were 22 more accidents than the 1,700 in the same period last year, showing a slight one percent increase. Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee gave the figures at the launch of the Police Week Carnival-cum-Road Safety Outreach at the Police Academy on Saturday. [Source: Channel News Asia] _____________________________
A man has been arrested and released on bail after his wife and two children were killed in a road accident in Merseyside, England. It happened just after 8.30pm on Friday when the van they were in left the A565 and crashed into trees. The 30-year-old father was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol. His wife, 29, daughter, two, and son, aged nine, all died in the crash. [Source: BBC News] _____________________________
In a nutshell, the answer is just thirty days in prison Viz: The 16-year-old driver in a single-car crash that left two 17-year-old boys dead in February was sentenced to 30 days in jail Friday in District Court. Emma Rundquist was driving drunk in excess of 107 mph when she lost control and crashed. Rundquist was facing anything from probation to 12 years in prison. She also could have been sentenced to the Youth Offender System, a branch of the Department of Corrections. The Probation Department had recommended 90 days in jail and 100 hours of useful public service, among other requirements. Full story, from the Durango Herald _____________________________
Actor Ku Pao-ming became the latest entertainer caught for drunk driving and made a public apology for "making the wrong public demonstration.".... Ku rammed into a fruit stand and hit four cars parked on road before driving his Mercedes Benz into a grocery store in Hsintien City of Taipei County at around 5 a.m. yesterday. About half a dozen actors, actresses and singers dominated news headlines for drunk driving in the past few months. They all apologized to the public for serving as bad examples for society. This is not Ku's first auto accident. Records show that Ku drove his car into a ravine in 1983, and in 1993, he struck and killed a retired servicemen. He had vowed to stop drinking after killing the man 11 years ago. Full story, from the China Post, Taiwan _____________________________
There are few thrills like racing along on a motorcycle -- even if it isn't any taller than your knees.... Forget that pocket bikes' sizes make them look better suited to a preschooler than to teenagers and adults. In recent years, the bikes -- some selling for more than $1,000 -- have become all the rage across California among young adults, teenagers and even preteens, along with motorized scooters.... These motorized vehicles are a dream-come-true for many, but they have become something of a nightmare for law enforcement agencies. "It's just a headache for us," Tulare police Sgt. Wes Hensley said. "These things just popped up, and we didn't know what the rules were. It took us a while to get an answer." Even the California Highway Patrol had to figure out what to do with them. "Basically, these are relatively new. Like everything else when things change, the vehicle code has to catch up with it," said Steve Kohler, a CHP spokesman in Sacramento. But their concern goes deeper than just defining traffic laws. Despite their sizes, some pocket bikes reach speeds exceeding 55 mph, and some motorized scooters can travel at more than 20 mph. Adults and youths often ride them on city streets. "It's unsafe as heck. It's not stable. And you're really low to the ground, so visibility is a problem," Hensley said of pocket bikes. "I'll bet you there's 200 or more around [Tulare]." Indeed, in 2000 an estimated 4,390 people were treated in U.S. emergency rooms because of motorized scooter crashes, 39 percent of them involving children younger than 15.... Full story, from the Tulare Advance-Register ____________________________
The Jamaican government's National Road Safety Council has asked the government to introduce legislation to ban motorists using cellular phones while driving. The council, which monitors road safety on the nation's roads, said that cell phones distract and contribute to road accidents. Paula Fletcher, the council's executive director, is also pushing for the ban of hands-free equipment, pointing out the proposal has been put to the government's legislative review committee. "Our position is a more total ban, even the use of hands free units because there is still some amount of distraction," Fletcher said Wednesday at the launch of the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA) road safety awareness campaign. At the same time, the president of the JGRA, Lloyd Brown, said government should follow other countries in outlawing the use of the cell phone in cars, saying that cell phone use was one of the highest causes of accidents on the nation's roads.... The road safety awareness campaign has been sponsored by the JGRA for the past 18 years, as a means of promoting good driving habits amongst motorists. Full story, from the Jamaica Observer _____________________________
More than one person dies every week on the roads of the sprawling, Thai resort island of Phuket - which has almost four times more road accidents than the national average across Thailand. From January to May, the police recorded 45 deaths and 707 injuries in Phuket road accidents. They blame the high rate of accidents on rash and undisciplined driving, the island's winding, undulating roads and increasingly crowded and chaotic urban areas. More than half of all accidents involve foreigners. Phuket receives more than 2.7 million tourists a year and car and bike rental is a thriving but unorganised business. Traffic police officer Sutham Rattanasawangwong said most accidents involved motorbikes. 'There are two problems. First it is the drivers themselves,' he said. 'They have no discipline. They drive too fast and they are careless and they rarely follow rules. 'The second problem is that road conditions are not appropriate. For example, the curves are very sharp and the terrain is hilly. And when it rains, people skid.' Last year, there were 2,140 road accidents in Phuket killing 137 people; the previous year the death toll was 107 from 1,746 accidents. But Phuket police could not confirm exactly how many of the dead were foreigners. Full story, from the Straits Times _____________________________
Road accidents claimed 8,198 lives in China in May, up 10.4 percent over the same month last year, the Ministry of Public Security reported Friday. According to the report, China's traffic police handled 35,036 cases of road accidents in May, down 31.8 percent year-on-year. These accidents caused direct property losses amounting to 180 million yuan (about 21.69 million US dollars) and injured 34,092 people. Bad driving was blamed for 94.3 percent of the road accidents, 93 percent of the deaths and 95 percent of the injuries in May, said an official of the Administration of Communications under the ministry.... China officially put into effect its first road traffic safety law on May 1. [Source: Xinhuanet] _____________________________
A total of 708 traffic accidents occurred in Ho Chi Minh City in the first five months of this year, killing 450 people and injuring 681 others. While the number of accidents was lower compared to the same period last year, the death toll increased by three persons. Accidents on the railway also increased 71.4 percent, with seven persons killed. Chairman of HCM City People's Committee Le Thanh Hai required relevant services to take drastic measures to reduce traffic accidents. The city will soon complete assembling traffic signs, and support traffic police to ensure safety on roads. [Source: VNA Net] _____________________________
Taxi operators had kept their accident rates low in the past few years, so there is no reason why they can't do it again, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA). It told The Straits Times the companies had managed before to keep the average at no more than two accidents for every 10 million km travelled. These are accidents involving an injury, death or damage to public property, and where only the cabby was at fault. After the end of August, taxi companies can be fined up to $100,000 if they breach the requirements. Cabbies blame the increased accident rate on the recent influx of more than 400 new taxis. So, drivers stay on the road longer each day to cover their rent, get more tired and have to rush to get enough fares for the day. Said Mr S.T. Goh, 44, a cabby for 11 years: 'They [the new taxi drivers] lack the experience, they are going too fast and they rush when they see passengers.' Full story, from the Straits Times _____________________________
Whilst we cannot feature lists of all published reports each month, we believe it may occasionally be helpful to some of our readers if we point out certain sources, so here's one (abstract): Currently available: CT76.3 Elderly drivers update (2001-2004) (price £20, as at May 2004) To be published soon: TRL599 Road safety behaviour of adolescent children in groups, by L Chinn, M Elliott, J Sentinella and K Williams TRL600 The effect of traffic calming on child pedestrian skills development, by L Chinn, J Guy, G Stothart, J Thomson and A Tolmie TRL601 The attitudes and behaviour of adolescent road users: An application of the theory of planned behaviour, by M A Elliott TRL607 The accident risk of motorcyclists, by B Sexton, C Baughan, M Elliott and G Maycock
TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) is an internationally recognised centre of excellence providing world-class research, advice and solutions for all issues relating to land transport. Visit the TRL publications web page ____________________________
Research released in Australia today shows that 58 per cent of motorists aged 17 to 29 would read a text message, or SMS, while driving. One-third of drivers under 30 felt they could safely take their eyes off the road to send a text message or talk on the phone. Men were the worst offenders, with more males than females making and answering calls while driving. Five per cent of males even agreed that chatting on a hand-held phone affected their driving. But it wasn't just younger drivers who couldn't resist the temptation of a ringing phone. Across all age groups, one in three motorists admitted to making calls from their mobile at least once a week, and more than half said they answered the phone in the car. A Telstra spokeswoman, Jenny Young, said the survey showed that for some young motorists a mobile phone was more important than safe driving. Full story, from SMH _____________________________
Police today urged motorcyclists to take greater care as the death toll during the Isle of Man TT race weeks rose to eight. Three people were killed while in competitions or practices, four more race fans were killed on the roads and a further one died after a motorcycle accident at a disused airfield. The deaths followed three other fatal crashes in the weeks leading up to the popular two-week race fixture which sees around 20,000 extra motorcycles on the island. Full story, from The Scotsman _____________________________
In Chennai, India, the new City Police Commissioner, K Natarajan, today said the police personnel would be given special training to conduct themselves in a better manner and behave courteously with the general public.... Regarding traffic, Natarajan said his thrust would be on reducing fatal accidents with more attention towards safety of pedestrians. Footpath would be made free for movement of pedestrians and, if possible, the Electricity and other departments concerned would be asked to relocate transformers and junction boxes. More numbers of pedestrian crossings would be identified and marked. The signal timings for the pedestrian-crossing at different junctions would be increased, wherever required, he said. The Police Commissioner also urged the traffic police on duty not to unnecessarily harass two-wheeler users and rather concentrate on serious rule violations. Full story, from News Today _____________________________
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the "Black Boxes" of the Automobile World The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today proposed standard requirements for Event Data Recorders (EDR) that manufacturers choose to install in light vehicles. But the proposed rule would not require the actual installation of EDRs. “EDRs are [already fitted] in most new vehicles and are already providing valuable safety information for our crash investigators and researchers,” said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. “We hope that eventually this crash information will be available in real time to emergency medical systems and physicians to improve trauma care after a crash.” ____________________________
Slick roads made for difficult driving in Johnson County this morning. Dispatchers said the rain contributed to more than a dozen crashes but that no one had been seriously injured.... Highways already slowed by construction were made worse by seven crashes on the Kansas side of the state line, all of them one- or two-vehicle wrecks.... The National Weather Service said a 30 percent chance of showers remains in the Kansas City area until 4 p.m. Full story, from the Kansas City Star _____________________________
A banned drink-driver has admitted that he crashed into a car on a motorway and caused the deaths of two people. The man had previously been banned from driving for 18 months, in July 2002, for a drink-driving offence. The court heard that he had rejected offers of a place to stay for the night before deciding to drive home after an evening in the pub on 28 June last year. When he hit the VW Polo on the M73 at Tannochside it spun out of control and struck a crash barrier, rupturing the fuel tank which ignited, and the two occupants were killed. Thomas Roulston, 37, a joiner, of Machanhill, Larkhall, in Lanarkshire, admitted causing the deaths of his victims on June 28 last year by careless driving while unfit to drive through alcohol. On the night of the crash, he was estimated to have had 10 or 12 pints of strong lager along with some shots of vodka. Police found Roulston at the roadside after the crash, smelling of drink. He failed a breath test and later fell asleep in the back of a police car taking him to Coatbridge police station, in Lanarkshire. At the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, Lord Johnston deferred sentence on Roulston until next month for background reports. The maximum sentence he could now face is 10 years' imprisonment. Full story: (a) from BBC News and (b) also here from the Evening Times ____________________________
The call for funding to upgrade the Princes Highway continues following the Country Road Safety Summit, which linked better roads with fewer crashes. State Roads Opposition spokesman Don Page said speakers at the summit this month reported the country road toll had been increasing while the NSW roads budget had been decreasing. Mr Page said road upgrades were imperative and should not be continually overlooked. Full story, from Narooma News ____________________________
A drunk driver [and five other people were killed, and three others injured, when the man drove] his Audi car into a construction site in downtown areas of this Chinese national capital on Thursday morning. Driver Zhan Chuanbao, deputy general manager of Yongda Real Estate Development Co.Ltd. of Beijing, and the five of the eight workers who were working at the construction site near Beijing Planetarium were killed on the spot when the car clashed against the people and then the facilities in the construction site. Zhan was later tested to be drunk driving, with the alcohol content of his blood being 264.6 milligrams per 100 milliliter. [Source: Xinhuanet]
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CORNWALL — A number of Islanders just don't seem to understand that seat-belts save lives. Last year 16 people died in highway traffic accidents on the the Island. The Mounties said failure to wear a seat-belt was a factor in 10 of those deaths.... The Highway Safety Department said 30 per cent of Islanders don't wear seat-belts.... The penalty for failing to buckle up is a $60 fine. The Mounties ticketed 1,000 people last year. Full story, from PEI-CBC ____________________________
June has been designated Pedestrian Safety Month in Maryland, and appropriately so, as Ocean City steps up its campaign to ensure the safety of people who walk across the eight-lane, heavily traveled Coastal Highway. Pedestrian safety is a huge issue each summer for the beach resort. Pedestrians who need to cross Coastal Highway should be aware of the many obstacles to a safe crossing -- zippy scooters, view-blocking city buses and drivers -- fast drivers, inattentive drivers, aggressive drivers and sometimes impaired drivers -- who are sometimes oblivious to the presence of pedestrians trying to beat the clock before the light changes.... ...A particular problem with such a wide highway to cross is the many people who only get half-way across before the signal indicating it is safe to cross changes. They don't realize that even though the signal changed (to discourage people from starting the process) there is still time to make it the rest of the way. To address that issue, clocks that count down the seconds before the traffic signal changes to green are being placed at intersections with crosswalks, to encourage people to keep going instead of getting stuck standing on the median strip. Full story, from the Daily Times ____________________________
Two Spanish highway patrolmen were shot and killed in northern Spain today, the Interior Ministry said. Officials said they did not know who was responsible for the shooting, which occurred in Navarra province bordering on the Basque region. The police were riding motorcycles and approaching a car after observing a traffic violation when they were hit by automatic weapons fire from the vehicle, officials said. The shooting occurred in the town of Castejon. One policeman died instantly and the other later in a hospital. [Source: The Scotsman] ____________________________
Utusan Malaysia carried a report that Malays made up the most number of people killed in road accidents from January to April. Quoting Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas, the daily said that during the first four months, 1,207 Malays were killed in road accidents, followed by Chinese (420), Indians (144) and those of other races (89).... The total number of road accidents during the four months was 104,187, he said. In 2003, he said that Malaysia recorded an incidence of 4.9 deaths compared to six in Thailand, 9.1 in Indonesia, 17 in Laos and 21 in Cambodia. Uggah added that authorities were targeting to reduce the ratio to three per 10,000 registered vehicles by 2010. Full story, from The Star ____________________________
A new system warns drivers if they are approaching curves too fast As a driving enthusiast, I live for curves in the road. But for a shockingly high number of drivers, the challenge of negotiating bends, especially in rural areas, is fatal. Of the 40,000 annual traffic deaths in the United States, about 15,000 are a result of what industry officials call “run-off-the-road” crashes. People are dying when vehicles drift off path — even on straight roads — and when drivers take corners too fast. With these sobering facts in mind, I have been testing a prototype system that actually warns you when you are approaching a curve at too high a speed.... Full article, by John McCormick at the Detroit News ____________________________
Sport utility vehicles have been posting some pretty impressive numbers over the past several years. Unfortunately, some could be bad news for both your health and your bank account.... [Many people] say they drive SUVs because they feel safer in the larger, heavier and higher vehicles. But statistics don't back up that claim. Single-vehicle rollover crashes accounted for nearly 50 percent of driver deaths in SUVs in 2002, compared with 36 percent of deaths in pickups and 20 percent of deaths in cars. And the proportion of deaths involving pickup and SUV drivers is growing as the popularity of these vehicles increases.... Full article, by freelance writer Prakash Gandhi, for BankRate.com ____________________________
St. Croix -- The V.I. Office of Highway Safety's Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program will present a free commercial vehicle safety inspection and out-of-service criteria seminar from June 21 to July [sic] 28 at St. Croix Educational Complex. [Source: Virgin Islands Daily News] ____________________________
In a period of just six months nearly 1400 drivers have been fined in the county of Strathclyde alone for using their mobile phones while driving. Across Scotland a total of 3000 motorists have been stopped and fined, and traffic officers say there will be no let-up in their efforts to crackdown on the dangerous practice. In one shocking case, a truck driver was caught driving an articulated lorry past Strathclyde Police Road Policing Unit's headquarters in Helen Street, Govan - while talking on a mobile phone. In another case, a businessman tried to cross over three lanes to exit the motorway while also on his mobile. Next month the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland will launch a national campaign on mobile phone use while driving to increase awareness of the risks. Full story, from the Evening Times ____________________________
A man was arrested and charged with drunk driving after a police officer noticed him weaving on his bicycle early this morning. Hopkinsville Patrolman Clayton Sumner reported that he saw Terry Anthony Murrell, 41, at 1:44 a.m., turning from Wooldridge Road onto Canton Street. Murrell was riding in the middle of the road and did not have a headlight on his bicycle, according to the report. After noticing a strong odor of alcohol about Murrell, Sumner took a preliminary breath test. Murrell's blood-alcohol content measured 0.248 percent. In Kentucky, the level of presumed intoxication is 0.08 percent. Murrell was charged with operating a non-motor vehicle under the influence and not having lights on his bicycle. [Source: The Kentucky New Era]
DSA Comment: On May 20, we brought you the tale of a man fined $300 for being drunk in charge of a donkey cart, in South Africa, and the temptation for all of us is to find the thought of drunks on bicycles/donkeys/horses/whatever to be amusing. But, of course, there is truly a deadly side to the matter. Apart from the distress to their own families when people doing such things are killed -- and they often are killed -- there is also the distress to the drivers of the motor vehicles with which they are in collision. Feel free to smile at the comedic, mental image but please don't be tempted dismiss such incidents as being in any way trivial. ____________________________
At at the recent 2004 Institute of Public Works and Engineering Australia event, the major awards went to Wollongong City Council for a drink walking project and Tamworth City Council for a youth driver education course. Five
projects were short listed: *
None for the Road - Hurstville and Rockdale City Councils
and Kogarah Municipal Council Full story, from the Forbes Advocate ____________________________
Churches and schools are abandoning or modifying their 15-passenger vehicles. Full article, from the Detroit News. ____________________________
While this year’s soaring gas prices may deter some from long trips, millions of vacationers will be rushing to a variety of destinations, while others enjoy leisurely scenic drives. But the high gas prices should not be the only concern of those taking to the roads. Beware of drowsy drivers – and make sure you’re not one of them, says the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). More than one-half of adult drivers – some 100 million people – say they have driven drowsy in the past year, according to NSF polls. About one out of five of these drivers – 32 million people – say they have actually fallen asleep at the wheel.
Fatigue or drowsiness can occur while you’re on the road, and it’s important to recognize these warning signs:
For the full NSF article, with potentially life-saving information, click here. We also recommend that you visit the DrowsyDriving.org website. ____________________________
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The seventeenth annual International Roadcheck will take place throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico June 8-June 10. The annual Roadcheck highlights the year-round commercial vehicle [elsewhere: "heavy goods vehicles" or HGVs, and "public service vehicles" or PSVs] and driver roadside inspection program. Roadcheck is intended to draw the public's attention to the efforts of law enforcement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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June 29, 2004: New 
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* June 22, 2004: 
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June 19, 2004: Yet Another Bus
Crash -- This Time it is 
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June 15, 2004: Iraq
Police Get Tough With Drivers
June 14, 2004: Car
Accidents: Who's To Blame?
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June 10, 2004: The Isle of Man TT
Races Exact a Heavy Toll Once More, on Racers and Spectators Alike
June 9, 2004: Two 
June 9, 2004: Just Under Two
Thousand People Killed in Four Months
* June 9, 2004: Vehicle Safety Seminar in the U.S. Virgin
Islands
June 8-10, 2004: