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The main purpose of this web page is to let drivers, legislators, road safety experts, police officers, parents of young drivers, etc., have an easily accessible insight into what is happening in their own countries and elsewhere, and thereby possibly do something to help save some of the many wasted lives on roads everywhere. Page edited by Eddie Wren
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Feedback and comments are particularly welcome concerning our news pages. Please do let us know if you find this global overview of road safety issues to be helpful to you or simply tell us what you like and what you don't like. Click here to contact us.
Throughout the current week, the exec. director of Drive and Stay Alive and editor of this website has been helping Erie County Stop-DWI with a large "traffic safety seminar" but today a simulated crash went badly wrong and six people were hurt. Our full article explains in more detail what actually happened and we take this opportunity to highlight the potential dangers of crash displays in the hope that other road safety professionals, around the world, might pay maximum attention to detail if they are planning to use a similar demonstration as part of their own events. ______________________________
The traffic police will conduct an experiment today using two Zeppelin airships to enforce speed limits and identify other violations near the Golani Junction in the north. The project, funded by the National Road Safety Authority, was initiated by its chairman, Vladimir Rubin, and the commander of traffic police, Shahar Ayalon. "We opted to carry the first experiment in enforcing traffic laws with the use of a Zeppelin in the area of the Golani junction... because it has become the most dangerous road in Israel, with 10 deadly accidents and a total of 10 dead people," said the commander of traffic police in the north, Yossi Hatuki.
The operation will involve the two Zeppelins flying at a height of 200
meters, each equipped with two cameras capable of 360-degree coverage.
The cameras are capable of focusing on targets as small as the license
plates of vehicles from a distance of three kilometers. The police believe that the Zeppelin will be able to offer an effective and less expensive alternative to helicopters. [Source: Haaretz] ______________________________
death figures DURBAN: Accident rates on South Africa's roads are among the highest in the world and cost the country over R13 billion each year. About 10 000 people die, 40 000 are seriously injured and 110 000 are slightly injured in about 500 000 accidents every year. These startling statistics were presented at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Interdisciplinary Accident Research Centre (Uniarc) symposium last week by Des Myers of Phepha International, who is an associate researcher for Uniarc. Myers, who consulted the national department of transport and conducted field reports in his research, found that 95% of all accidents happened as a direct result of traffic offences related to vehicle and driver fitness and reckless, negligent and inconsiderate driver behaviour. Further analysis by Myers has shown that other main contributory factors to accidents were speed, drinking and driving, fatigue, vehicle or tyre fitness and pedestrian behaviour. Myers found that most collisions occurred at night and on weekends, with pedestrians making up almost 40% of all road trauma victims. Over 12% of all victims were children, with the most "at risk group" aged between six and twelve.... Full story, from the Cape Times
DSA Comments: According to the CIA World Fact Book, the population of South Africa is 42.7 million (July 2004 estimate) thus according to Des Myers' figures, above, the per capita road crash fatality rate is approximately 23.4 and therefore reflects the high death rates experienced in Africa as a whole. The per capita rates for 30 countries and all 50 American states may be viewed here. ______________________________
Greece is mourning [seven] children killed in a road crash — again. Such accidents are an inexplicable sacrifice and, by all means, an avoidable one. The shortcomings dogging the country’s road network are well known. It is indeed a tragedy that we are in the 21st century and Greece still lacks a modern national highway system in line with the most basic safety standards, such as clear lanes and safe median strips, things that are long considered self-evident in the more advanced European countries. The Patras-Corinth national highway was considered state of the art in the 1970s but these days it is more reminiscent of a provincial road, only more dangerous. The nightmare of the Maliakos Gulf road, where dozens of people meet their death in crashes each year, the bloodstained Asprovalta on the Thessaloniki-Kavala link and other stretches on the national highway, are notoriously dangerous for drivers. The existence of those so-called death traps proves that death by accident is not just a matter of bad luck. It is governments that should be held accountable for the high death toll, as it is they are who are responsible for building safe roads. We hope that this time promises about improving the network will be met. Until then, as a temporary measure, the traffic police should increase their presence along the most precarious points. Intimidating drivers into continuing at lower speeds is a way of averting the worst consequence of government idleness: death. The State should also take stricter action against drivers who violate safety regulations, particularly truckdrivers who are so often the cause of road bloodbaths. The problems here are familiar: overloaded vehicles that refuse to obey the brakes; trucks that move at high speeds and then need a 100-meter-plus braking span; drivers who sit more than 20 hours behind the wheel, not to mention the sense of arrogance caused by the size of their trucks. No doubt the main causes of many fatal accidents are the unacceptable condition of sections of the national highway... However, part of the blame lies with our allowing the transfer of pupils without taking additional safety measures and, of course, with our reckless driving behavior. It is no coincidence that countries with modern road infrastructure do not hesitate to sentence dangerous drivers to prison terms. [Source: Kathimerini -- Commentary] ______________________________
Justice Minister Doros Theodorou said yesterday the alarming number of road deaths this year had instigated a government decision to announce a ‘Road Safety Year’, starting this Friday. Speaking at a news conference marking the beginning of this year’s Road Safety Week, Theodorou told reporters there had been 77 fatal road accidents this year, with 83 fatalities. “For this reason, the government, aware of its responsibilities and obligations towards society, decided at a Presidential Palace meeting to announce the Road Safety Year starting on October 1, 2004 until September 30, 2005,” he said. Theodorou said the police and all governmental and non-governmental authorities would continue to co-operate to reduce the number of road accidents in Cyprus, particularly serious and fatal accidents. “(But) unfortunately, despite police measures, the aim of this goal has not yet been achieved because serious traffic violations, or oversights put down to human error, continue to be made and make up the main cause of road accidents,” he said. Full story, from the Cyprus Mail ______________________________
Firefighters from local rescue stations will be taking part in the country’s first Highway Interdependence Day Celebration on to help focus attention on highway safety. The Greenwood Hose Company in Moosic, Pa., will be presenting cut and rescue demonstrations throughout the day-long event to be held at the Lackawanna County, Pa., Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 25 from 10am to 3pm. The Highway Interdependence Day Celebration will also include a truck show competition, No Zone Trucks, truck rides, games with “drunk” goggles, child safety seat demonstrations, show trucks with interactive exhibits, drawings, prizes and more. Joey Holiday the popular trucking songwriter and singer will also be performing. For more information about the celebration, contact Sheryl Youngblood at 570-341-5712 or visit www.truckerdoc.com ______________________________
A direct mail pack has been designed to encourage brands to sign up and will be targeted at a wide range of brands from petrol forecourts to caffeine drinks and online route finders. The central message on the pack is "Better that customers come straight to you, than don't come at all".
The creative execution features a graphic series of the letter
"Z", which zigzags along a road, imitating the reactions of a
napping drive.... Full story, from Brand Republic ______________________________
By ramming a barrier into the side of a new Pontiac G6 sedan, today, General Motors will mark its 15,000th crash test since the company officially began recording them in the late 1950s. The test is one of hundreds conducted every year at the GM Proving Ground in Milford, where safety engineers validate GM's advanced safety technologies that help protect drivers and passengers in a crash. ______________________________
A school bus swerved off a narrow road and plunged into a Brazilian reservoir today, killing at least 16 children. Firefighters pulled the driver and seven other survivors from the bus, and were searching for more, spokesman Zigomar Boeira said. “According to the driver there were 43 people on board when the accident happened. The death toll will certainly rise,” Boeira said in Erechim, 620 miles south-west of Rio de Janeiro. [i.e. 19 children are still missing -- DSA]... Full story, from IOL ______________________________
Sobriety checkpoints could significantly reduce the 17,000 deaths and half-million injuries each year in [alcohol related] crashes, but police agencies aren't using them nearly as often or as effectively as they could, according to new research.... More frequent and better publicized sobriety checks can cut impaired driving fatal crashes by 20 percent, the research shows. Public awareness about checkpoints is critical to their effectiveness because it deters people from drinking and driving. Public support for checkpoints remains high, but publicity about them has been waning, according to the researchers.... View a relevant, additional article here ______________________________
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Police yesterday took to the streets in large numbers in a major crackdown on traffic offences in all districts of the island. As the number of law enforcement officers swelled throughout the night, so did the number of arrests and fines with 255 drivers charged, 15 arrested and 20 motorcycles confiscated overnight....
Many people in Cyprus argue that fines and penalties with regards to
traffic violations are not hefty enough, an issue Justice Minister Doros
Theodorou raised last week: Also discussed yesterday was the possibility of a link up between the Ministry of Justice and the media with the aim of televising traffic accidents. Theodorou stated that he would request the assistance of the owners of various media sectors for the campaign aimed at preventing traffic accidents and the creation of a traffic awareness scheme, which is expected to last a year, starting on October 1.... Full story, from the Cyprus Mail ______________________________
Theatre group, Walking Forward, will be touring secondary schools from September 27 to October 1 with their production of The Price, a hard-hitting drama that aims to encourage young people to think more seriously about road safety. [For U.S. readers, secondary schools equate to high schools, though the transition is made at the age of eleven.] Organised by Newham Council and funded by Transport for London, The Price will be performed to students in their first year of secondary school and who have just started travelling to school by themselves. The drama addresses issues of social responsibility, anti-social behaviour, pedestrian and road safety, peer pressure and the transition from primary to secondary education. It encourages the audience to take responsibility for both themselves and their friends and not to take risks when crossing roads.... Councillor June Leitch, Cabinet member for Public Realm, said: “...Youngsters entering Year 7 are already very nervous about transferring to secondary school. They try very hard to make new friends and to fit into their new environment. However, it is important that they get the message that being cool doesn’t involve taking undue risks that could injure or kill.”... Full story, from the London Borough of Newham website ______________________________
The General Directorate of Traffic will begin targeting nursery and kindergarten students today as part of its annual Back to School awareness campaign. Female directorate employees will be visiting private and government nurseries and kindergarten to teach children basic skills and road safety tips. Traffic awareness and public relations director Captain Mohammed Bin Dayna said although the children were too young to learn how to cross the road, there were still some things they needed to know.... Full story, from the Gulf Daily News ______________________________
With a State Patrol airplane overhead, a Stillwater motorcyclist hit the throttle and possibly set the informal record for the fastest speeding ticket in Minnesota history: 205 mph. On Saturday afternoon, State Patrol pilot Al Loney was flying near Wabasha, in southeastern Minnesota on the Wisconsin border, watching two motorcyclists racing along U.S. Highway 61. When one of the riders shot forward, Loney was ready with his stopwatch. He clicked it once when the motorcycle reached a white marker on the road and again a quarter-mile later. The watch read 4.39 seconds, which Loney calculated to be 205 mph. "I was in total disbelief," Loney told the St. Paul Pioneer Press for Tuesday's editions. "I had to double-check my watch because in 27 years I'd never seen anything move that fast." Several law enforcement sources told the newspaper that, although no official records are kept, it was probably the fastest ticket ever written in the state. After about three-quarters of a mile, the biker slowed to about 100 mph and let the other cycle catch up. By then Loney had radioed ahead to another state trooper, who pulled the two over soon afterward. The State Patrol officer arrested the faster rider... for reckless driving, driving without a motorcycle license -- and driving 140 miles per hour over the posted speed limit of 65 mph.... Only a handful of exotic sports cars can reach 200 mph, but many high-performance motorcycles can top 175 mph. With minor modifications, they can hit 200 mph. [On this occasion, the motorcycle was] a Honda 1000, Loney said. Full story, from WCCO ______________________________
Emergency vehicles are supposed to respond to incidents as quickly and safely as possible, but all too often, they are involved in accidents of their own. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 500 people died from accidents involving emergency vehicles in the year 2000 alone, and many more were injured. A new safety system is now being introduced to prevent such accidents. E-ViEWS involves an emergency vehicle sign designed to keep drivers out of intersections when emergency vehicles are approaching. Transponders inside emergency vehicles activate these warning signs at intersections, letting drivers know which direction an emergency vehicle is coming from. By showing drivers where the emergency vehicle is coming from, drivers don't have to wonder where the siren and flashing lights are coming from anymore - making the roads much safer. The E-ViEWS system technology, designed and developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and brought to market with the help of Siemens, could also help improve overall communication among law enforcement agencies in times of crisis. It's expected that the technology will have many more applications down the road, from intelligent transportation systems to homeland security. [Source: Siemens] ______________________________
...Indianapolis Police supervisors arrested the 29-year-old policeman for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. His blood alcohol level was 0.16, twice the legal limit.... Channel 13 has learned McComas... left a party just before 4 a.m. He reportedly refused to give up his police cruiser keys. Seconds later he slammed into the back of a mini van.... IPD Lt. Paul Ciesielski says, "He told the officers on the scene that he was dialing a cell phone and lost his attention when he hit the parked car." After back to back drunk driving incidents earlier this year involving two IPD officers, Police Chief Jerry Barker decided to crackdown on officers who drink and drive their police cruisers off duty." Chief Barker used to let off duty officers drive their cruisers with a blood-alcohol level up to .03. But he changed policy last February to "no alcohol at no time."... [The owner of the damaged mini van] believes "He deserves everything he is going to get and more." She even noticed the sticker Officer McComas put in his cruiser warning drivers about Indiana's DUI law.... Full story, from WTHR ______________________________
[The answer is that young men driving cars are 370 times more likely to be killed -- DSA addendum, see figures below] ...22 deaths in the United States [are known] to have occurred as a direct result of a football injury since 2000. And inevitably, such tragedies raise questions. Are the risks inherent in playing football worth it? Is there anything that can be done to make the sport safer? Just how dangerous is football, anyway? "It's probably safer than kids getting in a car and driving on the highway," said Dr. Frederick Mueller, who heads the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina. Statistically, anyway, there's no comparison. According to numbers compiled by Mueller's center, the death rate for football players at the high-school level last year was 0.13 per 100,000 (there were no deaths last year in college football). The death rate for male drivers between the ages of 15 and 24 years old, meanwhile, is 48.2 per 100,000, according to numbers published in 2001 by the University of Maryland Medical Center. Full story, from the Miami Herald
DSA Comments: By comparison, the national per capita death rate for the USA (2002 figures) is 14.9 per 100,000 people and this shows that young male drivers, in the 15-24 age group, are 3.23 times more likely to be killed in an auto crash than the average person -- a fact that is echoed by the next story: "Teen Driver Dangers". In addition, dividing the risk factor for young men driving (48.2) by the factor for deaths in American football (0.13) provides the fact that driving is 370 times more dangerous for young men than playing the sport. ______________________________
The latest study from the Iowa Department of Transportation shows nearly 364,000 licensed drivers ages 15 to 24 accounted for 27.5 percent of fatal crashes and were involved in 34,132 crashes in 2000. That's nearly twice as many crashes than the next highest age groups of 25- to 34-year-olds and 35- to 44-year-olds, which had about 19,000 crashes for 333,170 drivers and 18,807 crashes among 411,778 drivers, respectively. And it is why young drivers pay nearly three times more than older drivers for insurance.... Full story, from the Iowa City Press Citizen ______________________________
THONON-LES-BAINS, France (AFP) - A Swiss woman who drove her car into a French police van, killing two officers, while distracted by sending a mobile telephone text message was sentenced Monday to two and half years in prison by a court here. The judge found that Angela Shala, 33, was criminally negligent in causing the June 2003 accident, in which she was speeding at 170 kilometres (105 miles) per hour while tapping away on her mobile in a panicked effort to locate a friend's car she had been following. Two other police officers were injured when Shala's car slammed into their vehicle on an Alpine motorway, causing it to crash and roll over twice. The Swiss woman was also fined EUR 1,500 (USD 1,800) and banned from driving for five years. [Source: AFP, via Expatica] ______________________________
British millionaire drivers arrested in high-speed rally on French motorway SENLIS, France, Sept 20 (AFP) - Police broke up an illegal weekend rally by British millionaires along French motorways by confiscating driving licences from some owners of around 60 high-end sportscars which had been speeding along at over 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour, officers said Monday. Four Britons were stripped of their licences on the spot after police, called by alarmed motorists, stopped them at a toll booth northwest of Paris and calculated their speeds from the timestamps on their tickets. One officer, Lieutenant Stephane Tourtin, said the expensive vehicles - mainly Ferraris, Porsches, Bentleys and Lamborghinis - had been racing each other since arriving across the English Channel on their way to Monaco. Most of the other drivers managed to escape the dozen police sent to intercept them. A French court in Senlis ordered the four who were caught to pay fines of EUR 2,000 (USD 2,400) each and to appear again to answer charges of putting others in danger. The top speed limit on French motorways is 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour. French authorities have taken an increasingly strict stance with speeders in the past two years in a bid to crack down on road deaths, much to the chagrin of some British sportscar owners keen to test the limits of their vehicles on the good-quality roads. Last year, a group of British millionaires and celebrities who cough up GBP 10,000 (EUR 15,000, USD 18,000) each year to take part in a cross-border race called the Gumball Rally tore across France and Spain in a flashy contest of cars and drinking. [Source: AFP, via Expatica]
DSA Comments: Maybe some of these idiots need to read the news more. It is a mere five days since the mainly-British drivers of seventy fast cars had their vehicles impounded in Spain for exactly the same thing. It makes one wonder if any of them (or all of them) were stupid enough to be involved in this second incident, too. And that's to say nothing of them getting the British a bad name. If these people can afford such cars and such trips, they could easily afford track time so they could race all they wish, without risking other people's lives in the process. [Details of the first incident, here] ______________________________
...There are nearly 10,000 deaths each year in the U.S. from side impact crashes. New research shows you are three-times more likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury in a side-impact crash than in a head-on collision.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently completed its first-ever test with side-impact crashes. Ten out of 13 cars rated “poor.” Only two cars, those with optional side airbags scored a “good” rating. When the airbags were removed, both cars failed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to announce new side-impact standards in the next few months. All vehicles will have to pass a new government crash test.
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The National Safety Council has called on the Government to change its attitude to road safety funding and recognise such funding saves money for the Exchequer in other areas. Council chairman Eddie Shaw said: "Both the benefits and the cost [of road safety initiatives] should be evaluated and should be set out in the annual budget statement. "If that is done, it then becomes clear that road safety is a sound financial investment on behalf of the community. Money is saved and needless tragedies are avoided." So far this year 287 people have died in road accidents in Ireland, up 40 on the figures for the same period last year. [Source: IOL] ______________________________
New Delhi's killer roads claim five lives every 24 hours, according to a new study carried out by Delhi Police. The shocking figure is contained in an in-depth report prepared by the traffic police, which analysed hundreds of cases of major and minor accidents that come to the police's notice every day. The reports said 1,198 fatal accidents were recorded across the capital in which 1,233 people were killed till Aug 31 this year -- higher than last year's figures. Pedestrians (602) and cyclists (122) died in the largest numbers in these fatal accidents. Police officers blamed rash and negligent driving as the main reason behind the growing fatalities. An officer said: "This year traffic police have taken action against 90,214 motorists who were charged with over-speeding, while 1,877 people faced penalties on charges of drunken driving."... In 2003, Delhi witnessed 1,642 accidents in which 1,710 people lost their lives.... Full story, from India News, via New Kerala ______________________________
A bus, a lorry and a car collided in southern Iran on Sunday, killing 18 people, police said.... Iran has one of the highest road fatality rates in the world, averaging five deaths every two hours. Full story, from Reuters AlertNet Foundation ______________________________
Lorry drivers are the focus of a campaign to cut road deaths in Cumbria after figures revealed they are involved in nearly half of all fatal crashes in the county. Up to 100 police officers, both uniformed and covert, took to the roads this month and warned drivers would be ticketed if they were [caught] speeding. Sergeant Mick Mills, leading the crackdown, said they were concentrating on the main routes in the county, including the M6, A66 and A69 in north Cumbria. Marked and unmarked cars will follow HGVs [i.e. Heavy Goods Vehicles] and take action against those caught speeding. They will not stop drivers, he said, but send Fixed Penalty tickets through the post. “For people who drive for a living, getting a ticket is a big deterrent against speeding again,” he said. “If they persist, they will be banned from driving.”
He said the month-long campaign had been launched to combat Cumbria’s
high accident rate, which is the second worst in the UK. Fifty-four
people died last year and 393 were seriously injured in 1,549 crashes. “Speed is a major factor in most accidents and with HGVs the collisions can have horrific consequences. Think of the impact of a crash with a 44-tonne lorry,” Sgt Mills said. “In three years, there have been 50 fatal collisions involving HGVs. The driver has not always been the cause, but some common factors in HGV collisions have been fatigue and the use of mobile phones.”... All of the force’s 100 Mobile Support Group officers are involved in the campaign, Sgt Mills said, with five dedicated to it full-time. The others will pay attention to lorry drivers while performing their routine duties.... Full story, from the Cumbria News and Star ______________________________
VICTORIAN Premier Steve Bracks has banished drunk-driving MP Carolyn Hirsh from the Labor Party after she was caught driving without a licence. Ms Hirsh, 67, had her licence suspended when she was caught driving with a blood alcohol reading of 0.07 in June after a party to mark the end of the Autumn session of parliament. She stepped down from the parliamentary drugs and crime prevention committee after the incident and said she had been a "bloody idiot". But about midday yesterday she had another run-in with the law when police pulled her over and found she was driving without a licence and driving a car without current registration on display. Mr Bracks said he spoke to Ms Hirsh on the phone yesterday and told her she was no longer welcome in the parliamentary Labor Party after her actions, which he described as "not only regrettable but just damn stupid". [Source: NEWS.com] ______________________________
When he joined the Hopewell Township Police Department in 1995, most people dismissed Homer D. Copper as a dummy who would never fulfill his obligation to serve and protect. But nearly 10 years later, the mannequin dressed in a police uniform has proved exceptional at his job - fooling speeders into thinking they're approaching a patrol car with a radar-equipped officer on duty. During his rather stellar career, which includes being kidnapped in the line of duty, the ersatz officer has become one of the township's most popular men in blue, routinely receiving bags of doughnuts and other trinkets from enamored residents passing his patrol car. "I hired him," bragged Hopewell Township Police Chief Mike Chipowsky. "He's a good officer. He never complains. He always shows up on time and he never takes a sick day." Monday through Friday the life-sized dummy can be on various local roads, his sightless eyes trained on speeders. "His job is to slow traffic, which he does well," Chipowsky said. "People see the car, they see the hat and they slow down." "Most towns use speed signs or empty patrol cars to get drivers to slow down," said Ewing Police Chief Robert Coulton, president of the Mercer County Chiefs of Police Association. "I don't know of any other town besides Hopewell that uses a mannequin." Copper's presence behind the wheel isn't necessarily more effective than the other methods, said Anthony Parenti, president of the New Jersey Police Traffic Officers Association. "Quite a few towns in the state use them, but an empty car works just as well," Parenti said. Chipowsky said the radar-activated speed signs used in the township are effective at slowing speeders, but they lack the appeal of Copper.... Full story, from NJ.com ______________________________
The Minister for Roads and Transport, Hon. Richard Anane, has revealed that between January and June, this year over 700 persons were killed in road traffic accidents alone, while more than 4,000 others sustained various degrees of injury. This figure, he said, is unacceptable, and can be reduced drastically, if road users would stay focused and government institutions whose roles are to implement its vision and objectives for road safety are adequately equipped. This was contained in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Hon. Emmanuel Adjei-Boye, at the opening of a two-day workshop for 30 participants on "Road Safety Management Practices" here on Tuesday, this week. The minister contended that since road accidents are largely caused by human factors and not by any act of God, 90% of them are preventable. He therefore urged participants to appreciate the scale and magnitude of the problem at hand and resolve to address them at every level.... The minister also hinted that [by December, this year,] a comprehensive Road Traffic Bill, with considerable provisions for road safety, would have been enacted, hoping also that the decline of fatality rate from 31 deaths per 10,000 vehicles in 2001 to 27 in 2003 would be further reduced to a single digit.... Full story, from allAfrica ______________________________
Police officers will no longer attend the scene of a minor road accident it was confirmed today. Research carried out by the Police Service's anti-bureaucracy task force recently established that officers were spending too much time on attending slight collisions.
Last year alone police
in Northern Ireland were called to more than 25,000 collisions, the
majority of which were minor. Under the new system, those involved in a 'non-attendance' collision will be issued with a Collision Care Pack by post or e-mail.... Full story, from 4NI
DSA Comments: Given the financial pressure and limited resources on police forces these days, decisions such as this can hardly be surprising. But, of course, it is inevitable that occasional incidents will not now be attended that should have been, and either an obstruction of the road will cause another collision or, worse, somebody will be killed while trying to remove a vehicle, clear debris, help another person, etc. 'Protection of the scene' has always been a key role of British police officers attending a crash and neglecting this task is highly questionable. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ______________________________
A record 80 percent of Americans wear their safety belts while driving or riding in their vehicles, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced today during a visit to Seattle. The Secretary said the number of Americans wearing their safety belts has increased dramatically over the past few years. Drive and Stay Alive has the full press release, here, but we also asked two questions of the US DOT, for clarity: 1. Was the wearing rate obtained from crash data or from actual observations of moving vehicles? 2. What was the variation in usage rates between front-seat and rear-seat occupants? (Click the link to view the results) ______________________________
Today is the start of this year's European Mobility Week. Mobility Week is a week-long event, first launched by the European Commission in 2002, to promote sustainable modes of transport in cities. The week will culminate with 'Car Free Day' on 22 September. This year's theme is "Safe Streets for Children," and over 1,000 cities across the European Union will participate. The Commission launches the week with a high-level conference in Brussels, called “Smart Moves for Sustainable Mobility” focusing on how to give people options to change their behaviour to more sustainable means of transport.... There are 45,000 road deaths per year in Europe, a number which governments all over Europe are trying hard to reduce. 60,000 deaths are caused by air pollution. In both cases, children are the most vulnerable, in particular, children living in urban areas. European Mobility Week focuses minds on identifying lasting solutions for lasting change. Many cities and towns all over Europe already work hard on promoting alternative means of transport: they are providing good and efficient public transport, they offer incentives to citizens that go for environmentally friendly cars, they try to give the city centre back to pedestrians, etc.... Full press release, from Europa ______________________________
Running red lights is leading cause of urban car crashes in the U.S., a report says While statistics have shown that traffic-related fatalities are decreasing nationwide, the number of deaths that have occurred because a motorist ran a red light is on the rise, officials said. Fatal incidents involving red light running in the U.S. increased from 838 in 2002 to 848 in 2003; and red-light running deaths from those incidents climbed from 921 to 934, according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Running red lights is the leading cause of urban car crashes in the United States, representing 22 percent of the total number of urban car crashes, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Full story, from the Daily Press, CA ______________________________
The year still has three and a half months to go but already 127 people have died in fatal accidents in Trinidad and Tobago. That is far too high a figure for a small country with a small population. Whatever the high number of vehicles on the road people die on the roads because of a combination of human carelessness and irresponsibility.... The irresponsibility... also extends to the death traps that many Trinidadians drive without thinking of the possible consequences of smooth tyres, defective brakes, inadequate lights, so many people behaving as if they live in their own little protected world in which the possibility of anything going awry just does not exist... Read the full, good op-ed, from the Trinidad and Tobago Express ______________________________
...Police spokesman Mesake Koroi said "We need to make people aware of the need for road safety." The safety operation will continue indefinitely. The national road death toll currently stands at 49, compared with 46 for the same period last year. Last year, there were [a total of] 69 road deaths with speeding and drink driving identified as two major causes of road accidents and deaths. Full story, from the Fiji Times ______________________________
DHAKA -- Around 10,000 people in Bangladesh are killed every year in road accidents, which costs the country 40billion taka (660 million US dollars) or two percent of GDP in damaged property yearly. A high-level official blamed the rising trend of road accidents on weak enforcement of traffic rules and issuance of forged driving licenses by a section of corrupt officials and employees, The News Nation reported Thursday. Communications Minister Nazmul Huda was quoted as saying that the government had taken tough measures to control irregularities in concerned departments and minimize traffic accidents. [Source: Xinhuanet] ______________________________
The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today proposed a new safety standard to warn the driver when a tire is significantly under-inflated. _____________________________
A new road safety plan is in the pipeline for West Lothian. Councillor Jim Swan, community safety committee convener, said: "During the period of the current plan, national targets for reducing fatal and serious accidents by 40 per cent have been achieved in West Lothian. A new road safety plan is being developed to try and ensure that the downward trend is sustained. "Our current road safety plan was published four years ago. We need to review the document to identify and address current road safety issues." Safer routes to school and speed reduction are the two main initiatives of the current road safety plan. Full story, from The Scotsman ______________________________
Iveco SpA and Delphi Corp. are teaming up to showcase advanced safety technologies at next week's 60th International Motor Show (IAA) for Commercial Vehicles held in Hanover, Germany. Iveco and Delphi have outfitted two Iveco trucks with technologies aimed at helping to keep the truck driver, passengers and other roadway users safe. The Iveco Daily and Iveco Stralis will each showcase numerous Iveco and Delphi current, future and concept safety products that help detect, prevent and, if necessary, minimize the impact of an accident. Some of the products on display during the IAA include headway alert, pre-crash warning, night vision, back-up aid, side alert, lane departure warning and driver state monitoring. Delphi will also have a separate safety display truck at its own stand. Several of the safety products on the vehicles are operable and show visitors will be able to experience the technologies as if they were on the road. [Source: Delphi Corporation] ______________________________
The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seatbelts) Regulations regarding children and infants has been in force since 1 January. Are parents abiding by this new regulation? Do parents know that children and infants are at risk if they are not well-restrained in the car? Children and infants are dependent on adults who are therefore responsible for making sure that all children and infants travelling in a car are safe. Statistics state that last year some 317 vehicle passengers were injured in traffic accidents. At least 23 of these passengers were children aged under 10 years, three of whom suffered serious injuries. The use of a restraint system on children can reduce this risk. Using a child car seat is the best protection you can give your child when travelling by car. A child car seat can reduce the risk of a fatal accident or that of severe injuries. When choosing a car seat, there are important general guidelines to follow in order to ensure your child’s safety. Those guidelines are in the full article, from the Malta Independent ______________________________
Concerns
over the death toll on the roads have stirred government officials up to
the highest level, with President Tassos Papadopoulos instructing a
special meeting with top representatives today on how to tackle the
problem. Full article, from the Cyprus Mail
DSA Comment: The Minister's comments about punishments for potentially lethal offences being excessively lenient will be echoed by many road safety professionals and police officers in many other countries, too. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ______________________________
Drivers talking on their mobiles without hands-free set, parking in breach of rules, and over-speeding on Bulgarian roads will pay hefty fines, according to the latest amendments in the Road Traffic Act. Police will fine drivers with 40 levs [US $25] for talking on GSM and irregular parking, and with 70 levs for driving with over-speed. If stopped twice for driving with excess speed the persons behind the wheel will be fined with 150 levs. The high number of accidents, caused mainly by excess speeding or irregular street crossing, prompted the tough measures concerning road traffic in Bulgaria. More than half of all accidents are caused by over-speed, nearly 600 people have been killed on Bulgarian roads. Pedestrians are also fined with 40 levs if they cross streets and roads irregularly. [Source: Novinite] ______________________________
...A signboard cautions ‘drive slow accident prone area’.... The last major accident at Namling Brak, in June 1998, claimed 58 lives. During the construction of the east west highway Namling was the most difficult area. Old timers say that at one time 240 workers were buried alive in a mud slide during construction. The lateral route finally opened in early 80s, 20 years after its construction started.... A road safety inspector gets in as the bus begins to ascend Thrumshingla. He looks around with an air of authority and mentally makes a count of the passengers. Not overloaded.... Full article, from Kuensel ______________________________
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A regulators' proposal would require new cars to alert drivers when a tire is under-inflated.... Under the proposal from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the system must be able to detect when any of the vehicle's four tires is more than 25 percent under-inflated, and it must alert the driver to the problem by lighting a dashboard warning light. The system must also warn the driver when the system itself is not functioning properly.... The NHTSA will accept public comment on the proposed rule for the next 60 days. Full story, from CNN Money ______________________________
They were promised an "unforgettable adventure" but on Monday the mainly British owners of 70 high performance cars who entered a Cannonball Run competition across Europe were desperately trying to get their vehicles back from the Spanish police.
[Source: The Guardian, Madrid] [Details of a second incident here -- this time in France, on September 20] ______________________________
BEIJING -- Nearly 68,000 people died on China's roads in the first eight months of the year and more than 300,000 were injured, state press said Tuesday.... Although the number of accidents -- 340,000 -- were down by 24 percent from the same period last year, the number of fatalities was 2.7 percent or 1,805 deaths higher, the report said. The Asian Development Bank warned in July that if no action was taken to change the trend Chinese road accidents could kill more than 200,000 people a year by 2010, while the number of injured could double to one million annually. Last year, 104,000 people died in traffic accidents in China, or 285 every day, according to government statistics. China accounts for about 15 percent of traffic deaths worldwide although it has just more than two percent of the world's vehicles. [Source: The Turkish Press] ______________________________
Huangpu District police have decided to equip every traffic police officer in the district with a digital recorder they must carry on the beat to tape them every time they issue a traffic ticket. District police officials said the audio recorders have been used on a trail basis with several officers for some time and the results have been impressive enough to expand the program. Officers say the small device, which they call "the third eye," will better protect their rights in processing traffic infractions. "Traffic police officers are required to be more strict in catching up with and punishing traffic violators," said a district police official, surnamed Li. "Accordingly, they need a reliable witness to protect them if a violator accuses them of misuse of power or raises other disputes."... "The pen recorder also pushes the officers to perform at a high standard on the beat such as talking in standard Mandarin as required by the professional code," said police officer surnamed Tong. Full article, from the China Daily ______________________________
ISLAMABAD: Traffic rules and laws are violated in Pakistan with impunity. Most of the road accidents that occur, including fatal ones, are result of traffic law violations. Even otherwise, if no accident takes place still driving on roads in Pakistan is a stressful job because most of the drivers are least bothered about observing rules. Analysts say, as a matter of fact, reckless driving, jam-packed vehicles, ill-trained drivers, lust for earning more money by overloading commuters, out-lived vehicles mostly owned by sets of elite class; flabbiness by those responsible to check the plying buses, coasters, vans, wagons and even cars, non-implementation of traffic rules by the authorities concerned with multiple identical critical aspects like rampant corruption backed by the vile of pecuniary frustration are deemed to be the root causes of almost all the road accidents, which have, in a way, become a routine. Plenty more detail in the full article, from the Pakistan Times ______________________________
Hallelujah! Apparently, there is some hope in the fight against drinking and driving. I’m not sure if you ever find yourself feeling the way I often do, but sometimes it seems like all the huffing and puffing about people who drink and drive is just that -- a lot of hot air.
Our province and our country talks about tougher laws to end the
preventable carnage these idiots cause on our roads, but then we see
court sentences that belie those so-called strengthened ideals. Well, last week, there were some glimmers of hope that maybe, just maybe, we as a society are ready to send a tougher message that enough is enough!... The first piece of good news was word that the Alberta government plans to seek indefinite prison terms for “chronic” repeat offenders. However, rather than just doing that if they are caught re-offending, the plan will only seek such terms if they injure or kill someone. It’s a start, but I continue to maintain there is little difference between the drunk driver who injures or kills and the one who gets home safe --the one who makes it home just happened to get lucky.... Full op-ed, by Darry Mills, from the Cochrane Times ______________________________
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Transportation Safety Board said today that State governments can do more to ensure the safety of travelers on their highways and waterways. The Board updated its list of Most Wanted Safety Improvements by individual States, noting those instances where States have so far failed to implement the suggested safety enhancements. ______________________________
BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 14 -- At least seven people were killed on Monday night in a traffic accident involving an army truck and two other vehicles in the Misiones province, northeastern Argentina, police said.... The military truck rammed into the back of a private car which then was hit by a Peugeot outside the headquarters of Mountain Infantry Regiment 9 on a road to Puerto Iguazu.... [Source: Xinhuanet] ______________________________
Because of high humidity & temperature, brake fluids have a safe working life span as short as just two years. Even though this report is geographically focussed, it covers a much-neglected safety topic and should be read by all drivers. If desert countries aren't exempt from the problems caused by humidity, nobody is! ______________________________
This is a lengthy (eleven-page) and important document that outlines the latest advances in a wide range of driver, motorcyclist, bicyclist and pedestrian safety issues in Britain -- one of the two, long-term top countries for road safety in the world. It includes a wide range of topical issues such as speeding, cell phones and driving, drunk driving, the design of vehicles to maximize pedestrian safety, and so on. ______________________________
Bangkok, Sep 13 : Police here have arrested 30 motorists suspected of taking part in illegal races in this Thai capital city. The detainees were among some 500 illegal road racers that fanned out along a main road in downtown Bangkok at 3.00 a.m. Sunday morning, the local media reported Monday. The motorists, aged between 14 and 27, raced through the road with engines roaring, running red lights and even throwing bricks into a traffic police booth. The local police station mobilised 50 officers and volunteers to capture the offenders, arresting only 30 of them after an almost four-hour effort.
"It's very hard to crack down on them, because we're
outnumbered," The Nation newspaper quoted a police officer as
saying.... [Source: New Kerala] ______________________________
The Bolivian police announced Sunday that at lease 38 people were killed and 25 wounded in a serious traffic accident Saturday in the south of the country, said reports from the Bolivian administrative capital of La Paz. The tragedy occurred when an overloaded bus went out of control on the road connecting Potosi with Tarija.... It plunged into a valley of 300 meters [i.e. almost 1,000 feet] deep beside the road. Preliminary investigation showed that overload, speeding and foggy weather were major factors leading to the accident. [Source: Xinhuanet] ______________________________
A shocking car crash that killed four people in Perth yesterday has triggered calls for a night curfew for young drivers to prevent senseless deaths. Two adults and two teenagers died, and another teenager was critically injured, when a car driven by a P-plater collided with a van in the early hours of yesterday morning in the outer suburbs.... Road safety groups have called for an urgent review of legislation governing young drivers and asked state and federal governments to adopt curfews..... In Victoria in June a head-on crash killed five people after a 17-year-old learner driver collided with a truck on the Midland highway, north of Melbourne. The day after the accident, a federal parliamentary committee into road safety released a report calling for greater restrictions on learner drivers. In South Australia in June, police called for restriction on young drivers' use of high powered cars after a series of fatalities.... Full story, from The Australian
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Chaos and accidents on the roads of Dar es Salaam the country‘s commercial metropolis are caused mainly by ignorance of traffic regulations, indifference to the regulations on the part of those who know them, narrowness of roads and consistent increase in the number of vehicles. The Sunday Observer has established that whereas the blame for the problem is usually heaped on motorists, pedestrians and other road users contribute substantially to the problem, too. Many motorists ignore zebra crossings, at which they are reluctant to stop their vehicles temporarily, to facilitate passage of pedestrians from one side of a road to another.... Full story, from the Sunday Observer, via IPP Media [DSA comment: This lengthy article focuses primarily on pedestrian crossings.] ______________________________
Safe streets for children will be the hot topic of the 2004 European Mobility week which will take place between the 16-22 September. The objective is to reduce road safety risks for children in cities. Cities are key players in providing safe routes to schools or to playgrounds. Safe streets for children are a necessary condition for sustainable mobility for children. Children will only be allowed to go out on foot or take their bikes, if their parents can trust them to come home safe and sound. Thirty countries are involved in this project so far, including several from other continents. The web site of the European Mobility Week ______________________________
Some parents continue to put their own children’s lives at risk, a recent survey by South Yorkshire Police shows. Vehicle safety restraints for children are not being used enough and are also being incorrectly fitted, according to results described as “alarming”. Out of 607 child passengers checked on 28 August, at Catcliffe, 54 -- almost 9% -- had no form of restraint whatsoever. “It is alarming to see such a high number of children still being put at risk of serious injury or death,” said PC John Scruby, Road Policing Group. “In addition nine children were sitting freely on the laps of an adult, a potentially dangerous habit that must be discouraged.” National surveys suggest that around 70% of child seats are unsafe. On this occasion a staggering 91% were found to be either incorrectly fitted or unsuitable. In July 1997 a similar survey was carried out at Crystal Peaks shopping centre when 1000 passengers were checked. Although some 15% of children had no form of restraint at all the results from both surveys suggest there has been no change in the habit of allowing children to travel in the front of vehicles - totalling about 20% of passengers. Another recent police survey... suggested some 5,000 children in South Yorkshire are failing to belt up in the car. During the event, which placed school children in mock up scenarios to educate them on road safety, more than half of the pupils admitted not wearing seatbelts, particularly on short journeys. Source: South Yorkshire Police ______________________________
Prevention of Road Accidents (PORA) a local Non-Government Organisation (NGO) has expressed concern over the ascendancy of the number of deaths on [the] roads and highways, attributing it to inefficiency on the part of the stakeholders in the road transport and safety sector.... The executive director of PORA, Mr Paul Attabra, who was speaking to the ADM yesterday in Accra said the causes of road accidents in the Ghanaian society "are not being sampled and thoroughly surveyed."... A good transport system, he said, is made up of the driver, road, vehicle, and motor traffic regulatory bodies among others. "But when an accident occurs, society often blames the driver, the vehicle or the road, forgetting about the others including the regulatory agencies," he said.... Full story, from the Accra Daily Mail ______________________________
Death seems to be increasingly stalking walkers on the roads [of Chennai], if statistics are a pointer. Last year, the number of pedestrians who died due to accidents was in fact more than two-wheeler riders involved in fatal accidents, data available with the city traffic police shows. This year, they are a close second. Of the 388 people who died in various road accidents in the city till August, 132 are pedestrians while 154 are two-wheeler riders. Last year, pedestrians accounted for 120 of the 567 deaths reported in accidents, while 117 were two wheeler riders. But, in the previous years, the casualty involving walkers was marginal. The growing number of pedestrian fatality is due to the fault of the drivers lack of proper training, defective vision or poor health, over-speeding, rash and drunken driving, according to analysis made by the police based on the statistics. The data also shows that out of the 154 two-wheeler riders who have lost their lives so far this year, 148 were not wearing helmets. Another area of concern for the city traffic police is that a significant number of accident victims die either while being taken to hospital or after being taken there for want of 'proper medical care'.... Full story, from News Today, South India ______________________________
The number of children ages 8 to 15 killed in car accidents while not inside the vehicles involved increased by 6.5 percent last year, to 392, according to a report this summer by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Many of them were walking on the street or riding bicycles.... Older children are also at risk, officials said.... Next month, the maximum fine for drivers who fail to stop for a school bus with flashing lights will go from $500 to $1,000. Another new state law will set a minimum $65 fine for anyone who does not stop for a pedestrian at a crosswalk. It will also remove a requirement that police officers appear in court when drivers challenge such a ticket, which officials said made it harder to enforce the law. ... Full story, from the Washington Post (subscription) ______________________________
Scottish police cars, fire engines and ambulances may soon have small grooves scored into their windscreens in an innovative attempt to cut road accident rates. The award-winning system, being launched in Edinburgh this month, is touted by its manufacturers as a simple way to help improve visibility and reduce the chance of an accident. The so-called Safety Groove is ground into the windscreen, just above the wipers and out of the driver’s field of vision. The 0.3mm deep groove cleans the rubber wiper blades every time they pass over it, keeping the windscreen free of dirt and grime. The system, widely used by the emergency services in Scandinavia, where it was invented, is also attracting interest from public transport firms and companies such as the Royal Mail.... Lothian and Borders Police and Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade are looking closely at the groove’s safety record.... Manufacturers say that as well as improving visibility, the groove means motorists use less screenwash, and that it prevents squeaky wiper blades. Jonathan Anderton-Tyers, director of Farseer Trading, whose company has offices in Finland and Edinburgh, said: "...It is so accepted in Finland that they have been applying the system to police cars, ambulances and virtually all taxis since 1985. "It just seemed like such a ridiculous situation that no-one here was aware of this, especially with the Scottish weather. A significant number of accidents have visibility as a factor, and this system without a doubt addresses that problem.".... The Safety Groove, which costs £35 (U.S. $63) to fit, has received plaudits in Finland, where it has received awards from insurance firms, safety groups and the Traffic Institute of Finland. It has been recognised at the International Invention Show in Brussels and been endorsed by Finnish pro rally driver Pentti Airikkala.... Full story, from The Scotsman ______________________________
NEW YORK -- A firefighter became the latest member of the department arrested on a drunken-driving charge after police pulled him over for a broken tail light early Thursday.... Dozens of firefighters have been arrested on drunken-driving charges this year and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said in June that the department would examine stiffening the penalties for driving drunk while off duty. Full story, from Newsday ______________________________
In addition to thinking how swell we look behind the wheel, it would do us all well to remember that this driving business is potentially fatal. Along those lines, the [Florida] Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has assembled the latest facts and figures related to crashes. Some are encouraging. Most are sobering. Here are excerpts from the 2003 Florida Crash Statistics Report: • The fatality rate fell to what the department calls "a new historic low" of 1.7 deaths per 100 million miles of travel. • The number of traffic crashes reported and investigated dropped by 2.9 percent. • The number of crash-related injuries dropped by 3.5 percent. • Still, 3,179 people died in Florida as a result of traffic crashes. • Thirty-five percent of those fatalities were alcohol-related. • Sixty percent of drivers and passengers killed were not wearing seat belts. • Seventy percent of the children ages 4 to 17 who were killed in traffic crashes were not using safety equipment. The report is a big one, with all sorts of county-by-county breakdowns. Look under "Statistics and Studies" on the Highway Safety Web site, www.hsmv.state.fl.us, or call 488-4300. [Source: Ron Hartung, at the Tallahassee Democrat] ______________________________
A black joke spreading among drivers in China states that when you are unfortunate enough to knock someone down, the first thing you should do is to ask how much money they make each month. If the sum is too large, you had better get back behind the wheel and finish them off, since you will pay less compensation if they die.... China's new Traffic Law, issued in May, has aroused arguments nationwide between drivers and pedestrians. One important principle which became a focus of heated discussion was that, when conflicts between car drivers and pedestrians arise, because the latter are more vulnerable they deserve greater protection from the law. Although it is difficult to really object to such a humane principle, the new regulations guided by have already started to cause problems.... According to the new Traffic Law, drivers are obliged to pay compensation to pedestrians in the case of injury or death, even if the accident is caused by the latter's wrongdoing, such as jaywalking.... A story spread widely on the Internet warned car drivers that there were people hidden at some street corners who would suddenly jump out in the path of passing cars to cause minor "accidents" in order to receive compensation. Drivers insist such phenomena are quite common on suburban highways. There is even a saying that goes: "Go to the super-highway if you want to be rich."... Previously, it was commonly agreed that the compensation due for a traffic death is 100,000 yuan (US$12,000) per person, but the new law has increased the amount to 300,000 yuan (US$36,000). In the case of injuries, the new law has abolished the limitation on compensation for the victim's lost earnings. Previously, the upper limit for such losses were 2,000 yuan per month. Now as long as the injured person can produce proof of his monthly earnings, the driver has to pay the sum in full.... None of these issues would pose really serious problems if an efficient insurance system existed. Automobile insurance is compulsory in China. But even though the law has increased the obligation on drivers, insurance companies have refused to cover the extra liability.... Full story, from the Shanghai Star ______________________________
In the first half of this year, the city [of Shanghai] had altogether 22,247 accidents, in which 757 people died and 6,447 people were injured. The direct economic losses amounted to 156 million yuan (US$18.80 million). Of these, traffic accidents caused by inexperienced drivers totalled 8,486. Although the overall figure has fallen by 18.32 per cent over same period last year, the death toll, 237 people altogether, climbed by 54.9 per cent. Of the 713 traffic accidents which involved death during the period, half were caused by new drivers.... Local residents seeking a nickname for these new drivers have started to call them "street killers".... Currently the restrictions imposed upon the city's novice drivers are very limited. They are simply required to paste an "intern" label on their cars for at least one year.... In the opinion of Sun Guofu, an official with the Shanghai Traffic Police, solving the problem depends less on increasing the restrictions on new drivers than on enhancing the standard of driving training. "The driving schools should ensure that each of their trainees who gains a licence is fully capable of driving on the roads, but the real situation as it exists now is that some turn out to be incompetent 'street killers'," he said.... Tian Tian, a local journalist, had [an] absurd experience. Two months ago she entered a driving school which looked formal from the outside. According to the city regulations, every trainee should swipe an IC card when entering the class to ensure that they have spent enough time in the school to receive proper training. But Tian didn't receive the card at all, because the school arranged for a person to swipe the card on their behalf. "In less than a week, the information on my card showed that the time I had spent taking the courses was already sufficient to take a driving test," she said.... Although Tian has now got her licence, after taking some "easy courses", she said that without an experienced driver at her side, she still wouldn't dare to drive at all. But not all new drivers would be as cautious as her. The shocking tally of accidents they cause is iron proof of that. Fortunately, the local authorities are now determined to crack down on sub-standard training schools. An official examination has been underway on the city's 126 training schools since September 1. At the same time, a grading of the city's 9,000 training teachers will be made. Those who rank bottom twice in a year will be dismissed from their posts. From next month, stricter driving tests will also be introduced.... Full story, from the Shanghai Star ______________________________
New trauma policies have been launched by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons which it believes could save up to 600 road-related deaths in New Zealand and Australia each year. The college is calling on the governments of both countries to legislate that all vehicles be fitted with central high-mounted rear brake lights* at the time of registration, and that all new vehicles be fitted with dual front and side impact air bags. "Research has shown that central high-mounted rear brake lights can reduce rear-end collisions by up to 50 per cent as well as the associated injuries and costs. "Similarly, research into airbags suggest up to 60 per cent less harm to occupants of those vehicles where some airbags are fitted," college president Anne Kolbe said in a statement.... Road tolls in both countries had steadily declined over the past 30 years thanks to laws enforcing speed limits and the wearing of seat belts and helmets. However, the tolls had reached a plateau over the past six or seven years, she said.... The college was also working with orthopaedic surgeons to target road trauma prevention and to improve care for trauma patients. Full story, from STUFF Glossary Note: Because of a slight difference in terminology, an additional brake light of the aforementioned type is known in Britain as a Central High-Mounted Stop Light, or CHiMSeL (so presumably the low-mounted additional brake light on certain types of vehicle is a CLoMSeL). ______________________________
He had been drinking with friends and was found to have 132 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood [i.e. a BAC of 0.132%]. The legal limit is 80.... Defence counsel Paul Wicks said that the Land Transport Safety Authority was producing a series of educational films for schools and his client had agreed to take part. The programmes will focus on male drivers and speed. Full story, from the New Zealand Herald ______________________________
Algiers - At least 11 people were killed and 34 injured on Wednesday when a truck collided with a bus and another vehicle on a national highway 50km south of the capital Algiers, authorities said.... Thousands of Algerians are killed in road accidents each year, with 349 deaths and more than 4 700 injuries in August. Authorities are now tightening rules for traffic-related offences. [Source: IOL] ______________________________
Leaders in roadworthy vehicle testing, AA Test & Drive, have turned their attention to assisting authorities in the cleaning up of the corrupt trucking and bus vehicle testing industry. Operations Director of AA Test & Drive, Greg Tourell, comments: "South Africa is lagging behind when it comes to vehicle testing and [roadworthiness] approval. As a developing country we are ahead when it comes to environmental issues such as plastic bag laws or health issues such as bans on smoking, yet vehicle safety is not getting the attention it deserves. In South Africa roadworthy certificates are being handed out to total wrecks." Between 1994 and 1998, widespread fraud and corruption within the industry contributed to the 44 018 deaths on South African roads. "It is my opinion that the situation has not significantly approved. Unroadworthy vehicles and incompetent drivers are being given legitimacy through corrupt activities. "This mocks legislation that requires any heavy vehicle (over 3.5 tonnes), bus or minibus taxi to undergo a roadworthy test once a year." Tourell explains further: "Most first world countries strictly enforce a system of periodic examination which is adhered to by the public. These countries' particularly low fatality rates are proof that this system works."... Full story, from Cape Business News ______________________________
Mr Johnson Clifford Aboagye, Chairman of the National Road Safety Commission on Wednesday warned that the police would arrest drivers who allowed party activists to hang or perch on the roof of their vehicles to show solidarity to their parties. He said the Police would be on the roads and on rally grounds to arrest those activists, who neglected the road safety regulations. The measure, he said, was not to deter any political party from rallying but it was rather to save human lives and to prevent accidents that could occur during the electioneering campaigns.... Full story, from Ghana Web ______________________________
National and international safety issues will grab center stage next week when 16,000 people are expected to converge on New Orleans, La. for the 92nd annual National Safety Council Congress & Expo, the world's largest annual safety and health conference. Several of the nation's foremost authorities will address safety issues and challenges confronting workers, society and employers. The event runs from September 13-18 at the Morial Convention Center. -- The head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), John Henshaw, will speak on September 14. Addressing the problem of motor vehicle crashes, the single largest cause of worker deaths in America, will be a significant focus of his remarks. -- OSHA, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is sponsoring a motor vehicle safety symposium on Tuesday, September 14, to encourage the federal workforce to "buckle up." Public and private workplace safety representatives will discuss the benefits of a motor vehicle safety program for federal employees. There is no cost for the symposium, but registration is required. For more information on the 2004 Congress & Expo, visit http://www.congress.nsc.org [Source: US Newswire] ______________________________
...Younger adults driving aggressively? That's not news, especially to insurance companies that often assess higher rates to more youthful and inexperienced drivers. What's different these days is that more of these drivers are female. According to a national survey from The Hartford Financial Services Group, 56 percent of women between 18 and 24 years old think it's acceptable to drive 10 mph over the speed limit. More than 1,000 registered drivers ages 18 to 24 were surveyed, and there is a 3 percent margin of error.
The concern has prompted the formation of a local nonprofit group to
educate younger female drivers about driver safety. Safe
Smart Women President Kristin Backstrom said it's because of this
"scary epidemic" that S2W was created. Full story, from the Maryland Gazette ______________________________
An academy to train volunteers to deliver essential road safety education to communities across the UK was launched today. Aimed primarily at making streets safer for youngsters, the academy is being set up by Huddersfield-based road safety charity Brake and delivery company FedEx.... ______________________________
The Land Transport Safety Authority is rejecting claims police plan to hand out heavy fines to motorists who are not following a new safety rule. Motorists towing boats need to ensure they have a light on their outboard motor to prevent other vehicles crashing into the back of the vessel. The change was brought in late last year and is an amendment to the existing laws which came out nearly 30 years ago. LTSA spokesman Andy Knackstead says that while fines have increased from $75 to $370 dollars, police will be giving motorists time to adjust to the new law. He says anything being towed behind a vehicle needs to be easily seen by others on the road. [Source: NZ City] ______________________________
If you've been following [international road safety] news coverage, you'll know about the horrific accident in southern France [a few months ago] in which five firemen were killed by a speeding car. Officials said the car was travelling at 150 kph, (that's about 90 mph), on a stretch restricted to a maximum speed of 90 kph. Two of the firemen died after they were thrown of the road and into a river underneath. One of their bodies has still not been found. Shortly after the carnage, France's transport minister, Gilles de Robien, announced that 15 new road safety measures would be in place by the end of December. The horror of the crash moved France, and when Jacques Chirac attended the funerals of the men, who were posthulously awarded bravery medals, he gave a thundering speech to a crowd of 500 firemen in which he described France's road safety record as "a national scandal.".... France, among the bottom of the European road safety table, is [often]compared to Britain, which boasts, with Sweden, the safest European road accident figures.... [DSA note: Actually, the safest known figures in the world, not just Europe.] A French police officers' union recently reported an incident which is typical of the problems the government faces in presenting a credible road safety campaign. It illustrates a culture of arrogance and abuse which discredits the idea that road safety enforcement is a part of a common effort for the good. The union revealed that a senator was stopped by officers who clocked him at 83 kph in a 50 kph zone. After indicating his official senate vehicle pass, the politician drove off, reportedly forcing officers to jump out of his way. One of the problems of tackling road safety, like the unrelated issues of street crime or educational performance, is the easy generalisations and clichés which are produced in a poor debate which ends in laws which invariably do little to solve the situation.... Above all, preventing road accidents is a question of educating people about the use of their car and, especially, about respecting others. That's a vast programme, because it involves a lot of issues which go well beyond road behaviour alone, especially in France. But a start has to be made, combining intelligent enforcement with a raising of public awareness about how dangerous a tonne of painted metal can be....
There is much more to this editorial opinion piece, including some good points. Read it here, from Expatica France. ______________________________
2,000 cases of Kereta Potong, says Puspakom Sandakan: Puspakom has detected nearly 2,000 kereta potong vehicles nationwide - those joined through welding for the purpose of being sold - as of July this year, compared with 760 cases last year. Disclosing this here, Puspakom General Manager (Operations), Haji Aggus Salim Halmee Haji Haidar, said the figures showed that the joining of vehicles of different units through a simple welding process had been an alarming trend in the country. Daily Express had also previously exposed such happenings in Sabah, where it was noted that such vehicles would easily split into two during a serious accident. He told a “Vehicle Safety Seminar” at Hotel Sanbay, Saturday, that based on such a phenomenon, reputed financial institutions throughout the country had high expectations of Puspakom conducting stringent checks of vehicles to ensure their safety before approving the loan applications of buyers.... Full story, from the Daily Express ______________________________
Further details about the book, here. ______________________________
Transport Minister Seamus Brennan is to call a special summit meeting of all road safety groups within the next fortnight following another weekend of carnage. [Source: The Irish Examiner (subscription)] ______________________________
Pune, India: ..."Traffic police inspector Sanjay Nikam said bad maintenance of roads resulted in potholes creating obstacles. ‘‘When there is a traffic congestion, motorcyclists tend to speed up and use whatever avenues available to snake their way through the traffic. In the process, they often get affected by potholes." He, however, observed that potholes were partially to be blamed, while mobike riders themselves also need to take some blame for not maintaining traffic rules and falling prey to bad driving habits.... Full story, from Express India ______________________________
All drivers have been warned to take more care reversing on driveways after the weekend death of a toddler. The 17-month-old girl was killed when her father ran over her while backing the family's four-wheel-drive vehicle out of the driveway of their Avalon home on Saturday morning. "It doesn't matter if you've got a four-wheel-drive or a small car, you just can't see small children," said the Plunket national child safety adviser Sue Campbell.... [Source: New Zealand Herald] ______________________________
The federal government is poised to recommend that children up to the ages of four or five must wear child safety restraints when riding in school buses. The new regulation will place Canada on par with the United States, where tough rules were enacted after crash testing showed little children aren't properly protected by existing safety features in school buses. But the regulation, now being prepared by Transport Canada officials, won't be mandatory for the provinces, and it will be up to the McGuinty government to decide whether to include it in its own new legislation on child safety in Ontario.... Full story, from the Midland Mirror, via Simcoe ______________________________
West Yorkshire's top bobby went back to his roots – and turned traffic cop – while on a family outing. Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn sprang into action when he realised a car had broken down in the outside lane of the busy M62 – creating the potential for a serious accident. [Glossary note: In Britain, the "outside lane" of a motorway or other divided highway is the one nearest the "central reserve" or median -- in other words the right-hand lane, given that the Brits drive on the left. British police officers, however, will rarely if ever refer to a "fast lane" as their argument is that all lanes have the same speed limit and it is dangerous for the public to be given a perception of a difference which does not exist. Naturally, slower moving traffic is expected/obliged to keep left.] He immediately directed his wife and two sons to a safe spot and then used his own Shogun 4X4, which is equipped with flashing lights and police sign, to warn oncoming traffic of the danger. At the same time he used his police radio, installed in his car, to call for assistance. The Chief Constable ensured the young driver was in the safety of the area between the central reservation barriers. He then reversed his 4X4 car – which also carries high visibility chevrons on the rear – further down the road to protect the broken down vehicle while he donned fluorescent jacket and police cap to "encourage" motorists to filter into the two other unaffected lanes of the motorway.... Today, Mr Cramphorn played down his role saying it was the duty of any officer, whatever rank, to discharge their obligations of protecting the public. He said: "It is in the first few minutes when traffic is at full speed, that there is the greatest potential for disaster".... Full story, from Leeds Today
DSA Comment: The only reason we have posted this article is to make the point that of course Mr Cramphorn should have done what he did. All police officers of any rank surely have an equal and absolute responsibility, whether on duty or off duty, to protect other people's lives. We agree entirely with Mr Cramphorn's actions and comments but not with the newspaper's assertion that his role somehow needed to be "played down" -- he simply did his job. ______________________________
Students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have launched Doctors for Designated Drivers (DFDD), a program aimed at informing the public about the dangers of drinking and driving and promoting the practice of using a designated driver, the Bronx Times reported Aug. 26. The non-profit group was formed by Howard Forman, co-chair of the American Medical Association Action Team on Alcohol and Health. The group is asking establishments where alcohol is served to provide an incentive, such as free admission or free non-alcoholic beverages throughout the night, to designated drivers. "The great difficulty of our mission is that some bar owners will be unhappy because they believe they would lose business as a result of the incentive," said Arkady Broder, senior vice president of public relations for DFDD and a second-year medical student at Einstein. DFDD is currently lobbying for the incentive program in Washington, D.C. and in New York, with the hope that the idea will catch on nationally. "Our goal is to educate the public of the important issues and to show that it is completely unacceptable to drink and drive," said Broder. "In other parts of the world, such as Scotland, it is shameful to drive while intoxicated. We want to reshape the way drunken driving is viewed in the United States." [Source: Join Together]
DSA Comment: This is clearly a very laudable campaign, although we are not too sure where Mr. Broder got his information about Scotland; the UK as a whole still has a reasonably significant challenge with drunk driving, particularly since the current Labour Government there refused to follow virtually all the other countries in Europe in reducing their respective national blood-alcohol limits to 0.05%, despite massive evidence that now shows 0.05% to be the accepted mean point at which significant dangers commence. In terms of public opinion being a major deterrent to drunk driving, the world leaders are undoubtedly Norway, and in particular, Sweden. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ______________________________
Police are a major factor. Television ads have helped. Changes in laws have had an impact. Societal pressures have increased. For whatever reason - most likely a combination of the ones above - hundreds of Arizonans are alive today because of a significant drop in the number of fatalities caused by drunken drivers. Because of reporting deficiencies and other factors, firm numbers are elusive. But the number of people killed in drunken driving accidents in Arizona dropped by at least 13 percent from 2002 to 2003. That is an important accomplishment, considering the number of fatalities dropped as Arizona's population climbed. Law enforcement officers must unquestionably be given a large share of the credit. It was not that long ago that officers and deputies considered DUI arrests a time-consuming nuisance that took them away from more serious crimes. That is no longer the case. Police agencies are working together to form DUI task forces to cross jurisdictional boundaries and arrest impaired drivers wherever they are. Officers are trained and certified to draw blood samples from suspected drunken drivers - a way of measuring alcohol level that is more precise than breath tests. Full, well-written op-ed, from the Tucson Citizen ______________________________
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it's Kangaroos VICTORIA, Australia: A man in his 50s was killed when a kangaroo his car struck was thrown through the windscreen in central Victoria tonight.... The man was fatally injured, dying at the scene, police said. His death takes Victoria's road toll to 246, 16 more than at the same time last year. [Source: The Australian] ______________________________
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Washington State Patrol troopers arrested two teens yesterday after at least 14 people called 911 just after 8:30 a.m. to say the teens were throwing items into traffic from the back of a pickup. The boys, arrested on suspicion of malicious mischief, threw a basketball, a tire iron and pieces of wood at vehicles... they are also accused of using a long wooden shaft to strike passing vehicles, damaging at least eight, said Trooper Kelly Spangler.... Full story, from the Seattle Times ______________________________
Four people died instantly in a horrific road accident when the car they were travelling in collided head-on with a truck yesterday afternoon. The accident has taken the road death toll this year to 49 compared to 44 for the same period last year. The National Road Safety Council yesterday said road accidents were caused by neglect, oversight or carelessness on the part of the drivers, pedestrians and passengers. Council's acting executive director Timoci Satakala said it was up to each individual to be aware of the road conditions and follow safe road rules. Full article, from Fiji Times ______________________________
From January 2005, a learner driver in Singapore can apply for a driver's licence using an automatic transmission vehicle for his test. So from January next year, learner drivers will be allowed to take their tests using automatic transmissions vehicles and if succesful they will be issued a new Class 3A licence. This is to cater to the growing number of such vehicles on the roads. While it is easier to drive automatic transmission vehicles, the Traffic Police says it will be an offence for those with a Class 3A licence for automatics to drive manual transmission [i.e. stick-shift] vehicles. However, Class 3A licence holders will be able to drive manual transmission cars after undergoing an additional practical test. Full story, from Channel News Asia ______________________________
The Illinois State Police (ISP) announced participation in two
traffic safety initiatives designed to reduce traffic crashes and remove
impaired drivers from Illinois roadways during the Labor Day holiday.
The "You Drink & Drive. You Lose" campaign (August 26 to
September 12) and Combined Accident Reduction Effort (C.A.R.E.)
(September 3 through September 6), emphasize the importance of obeying
all traffic laws in an effort to save lives. ______________________________
Proving that small cars can be as safe as bigger models for their occupants. The Renault Modus -- which goes on sale next week -- has become the first Supermini to secure the maximum 5-star rating in crash tests carried out by Euro NCAP.
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September 30, 2004: Road Safety
Demonstrations Can Go Badly Wrong
September 29, 2004: Zeppelins -- A
New Eye in the Sky for the Israeli Police
September 28, 2004: Study finds
that bad driving and unfit vehicles contribute to South Africa's grim
road
September 28, 2004: Safer Roads are
Needed in Greece
September 27, 2004: 'Road Safety
Year' is Announced in Cyprus
September 22, 2004: The UK DfT is to Use Brands to Help
Publicise Road Dangers .jpg)
* September
22, 2004: 
September
21, 2004: 
and 
September 20, 2004: A Speeding
Swiss Driver Killed 2 French Police Officers While Sending an SMS
September 20, 2004: The Irish NSC Wants Rethink on Road Safety
September 19, 2004: Five people die daily in road accidents in
Delhi 
September 19, 2004: Eighteen people die in road accident in
south Iran 
September
18, 2004: 
September 17, 2004: Carnage On Ghana's Roads 
September
16, 2004: 
and
September
15, 2004: 
September
15, 2004: 
* September
15, 2004: 
* September
15, 2004: 
* September
14, 2004: 
September
13, 2004: 
* September
13, 2004: 
September
12, 2004: 
and 
September 8, 2004: 
*
September 8, 2004: 
September 6, 2004: 
* September 6, 2004:
September 1, 2004: