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The main purpose of this web page is to let drivers, legislators, safety professionals, police officers, parents of young drivers, etc., have an easily accessible yet wide ranging insight into road safety best practice globally, and through this be in a better position to help save some of the many lives wasted in road crashes everywhere. Page edited by Eddie Wren
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International Road Safety News for February 2005
Your 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.
We apologize for the fact that from Feb. 7-28 there was reduced news service on this page due to staff shortages
Russia has become the world leader in terms of car accidents per 10,000 cars, the World Bank has stated. As many as 34,000 people died in car accidents across Russia in 2004, the Russian Information Agency Novosti quoted Kristalina Georgiyeva, the head of the Russian office of the World Bank, as saying as part of a Russian report on driving safety. “In Russia the situation is worse than in the world on average,” she said. “In terms of the number of car accidents per 10,000 cars — 12 accidents — Russia takes first place.” Korea, which has half of Russia’s rate, follows in the list. According to Georgiyeva, Russia has reached the highest accident rate despite a low growth in car ownership. [Source: The Moscow News]
DSA Comments: This estimate, of "as many as 34,000" deaths for 2004 compares to 35,600 deaths for the Russian Federation in 2003. The 2003 per capita rate for the Federation was therefore 24.77 and out of the 52 countries for which year 2003 data is known to Drive and Stay Alive, only Malaysia had a higher per capita death rate. View our table, here. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
In the Basque Autonomous Region of Spain, 99 died on the road in 2004. 24 deaths occurred in Araba and 36 in Gipuzkoa. The large number of deceased in traffic accident in 2004 has decreased 43 per cent. This is the best year in the Basque Country regarding accidents. The vice-councillor of the Basque Government Pilar Martinez has compared the number with the 13 per cent taken place in the Spanish state, the 10 per cent in France and 17 per cent in Italy. 69 out of one million citizens died last year on Basque roads, what places the Basque Autonomous Region close to European countries considered as leaders regarding less mortal accidents. 59 out of one million died in Sweden, 62 in UK and 64 in Holland. The road safety committee has thrown itself into four matters such as insisting on speed control, alcohol-consume reduction, focusing on carriers, and running over. [sic] [Source: EiTB24] ___________________________
Peers [in the House of Lords] complained today that there were no exact figures for the numbers of road crash victims not wearing seat belts after the Government gave an estimate of nearly 5,000 for 2003. About 4,900 people – roughly 28% of those killed or seriously injured in cars or vans in Britain – were not wearing seat belts, said transport spokesman Lord Davies of Oldham. He said road collision reports produced by the police did not record seat belt use and the estimates were “calculated on observed seat belt wearing rates and therefore are not available for larger vehicles”.... “As many as 15 front seat occupants were killed last year by an unbelted rear seat passenger coming through and colliding with them,” said Lord Davies. Tory Baroness Trumpington said: “What is the betting that nine out of 10 peers in this House don’t wear seat belts in taxis although they are offered them?” Lord Davies told her: “You are probably offering fairly short odds.” Full story from the Press Association, via The Scotsman ___________________________
BRUSSELS - A Belgian judge has seriously criticised new road safety laws that came into force last March. Thierry Papart, from the police tribunal in Liege, warned a year ago the laws would be incoherent and problematic. And according to La Libre Belgique, his predictions appear to have been vindicated. Speaking to the newspaper, the judge said the past year had been a turbulent one for road safety. One month after the entry into force of the new law, the government had taken a step back by "declassifying" two serious offences, he said. Then there were a series of decisions such as a ban on cruise control in certain areas, which is very hard to control.... Full story, from Expatica Belgium ___________________________
The death toll on Manitoba highways this weekend was one of the worst in recent memory. By press time last night, there had been 10 known fatalities in less than 24 hours, and police were still investigating dozens of crashes. "It's too many. One is too many. People have to drive to road conditions. Don't be afraid to go below the speed limit," said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Steve Colwell.... Full story, from The Winnipeg Sun ___________________________
A horrific weekend of carnage on New Zealand roads has been followed by five more fatalities in less than 24 hours. Nine people were killed in road crashes at the weekend, the highest weekend toll this year. All the deaths were on North Island roads. [Source: Stuff]
DSA Comments: Apart from the dreadful grief for all loved ones, it should be said that this spate of deaths must be immensely disheartening for road safety professionals in New Zealand, who have just witnessed not only the lowest January road toll on record but also the lowest Christmas-New Year holiday road toll since 1959/60. Police national road safety manager Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald labelled the January result a “real plus”. [Source of info: Editorial dated March 1, 2005, in The Ashburton Guardian.] Journalists have now asked what has gone wrong in the last few days. It is quite possible that the police may attribute some of the deaths to defects in either a vehicle or perhaps even a specific section of road. But it must always be accepted that by far the biggest causative factor in crashes is old fashioned human error. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
Stuttgart: In future Mercedes-Benz will make a further contribution towards a reduction in rear-end collisions by means of flashing brake lights. The EU licensing authority has recently approved this technology, and it will now enter series production in the S-Class for the first time. Research by Mercedes engineers has shown that driver reaction times are shortened by up to 0.2 seconds if a flashing red warning signal is given instead of the conventional brake light during emergency braking. At a speed of 80 km/h this reduces the stopping distance by approx. 4.40 metres, and at 100 km/h by no less than 5.50 metres or so. This means that flashing brake lights are an effective and easily implemented way to reduce rear-end collisions. The Mercedes-Benz S Class is now the first car to feature this innovative, adaptive brake light. It will shortly be followed by the CL-Class Coupés. Specialists at Mercedes tested various warning light systems during their study. Brake lights which light up four times as quickly as the amber hazard warning flashers during emergency braking proved particularly effective in alerting following drivers to the danger of a rear-end collision. The Mercedes study also revealed that switching on the hazard warning system in a dangerous situation has no significant effect on the reaction times of other drivers. [Source: DaimlerChrysler]
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Parents and education are two of the best ways to fight the war on young driver deaths, states NRMA Motoring and Services, and on this Drive and Stay Alive agrees wholeheartedly with the NRMA, but in today's press release they also state that the "NRMA has recommended the Government abandon four proposals, including night-time restrictions and the proposal to raise the minimum age for a P licence from 17 to 18 years." On these aspects DSA must differ with the NRMA. As we always strive to show both sides of various debates you may view the NRMA's full press release, here, together with more detailed comments from DSA. ___________________________
No wonder few Malaysians worry about chalking up demerit points for speeding and other traffic offences. Only one of the country’s 12 million motorists had his driving licence revoked last year under the Road Safety Demerit Point System. The much-touted system has been leaking like a sieve, allowing motorists with stacks of summonses to remain on the road. The New Straits Times understands that the Road Transport Department is revising the system and will be submitting it to the Ministry of Transport soon. "It’s a good system, but there are problems in its implementation," said RTD enforcement director Sollah Mat Hassan. The main flaw with the system introduced in 1995 is that demerit points are only chalked up when a motorist pays his traffic summons or court fines. If the motorist chooses to ignore the summons, he will remain unaffected by the demerit system. Under the system, when a motorist is caught speeding, he is given 10 demerit points. If he is caught speeding twice in the same year, he would have accumulated 20 points and breached the 15-point limit.... Full story, from the New Straits Times ___________________________
RoadPeace, the UK charity for road crash victims, is to lobby ministers discussing the Road Safety Bill at a meeting in Westminster tomorrow. Safety campaigners say they will highlight the suffering of bereaved families as they launch a “war on roads” amid claims that four times as many people die in car accidents [worldwide] than in armed conflicts.... The World Health Organisation estimates 3,000 people are killed and 100,000 injured every day an road’s worldwide. It said around 10 people die each day in the UK, the majority of whom are young men. Full story, from The Scotsman ___________________________
The rising toll of motorcycle deaths will dominate a three-day road safety conference starting tomorrow.
Safety experts will [this year] discuss ways of reducing biker deaths which increased 14% between 2002 and 2003. The total number of deaths in road accidents, although well down on the worst years in the 1950s and 1960s, also rose slightly in 2003.... RoSPA’s head of road safety Kevin Clinton said: “Despite superb progress in road safety generally in recent years, the number of deaths has stopped falling and we don’t want to see last year’s rise becoming a trend. We need to redouble our efforts to improve driver behaviour and motorcycle safety. “The conference will be focusing on the Government’s motorcycling strategy and on the role of motorcycle training. But we will also be looking at refresher training for drivers and how high-profile policing, improved car design and innovative traffic engineering measures can be used to reduce the number of car crashes.” Full story, from The Scotsman
DSA Comments: Over the past few years and decades, certain countries have taken different approaches to assessing and combating the scourge of road deaths. An insight into the effectiveness of various countries' regimes may be viewed here. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
More than 8,300 motorists won a dubious distinction on Ohio roads last year: They were ordered to affix bright yellow-and-red license plates to their cars, branding them drunken drivers. The plates - called "scarlet-letter" tags for their power to publicly shame lawbreakers - are required punishment for repeat drunken drivers and some first offenders in Ohio. The tags are supposed to act as deterrents, keeping drunks off the road and reducing more than 400 alcohol-related road deaths in the state each year. But the law doesn't always work the way it was meant to. A year after Ohio started requiring the special tags, a sampling of more than 300 local cases and interviews with lawyers, judges, police officers and legislators indicate that the law is unevenly administered, enforced and monitored.... "If it's not being enforced and if people are getting around it, obviously it's not going to be effective," says Andrea Rehkamp, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving's Southwest Ohio chapter.... Supporters of drunken-driving laws had high hopes that the plates would be an effective way of fighting drunken driving. They say problems need to be fixed in a state that hears roughly 62,000 drunken-driving cases each year - 9,000 of them in Southwest Ohio. "The public is being endangered," says John Moulden, president of the National Commission Against Drunk Driving. "That's the bottom line."... The tags are required for anyone convicted of two or more offenses in six years and for first offenders who test 0.17 or more for blood alcohol concentration; Ohio's legal limit is 0.08.... Ohio and Minnesota are the only states that require such identifying plates.... Read this important, lengthy article here, from the Cincinnati Enquirer
.....Road accidents claimed over 6,223 people throughout the country in 2004, inflicting loss of some 9 billion ringgit (2.36 billion US dollars). A five-year plan will get under way soon to reduce the death rate in road accidents from current 4.5 deaths per 10,000 cars to 2 deaths per 10,000 cars by 2010, according to earlier reports. Full story (concerning the deaths of five members of one family), from Xinhuanet ___________________________
Despite the advances made in the design of restraint devices such as seat belts air bags and air curtains, road casualties remain high today. Several factors contribute to this, not least of which is the increase in the number of vehicles on our roads. Psychological as well as driving stress have a hand in the increasing number of road deaths. So do drink- or alcohol-related accidents. Government warnings seem to make little impact on those who “drink and drive” and the severe penalties imposed on drunk drivers seem to have only a temporary effect in reducing the number of road deaths. Vehicle manufactures see this as an insoluble problem. Although fatal accidents caused by carelessness or criminal acts are not within their control, these do have an impact on the sales figures. So manufacturers recognise the benefits of designing vehicles which incorporate active safety devices and features.... Read the full article, by 'Daddy Fixit', from the Malaysia Star ___________________________
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- At least 10 children died Sunday when a bus carrying them on a school field trip drove off a highway in southeastern Pakistan, officials said.... Police have launched an investigation, [a spokesman] said, adding that he suspected the vehicle's brakes had failed. Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan, where most roads are poorly maintained and public transport drivers have often received little training and work long hours. Full story, from AP, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ___________________________
The "force" was certainly with Star Wars' R2D2, but it was the police force, and they arrested actor Kenny Baker for drunk driving. While in custody, he was logged into a police computer previously nicknamed "C3PO" by officers — after the other famous Star Wars robot. The 3ft 8in actor -- who played the robot R2D2 in five Star Wars films -- was yesterday given a one-year road ban [i.e. suspension] and told to pay £110 fines and costs. Kenny will give his Mercedes to his son and intends to sell his Rolls-Royce. He added: "Being banned will make my life very difficult. I cannot just hop on the bus like other people. But I did break the law, so I have to be punished." A blood test showed he had 92 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood [equivalent to a BAC of 0.092%]. The legal limit is 80mg [0.08%]. [Multiple sources.] ___________________________
The rate of deadly car crashes among the nation's youngest, most accident-prone drivers decreased sharply in the decade after most states enacted laws limiting their access to a driver's license, a new study shows. Nationally, the death rate involving 16-year-old drivers fell 26 percent between 1993 and 2003, as 46 states and the District of Columbia enacted graduated-licensing laws that allow fewer 16-year-olds to drive, according to the study released yesterday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.... The institute also credits restrictions in British Columbia for an estimated 16 percent overall crash reduction among 16-year-old drivers in the province over the decade. In Oregon, where a law took effect in March 2000, injury and fatality crashes declined 37 percent for 16-year-old drivers between 1998 and 2003, according to state Department of Transportation figures. Among 16-year-olds who have full driving privileges, the rate of fatal crashes hasn't fallen nationally, and it remains higher than that of any age group. Researchers said the difference between the two groups points to the effect of the new laws, which keep most 16-year-olds from receiving unrestricted licenses and are intended to curb risky practices, such as carrying teenage passengers and driving at night.... Full story, from the Seattle Times. Also, we now have the full IIHS press release, here.
.....For much of the past century, the most common way to die in a railroad accident was at a highway crossing - usually in a collision between a train and a vehicle. But over the years, highway departments reduced the number of at-grade crossings [i.e. "level crossings"] and railroad companies improved signals at the crossings that remained. Deaths in such accidents declined steadily, while "trespasser fatalities" - government's term for the death of someone, usually a pedestrian, who is not authorized to be on the tracks - held steady or increased. .....in 1997, for the first time since the government began keeping statistics, more people were killed in accidents while trespassing on tracks or other railroad property than at highway crossings. The gap has widened since then. In 2003, the last full year for which statistics are available, 503 trespassers died. The number killed at highway crossings fell to a new low of 331.... To some extent, the federal government has treated the trespasser fatalities as a problem beyond solution.... Full article, from the Baltimore Sun
DSA Comments: A separate key point was raised in this article, as follows: Part of the problem, [a spokesman] said, is that popular entertainment often portrays characters walking down the tracks without harm or consequences. He said his agency is asking the entertainment industry to avoid glamorizing unauthorized use of the rails. An identical appeal is necessary, to request that Hollywood stops showing unbelted car occupants walking away uninjured from dramatic crashes. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
More than one person has been killed on Irish roads for every day this year, it emerged today. A total of 66 people have died in traffic collisions so far, new figures from the National Safety Council revealed. Eight people have lost their lives in the last week alone, with 33 killed so far in February. The number of fatalities already in 2005 is four more than the 62 who died in the same period in 2004, the year which went on to have the highest death toll in three years.... Full story, from Ireland Online ___________________________
Most people realize the importance of getting a safety inspection when buying a new car. But as one Calgary woman found out, getting that piece of paper is no guarantee that the vehicle is safe.... In Alberta, used car dealers may not sell a vehicle "as is". They are now required by law to give the buyer a Certificate of Inspection and Mechanical Fitness. If the vehicle does not comply with vehicle safety laws, the buyer must be told, and the certificate must spell out exactly which parts are missing or faulty. Full story, from CFCN ___________________________
The European Police Traffic Network (TISPOL) is organizing the "Evaluation of oral fluid Screening devices by TISPOL to Harmonise European police Requirements" (ESTHER) project to standardize roadside drug testing practices in European countries. Participating traffic police forces include: Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands and Slovenia. Within the scope of the TISPOL project, operational requirements and specifications will be obtained under police conditions as part of normal traffic enforcement activities and surveillance. Authorities will stop traffic offenders and use oral fluid-based drug tests at roadside to screen for illegal drug use. Over the course of approximately one year TISPOL participants will outline a standard procedure for roadside drug tests. Massachusetts-based Avitar, Inc., will be participating in the project. [Source: Yahoo Finance] ___________________________
A majority of MEPs (548 votes in favour, 103 against and 9 abstentions) decided on 22 February that all European driving licenses should be replaced by a "credit card" model within 10 years and that a single EU driving licence should be introduced within 20 years. They also were in favour of the introduction of a European driving licence information network to combat fraud and "driving licence tourism". MEPs had tabled 130 amendments on the highly sensitive issue of EU driving licences when they voted on the report by Matthieu GROSCH (EPP-ED, B) following a European Commission proposal to replace the existing 110 models of driving licence in the 25 Member States by a single EU format. The proposal would lead to easier movement for drivers and greater safety on the roads. [Source: Energy and Transport in Europe] ___________________________
NEW DELHI: Watch out. You can no longer drive in and out with a driving licence, jump a red-light under the nose of a traffic cop or flee an accident scene without a twinge of conscience. The government is coming up with stringent standards to qualify for driving licence, modern training centres to equip personnel in “accredited” test centres and an exhaustive road safety information database to turn the killer Indian roads into safe havens. The Department of Road Transport and Highways seeks to bring in reforms to make room for “active and extensive” participation of the community, private sector and NGOs in the safety programme.... Full story, from the Economic Times, India. ___________________________
The number of road accidents in the Capital has dropped by more than 25 per cent over the last decade. New figures released today also revealed that the [annual] number of people injured in collisions has fallen by almost 700 in Edinburgh since 1994. And the report confirmed that there have been no child fatalities on the streets of Edinburgh for more than two years. Politicians today claimed that the introduction of lower speed limits, additional speed cameras and education campaigns were among the factors responsible for the "incredibly positive" statistics. The number of road accidents in the city plunged from 2076 in 1994 to just 1550 last year. And casualty totals linked to vehicle crashes fell from 2491 to 1796 over the same period.... Neil Greig, head of policy for the AA in Scotland, said: "This is in line with the trend we are seeing across the country, where there is a significant reduction in the number of accidents. "We would put a lot of this down to safer roads in the city, with skid-resistant surfaces, better design of pedestrian crossings, bends and junctions...." Mr Greig said more than 75 per cent of all fatal accidents in Scotland now happen on rural roads and that large scale investment was needed to curb that figure.... Full story, from The Scotsman ___________________________
Parents teaching their children to drive are raising a generation of poor motorists as they pass their bad driving habits on to their teenage learner drivers. New research from Direct Line reveals Mum and Dad are prompting a range of bad behaviour behind the wheel, from aggressive driving to incompetent parking with a third of young drivers admitting to picking up these bad driving habits from their parents.... Read this full and important report, here, with footnotes (plus additional comments from DSA) ___________________________
1. A traffic accident early Friday in Shaoguan City of Guangdong Province left 16 dead and 30 others injured, according to the local police. The accident took place at 4:10 a.m. on No. 105 national highway. An overloaded coach bus with 50 passengers on board turned over into an eight-meter-deep ditch on the way from Jiangxi Province to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong. Thirteen people were killed on the scene, and three others died later in hospital. Fifteen o |
February 28, 2005: 
(Basque
Region) February 28, 2005: 43
Per Cent Decrease in People Killed due to Traffic Accidents in 2004
February 28, 2005: 
February 28, 2005: Judge
slams new road safety laws in Belgium
February 28, 2005: Killer
Day on Manitoba's Roads
February 28, 2005: Five
more deaths in 24 hours follow weekend road carnage
and 
February 28, 2005: Flashing
Brake Lights: Effective Against Rear-End Collisions
February 28, 2005: Ways
to Stop Young Driver Deaths
February 27, 2005: 
February 27, 2005: 
February 27, 2005: 
February 25, 2005: 
February 25, 2005: 
February 25, 2005: 
February 25, 2005: