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All contents copyright ©, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc., 2003 onwards, unless specified otherwise. All rights reserved. IMPORTANT: click here to read the DISCLAIMER
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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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Missionary Dies in Brazil Road Accident A Maltese missionary in Brazil died when he was hit by a motorcycle while crossing the road to his church for evening services on Monday. Fr Carmel Bezzina lost his life in Londrina, Paraná, at the age of 64.... Fr Bezzina is said to have been half way across the road and was waiting in the middle to cross over to the other side when a speeding motorcycle [struck] him. "There would have been extreme confusion on the busy road where he lives and where his church Maria Auxilia Dora is situated. The traffic is intense, there are no lights and many accidents happen in the area," [said one of his colleagues]. [Fr Bezzina had been in Brazil as a missionary since 1965.] Full story, from The Times of Malta ___________________________
Fifteen people were killed... when three 207 Benz Buses crashed into one another at Akokoaso on the Obuasi-Kumasi main road Tuesday.... In all 16 injured passengers were rushed to the AngloGold Ashanti Hospital before [two of them] died.... According to the District Police Commander, they are yet to ascertain the cause of the accident.... Full story, from Ghana Web ___________________________
Electronic stability control, also known as ESC, is a phrase consumers will be hearing a lot more in the coming months. Previously the preserve of the luxury car market, stability control is making its way into the mainstream auto market and promises to improve vehicle safety significantly, much as the widespread introduction of antilock brakes did a decade ago. In dealer showrooms across the country, stability control will be become more of a debating point this fall. That's because Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. becomes the first automaker to offer stability control as standard equipment on a midsize sedan -- the 2006 Sonata.... Government research suggests that stability control is a valuable addition to a vehicle's safety arsenal. Studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have found that passenger cars with stability control are involved in 35 percent fewer single-vehicle crashes and suffer 30 percent fewer single-vehicle fatalities.... Full story, from the Detroit News ___________________________
According to accident statistics from the NHTSA and the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 413,000 vehicle accidents are caused by blind spot-related mishaps. Lane change accidents such as side-swipes damage more than 826,000 vehicles and injure more than 160,000 people each and every year. Convex mirrors can drastically reduce those numbers. The NHTSA has stated that studies show "passenger side mirror image comparisons of convex and planar mirrors illustrate the enhanced traffic detection provided by convex mirrors. With a convex passenger side mirror the driver will be able to detect a vehicle in the next lane even if the vehicle is as far forward as the passenger side window, while the driver of a vehicle with a flat passenger side mirror, as required by S6, cannot see the vehicle until it is almost 20 feet behind the vehicle." In 2004, the European Union (EU) passed regulation to address new rules to eliminate the "blind spot" on motor vehicles that would entail:
The Automobile Safety Foundation [ASF] has been a leader in advocating that all automobile companies take remedial action on the production of rear-view mirrors and begin manufacturing safe side-view mirrors as standard equipment. ASF petitioned the NHTSA for rule-making to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111 (FMVSS 111) in 2005. In light of the ASF petition, the EU's ruling, and many years of research, the ASF believes that NHTSA FMVSS 111 rule- making is getting close. Source: The Automobile Safety Foundation Important footnote: Viewers should also read 'Setting the Exterior Mirrors -- a Poor Reflection on Fashion' (from DSA) ___________________________
U.S. regulators proposed the first standards for safety seats that would provide protection in vehicle crashes for children of up to 10 years old and weighing as much as 80 pounds. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plan issued today includes standards for protecting the head, torso and other body parts in a 30 mile-per-hour crash. The agency already has standards for infants and younger children who weigh as much as 65 pounds. The proposal is part of the agency's response to the so- called Anton's Law, signed by President George W. Bush in 2002 and named for a four-year-old child who died in a 1996 crash. NHTSA previously issued a grading system for ease of use of the safety seats, which were the subject of at least 90 recalls, and set new standards for such seats used by smaller children.... Full story, from Bloomberg ___________________________
With millions of people killed, injured or disabled in traffic accidents each year – mostly in urban areas of developing countries – and with burdensome health care costs creeping ever higher, a new United Nations report [available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian] has recommended that the world body’s 191 Member governing Assembly step up its efforts to reduce traffic risks and improve global rode safety. While the report, itself, is accessible via the link above, the full press release may be viewed here. Source: The United Nations ___________________________
The NRMA has welcomed the ACT Government's new strategy to reduce road fatalities. The Government will be campaigning against driver inattention as part of its new road safety plan. NRMA president Alan Evans says one of the key issues is driver attitude, which can be improved by increasing police presence. He says attitude can also be improved through proper training. "Our concern is that many people are taught to drive to get a licence, not to drive properly, so we're going to go back to basics and make sure people are taught to drive properly and that includes doing all those things to make sure you don't have those moments of inattention," he said.... [Source: ABC News Online] ___________________________
Ten people were killed and several others were injured when a truck rammed into some vehicles parked along the road in Nigeria's south-eastern town of Enugu, the police said on Monday.... "The accident was caused by brake failure. The driver of the truck lost control and ran into the stationary vehicles," [said a senior police officer]. [Source: IOL South Africa] ___________________________
Motorists traveling on Route 68 in New Sewickley Township or Route 65 in North Sewickley Township this summer have probably noticed the familiar vibration of rumble strips beneath their tires - except the rumbles are coming from the middle of the road, instead of the shoulder. A PennDOT program to install center-line rumble strips has just reached Beaver County. The strips, which are milled into the center line of two-lane state highways, are a low-cost way of improving safety on stretches of some of the county's trickiest roads.... After some experimentation with the strips, PennDOT began installing them in earnest about three years ago, concentrating on roads with historically high levels of head-on or sideswipe crashes. The goal when the program began was to reduce highway fatalities by 10 percent in the program's first few years. While state-level data is still being assembled, there are studies from other states that show center-line rumble strips do reduce head-on collisions. The Federal Highway Administration said a treacherous state road in Delaware saw a 90 percent reduction in collisions a year after the rumble strips were installed.... Full story, from The Beaver County Times and Allegheny Times Online ___________________________
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles will host the annual GHSA meeting at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott from August 29-31. The Conference, themed Navigating the Crash Course, will focus on the best way to reduce highway injuries and fatalities Workshops will address a multitude of traditional and emerging highway safety issue. A conference program is available online at http://www.ghsa.org/ ___________________________
[At a two-day road safety event] Acting Director of Kuala Belait District, Awang Hj Mohammad bin Hj Abd Rahman said the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam has allocated a huge budget for the building of infrastructures and to upgrade the quality of roads in the country. He added that it is important for road users to be aware of the importance of road safety as the number of vehicles in the country continues to increase and that the safety of road users must be upheld together. He also called for facilities such as zebra crossings to be installed at commercial and school areas to enhance the safety of road users there and also urged drivers to exercise extra caution at these areas. As for pedestrians and cyclists, he said they must wear bright outfits to avoid mishap on the road. The two-day activity was [attended] by several government agencies under the Road Salty Council [sic] as well as BSP, BLNG Brunei Shell Marketing, and the private sector in the Belait district. Full story, from Brunei Direct ___________________________
Member for Bathurst, Gerard Martin, said yesterday that while education and enforcement campaigns had an important role to play, the ultimate responsibility for road safety came down to the attitude of drivers. Mr Martin was speaking at the launch of the new Gateway Project-Operation Daylight road safety initiative at the Lithgow Visitor Information Centre.... The gathering was told that the Gateway Project is a road safety initiative targeting driver behaviour on the main transport routes across the Great Dividing Range and Blue Mountains.... Full story, from the Lithgow Mercury ___________________________
The state has launched an initiative to get teens into the habit of wearing seatbelts when they drive or ride in cars. About 19,000 students from 53 high schools statewide, including Orange County High School, are taking part in the Governor's Highway Safety Program's "Are You Buckled?" initiative.... "Teens often feel invincible, and they think, 'I can go off and be cool and not have my seatbelt buckled,' said Anne D'Annunzio, spokeswoman for the Orange County School District. "They're not invincible, and what we need to do is appeal to things that really motivate them, to help them keep safe."... Full story, from NBC17 ___________________________
Heading into one of the deadliest weekends of the year, millions of Americans will get a timely opportunity to improve their safe driving skills through a unique, nationwide television broadcast. ___________________________
Telit Communications, the Italian-Israeli cellular telephone manufacturer, has signed a memorandum of understanding to help develop eCall, the in-vehicle emergency call service, which will be implemented into all new cars across Europe by 2009.... According to the European Commission, the eCall initiative once implemented will provide accurate real-time location information which will drastically cut emergency response time, thus saving lives, reducing the severity of the injuries and cutting health and social services costs. Recent studies suggest that fully deployed, eCall could save up to 2000 lives in Europe per year. By 2009 the initiative is expected to be fully implemented and the directive will require that all European vehicles are fitted with a standardized on-board emergency call system. Full story, from The Jerusalem Post ___________________________
TRAPPES, France -- Nissan has been collaborating in an exploratory project to develop bone-scanning technology which will maximise the protection offered to occupants in the event of a car crash. Nissan's Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) is one of several automotive organisations involved in the bone-scanning project, called BOSCOS (Bone Scanning for Occupant Safety). The aim of the project is to research and develop technology which can adjust the deployment of on-board safety systems to account for the density of the occupants' bone structure. ___________________________
The Federal Government yesterday approved a proposal to make road safety education a compulsory subject in the school curricula of primary and post-primary institutions in the country. Wife of the Corp Marshal of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Chairperson of Road Safety Officers' Wives Association (ROSOWA), Mrs. Rhoda Hananiya, said government's approval to introduce the teaching of road safety lessons at schools was announced by the Minister of Education. "Road safety education will be legislated into our school curriculum of course, the Minister of Education has given her blessing to this approach while the Speaker, House of Representatives promised to make it an act of Parliament," she said. Hananiya, who spoke at the start of a nationwide grassroots enlightenment campaign for children and youths, said another measure is underway that would compel car owners to always carry underage children at the back seat of their vehicles. ROSOWA chairman expressed concern that despite government's disposition to road safety and the efforts of FRSC men to inject order and control in the nation's traffic administration, the attitude of road users has continued to pose serious threat to peoples' lives. The campaign tagged: "Stop, Look and Listen" involves education and awareness for children and youths on proper and safe use the highway.... Full story, from This Day (Lagos), via allAfrica ___________________________
In an attempt to spread greater awareness of road safety in the Arab world and bring the various regional parties concerned with such issues closer, the first International Workshop on Traffic Law Enforcement, Traffic Engineering and Traffic Safety kicked off yesterday at the Habtour Grand Hotel in Sin al-Fil. Jointly organized by the Federation of Saudi Arabian Engineers, the Arab Organization for Traffic Safety, the Youth Association for Social Awareness (YASA) International, and the Scientific Research Foundation (SRF), the workshop aims at increasing cooperation between various traffic safety actors in the region.... According to SRF's recent statistics, such accidents caused over 1,035,000 casualties - both injuries and deaths - in the Arab world last year. ....The International Workshop on Traffic Law Enforcement, Traffic Engineering and Traffic Safety will span a period of five days, and encompass a series of workshops on traffic control and management as well as the importance of national and international cooperation in managing and preventing road accidents.... According to Rune Peterson, head of the Traffic Police Department at the Swedish National Police Academy in Stockholm, the [recent] war was one of the major reasons for Lebanon's current "chaotic state" of road safety.... Full story, from The Lebanon Daily Star ___________________________
Officials of the National Road Safety Committee are hoping for a school year where there are no student lives lost due to traffic accidents. That’s why on Monday committee officials held a press conference to announce plans for initiatives for what they say is a proactive approach in promoting road safety in The Bahamas. According to Road Traffic Controller and Committee head, Jack Thompson, emphasis will be placed on educating young pedestrians on the proper way to walk and cross the streets, and to encourage the driving public to be more cautious. "We intend to embark upon an aggressive campaign to heighten the awareness with respect to safety," Mr. Thompson said. "We are going to engage a number or personnel from the Road Traffic Department along with youngsters in the community to assist us with the distribution of brochures." According to Mr. Thompson, the committee will have 50,000 brochures called road safety keys printed. Those keys will advise children as well as other road users on the proper way to conduct themselves on the streets.... He said that 60 of the 81 pedestrian crossings on the island have been repainted in preparation for the new school year. Full story, from The Bahama Journal ___________________________
Members of the public especially those from the Belait District are invited to take part in the National Road Safety Campaign to be held at the Liang Lumut Recreation Club from August 27 to 28 starting at 9am. One of the many interesting programmes lined up for the two-day event is an exhibition to be taken part by government agencies under the Road Safety Council as well as Brunei LNG, Brunei Shell Petroleum, Brunei Shell Marketing and the Oil and Gas Discovery Centre (OGDC). Other activities to be held include an exhibition to be participated by private organisations, a bazaar by the Mukim Liang community as well as drawing and colouring contests and bouncers for children and an FI [Formula 1?] replica. Visitors to the event are also given the opportunity to win various attractive prizes by taking part in a road safety quiz. [Source: The Borneo Bulletin] ___________________________
The International Association for Road Accident Prevention (IARAP) will hold its annual conference here next year, Abu Dhabi Police announced in a press release. The 10th annual conference of IARAP will be held in March next year to coincide the annual GCC Traffic Week, according to a report in Gulf News. A higher organising committee, headed by Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, has already been formed to prepare for the event. It will be held in cooperation with UAE Association for Traffic Safety, which held a meeting to discuss the conference and its preparations. Mohammad Saleh Bin Badwa Al Darmaki, head of the association's Board of Directors, chaired the meeting. Leading local, regional and international experts on road safety will present their studies and research papers, said Al Darmaki. The three-day event will be held from March 27 with the theme Traffic Safety Strategies: Think Internationally and Carry Out Locally. It will coincide with the activities of the 22nd GCC Traffic Week, which will be held on March 12. Full story, from the Emirates News Agency (English version) ___________________________
The DfT is spending approximately £650,000 during 2005/06 on 'THINK! Tiredness kills. Make time for a break' messages. [Source: DfT News Release 2005/0087] ___________________________
There is growing concern that the falling cost of DVD players is prompting drivers to risk their own safety and that of other road users. Campaigners are worried that the devices, which have become popular with parents who need to keep children entertained on long car journeys, are now being used by drivers. Watching a DVD while driving is a huge distraction and could lead to serious accidents, especially on motorways. Ruth Bridger of the AA Motoring Trust told the Telegraph newspaper: "Anybody who drives while watching a film is very, very stupid if they believe they can operate a vehicle safely at the same time." The government has been urged to consider legislation banning portable DVD players from the front seats of vehicles. [Source: AV Info] ___________________________
As Volkswagen prepared to launch its redesigned 2005 Jetta sedan, the automaker asked the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to run two of the cars through some tough crash tests. To get the tests early, Volkswagen footed the bill -- about $60,000, including the two cars sacrificed at the institute's test center here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. VW wanted to include the crash tests in new ads it is launching this month. The Jetta got top marks, as VW officials knew it would. Indeed, the sedan was engineered with the institute's front- and side-impact crash tests in mind. "Nobody wants to see their car do poorly" in an institute test, said VW spokesman Tony Fouladpour. [According to many auto executives] the institute is determined to embarrass the industry into improving the safety of its cars and trucks. The chief weapons of the institute, a nonprofit organization funded by insurers, are its reputation for solid scientific research and its graphic crash tests. The tests have been a staple on "Dateline NBC" Sunday night broadcasts since 1996, and the videotapes have given millions of Americans a good idea of what can happen when a poorly designed vehicle is hit, or crashes, at even moderate speeds.... Full story, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ___________________________
With just six days to go until the start of 'National Stop on Red Week', the New Hampshire Union Leader has run an interesting story on the primary excuse for running a red light: We've all seen it: The traffic light turns yellow at a busy intersection and some drivers actually accelerate to make the light. The signal turns red just as a vehicle slips underneath. And then the next car, and sometimes even a third, speed through as well. Some say in today's "hurry-up" society, red-light running has become epidemic. There's even a National Stop on Red Week. That's not a joke; this year it's Aug. 27 to Sept. 2. But while it's the Federal Highway Administration that sets the date each year, the campaign is actually sponsored by the leading sellers of red-light enforcement cameras. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, red-light running kills more than 900 people a year and injures an average of 191,000, many of them pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles.... Read the full story here, from the New Hampshire Union Leader ___________________________
...... Three [named] Connecticut companies -- and hundreds more with troubling safety ratings -- were ignored when the state Department of Motor Vehicles assembled a list of trucking companies to be inspected following the July 29 Avon Mountain crash that killed four motorists. The three firms are among nearly 9,000 Connecticut-based carriers -- including more than 400 deemed deficient by the federal government -- that were skipped because the DMV considered only intrastate companies, rather than carriers that cross state lines. Anthony Portanova, a deputy commissioner at DMV, said his agency thought it was providing what the governor wanted. He said the DMV understood the request to be for "Connecticut-based" companies, which the department interpreted as excluding Connecticut companies whose trucks are licensed to operate beyond the state's borders. The department made that assumption, he said, partly because the company involved in the Avon crash was an intrastate carrier. But Rich Harris, a spokesman for the governor, said that was never Rell's intent. "What we asked for were the 25 worst offenders. We didn't distinguish between interstate or intrastate," Harris said.... Full story, from the Hartford Courant ___________________________
In England one road construction worker was killed and seventeen were seriously injured on the Highways Agency network in 2004, and in 2003 there were two deaths and ten serious injuries. The figures were released as part of the Highways Agency's Safety at Roadworks campaign to urge drivers to recognise the dangers of travelling too fast. [Source: Road safety plea from workers, from the Evening Star] ___________________________
Increased mobile phone use among teenage pedestrians is resulting in deaths on Britain's roads, according to a new report. The study, carried out by the TRL (Transport Research Laboratory), shows that 90% of 11 to 16-year-olds now have a mobile phone and a third of that age group admit to not looking properly when crossing roads while on the phone. Almost half have been involved in 'near-misses' as pedestrians. Last year, 3232 11 to 16-year-olds were killed or seriously injured on the roads but research by road safety organisations suggests that teenagers regard road safety as childish. The Department for Transport has launched a television campaign aimed at raising awareness of these safety issues among teenage pedestrians – the first advertisement will air on Saturday night during The X Factor on ITV. Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation said: 'We are delighted that the Government's campaign is going to target inattention in teens. Drivers should also be aware of the extra dangers when children are around and slow down.' ___________________________
Critics say the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) didn't go far enough with its proposal to toughen its roof crush standards. "NHTSA is merely rolling over when people need its help the most," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook. Safety advocates have repeatedly pressured NHTSA to toughen the roof strength standard to reduce deaths and injuries in rollover crashes. They also argue for testing standards that more closely reflect events that occur during an actual rollover. Nearly 25 percent of traffic deaths occur in rollovers. The proposed new government standard would extend roof strength requirements to all vehicles weighing up to 10,000 pounds, thus covering SUVs and other light trucks for the first time. The current standard only applies to vehicles up to 6,000 pounds. Critics immediately said the rule, under consideration since 1991, does not require enough testing and roof strengthening to prevent injuries and fatalities. Public Citizen's Claybrook, a former administrator of NHTSA, called the proposed rules "very insufficient" and said they don't do nearly enough to protect drivers and passengers.... Full story, from Consumer Affairs ___________________________
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August 30, 2005: Improving
road safety can boost efforts to meet development goals
– UN report
August 30, 2005: The
NRMA Welcomes New Road Safety Measures in the Australian Capital
Territory
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August 28, 2005: BLNG
Campaign Creates Awareness On Road Safety in Brunei
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