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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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A James Dean road safety pack praising the benefit of speed cameras was launched [in London] today on the 50th anniversary of the Hollywood legend's death in a head-on car crash. Organisers RoadPeace and the Slower Speeds Initiative say the controversial device may have saved the life of the Giant actor who was just 24 years of age when he was killed on his way to a race in his Porsche. London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Jenny Jones, Green Party London Assembly Member and the mayor’s road safety ambassador, say the safety pack is as an important tool in saving lives through bringing objective information to the speed camera debate. "In London, safety cameras have been responsible for reducing deaths and serious injuries by more than 20 per cent, helping us to almost meet our 2010 road safety targets a full five years early. "But 216 deaths a year is totally unacceptable and I have raised this target [from 40 per cent] to an even more challenging 50 per cent reduction. Safety cameras will play a vital role in helping us meet this." Ms Jones said: "Irresponsible driving such as speeding is responsible for more violent deaths than gun and knife crime combined. This is totally unacceptable. We must have a target of not having a single death or serious injury on our roads.... Full story, from Life Style Extra __________________________
A pilot project helping qualified motorists [to correctly teach] family or friends to drive could be extended to the public within months. Interest in a free trial scheme offered to Glasgow City Council employees exceeded the initial 10 places on offer as more than 100 employees wanted to take part. Extra courses have now been laid on. Those who have taken part in the first round of training hailed it a huge success and councillors will be asked in November to make lessons available to the public. The scheme, the first of its kind in Scotland, was set up in a bid to cut the death toll among young drivers. Last year in the city there were 488 accidents involving drivers aged 17 to 24 - one in four of all crashes. Most learner drivers take lessons with a qualified instructor but get extra lessons from a relative or friend. But often their advice conflicts with that of the professionals. Roads bosses have set out to tackle the problem, believing it will help reduce deaths on the roads.... Signing up for the course are parents teaching sons and daughters, people teaching pals and even a man teaching his mother-in-law. The course involves the learner and qualified driver attending a three-hour session together covering Highway Code, driver practice, route planning, the driving test and areas of risk. The qualified driver also attends two 90-minute sessions with a professional instructor. These include a short driving assessment, vehicle fault-finding and how to remedy a fault.... Bill Smith, senior road safety officer, said... the public would be charged for six hours of lessons but the course would be run on a non-profit basis. Full story, from the Glasgow Evening Times [SMc] __________________________
More police officers will be deployed on South Australian country and metropolitan roads this long weekend in an effort to maintain road safety. Police Superintendent Graham Lough says the emphasis will be on those who speed or drink and drive. "We just put the message out and get people who still don't get the message. So we're just going to have to increase our enforcement and make sure that ... people don't get away with it," he said. Superintendent Lough says it appears that valuable road safety lessons are not easily learned. "I'm afraid that, they're repeating themselves all the time, these bad statistics. Over 109 people have died so far this year - still more than died this time last year, so we have nothing to be complacent about," he said. [Source: ABC News] __________________________
.......Budget cuts between 2000 and 2004 have reduced the number of [state troopers in Oregon] by 36 percent, according to statistics reported Wednesday in The Register-Guard. Meanwhile, speeding citations have dropped 29 percent, driving complaints have increased 70 percent and crash complaints have increased 32 percent. Speeding may not sound like a serious offense. Yet it’s a factor in about one-third of motor vehicle fatalities, according to 2003 information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. By contrast, alcohol was the sole cause of 25 percent of traffic fatalities in Oregon in 2003, according to The Associated Press. The risks of speeding are even greater for people in their first few years of college. About 33 percent of males and about 19 percent of females ages 21 to 24 involved in fatal crashes were speeding, according to the NHTSA.... The solution to increased speeding is two-fold. Foremost, drivers must understand the risks of speeding and slow down. Oregon’s Legislature must also find ways to prioritize funding for public safety, specifically putting more troopers back on the roads.... Full article ('Pedal to the metal for public safety'), from the Oregon Daily Emerald __________________________
Disney is teaming up with the National Highway Safety Administration to make sure parents know how to properly install booster seats. Disney is releasing "Cinderella" on DVD next week, complete with a special insert containing booster seat information. Booster seats can reduce injuries by nearly 60 percent, however four out of five children who should ride in booster seats don't. Children under 4 feet, 9 inches tall should use booster seats. For more information about booster seats, visit www.boosterseat.gov [Source: News Channel 5] __________________________
In an article outlining the bad behavior of bicyclists in Portland, Oregon, quoting drivers who "have been flipped off, called names and spat on by cyclists", there are two remarkably awful confessions by cyclists: -- Admitted scofflaw John Buttrell, a 45-year-old Vancouver, Wash., resident, bikes into Portland for work and doesn’t apologize for his riding habits. “If the intersection’s clear, I’m going; I’m not waiting for the light,” he says.... -- Lynn Mutrie, an avid cyclist who coordinates the traffic safety program for the Alliance for Community Traffic Safety in Oregon, also admits to going through stop signs occasionally. “But I look at it as a choice — if I do that, I’ll take full responsibility,” she says. “Cyclists do have a right to the road. The same rights, the same responsibilities.” Police say failing to stop at a signal carries a $237 fine for bicyclists as well as for motorists.... Matt Larsen, a Multnomah County transportation planning specialist, thinks the conflicts will grow as long as more cyclists hit the streets. He leads a 12-member Bicyclist and Pedestrian Citizen Advisory Committee that frequently takes up the issue, but nothing has emerged as the silver bullet yet. “There’s a lot of animosity between the groups, and it seems to be growing,” he says. “For the most part it’s not a problem about cyclists as a whole or drivers as a whole — it’s just bad apples that give each group a bad name.” Extending courtesy to each other is the simplest thing to do, he says.... Full story, from the Portland Tribune
DSA Comments For Mr. Buttrell and Ms. Mutrie -- assuming they have been accurately quoted -- we have a joint question: How do you feel when a car or SUV driver fails to stop at a stop light or a stop sign? Your admitted "failing to stop" actions are certainly no better than those of a driver doing the same thing. As for Ms. Muttrie -- again conditional upon accuracy in the journalism -- we have to ask: How did you get your job? How does a blatant disregard for the law tie in with your work, Ms. Muttrie? "The same rights, the same responsibilities” simply aren't enough. "The same laws" are an equally vital part of the equation, especially for somebody who should be leading by example. Bicyclists have no "moral high-ground" when it comes to road safety. Of course the drivers of motor vehicles should be particularly careful when bicyclists -- or motorcycles, or pedestrians -- are around, but bad behavior by the relative few moronic drivers does not give cyclists the right to get brainless too! That is just another form of road rage. But given the vulnerability of cyclists and pedestrians, is there ever anything sensible to be gained from lying in a hospital bed (or, worse, as a lost soul hovering over one's own coffin) saying "It was my right of way!" As the old saying goes, 'discretion is the better part of valor,' but in the field of traffic safety everyone should try: "Everybody's right to life is more important than my right to get stupid!" Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
In North Carolina, deer were involved in a state record 15,509 crashes last year, UNC's Highway Safety Research Center said on Thursday. Around the USA, it has been estimated that there may be as many as 3 million collisions involving deer each year, many of which go unreported. [DSA] __________________________
Estimated auto safety belt use nationwide is up 2 percent to a record 82 percent, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday. Auto safety regulators said the belt-use increase between June 2004 and June 2005 likely prevented 540 deaths and 8,000 injuries in auto crashes. The data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came from observations of 207,000 drivers and front-seat passengers at more than 2,000 sites. The highest belt-use rate was seen in the West at 85 percent. The lowest was the Northeast at 78 percent. Gains were seen among pickup truck drivers and in rural areas where most crash deaths occur. More than 42,600 people were killed in traffic accidents last year. About a quarter of the total fatalities occurred in rollover crashes, most involving sport utility vehicles and pickups, safety figures show. Nearly two-thirds of rollover victims were not wearing seat belts. Safety advocates say higher seat belt use and better belt design would save more lives in rollovers. A new federal highway law offers financial incentives to states that adopt the toughest, or primary, belt laws. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have primary laws, which allow police to stop drivers solely for not wearing seat belts. South Carolina's primary belt law takes effect in December. [Source: Reuters Alertnet] [SMc] __________________________
At least 11 people were killed Friday when a bus carrying 60 high school students collided with a truck in northeastern Poland and burst into flames, police said. The bus was carrying students from the city of Bialystok to Czestochowa in southern Poland, the home of the country's most sacred Roman Catholic shrine. "There was a head-on collision as the bus traveling from Bialystok hit a lorry traveling from Warsaw," said Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesman for police in the northeastern city. Dobrzynski said more than 20 other passengers were taken to hospitals. The force of the impact turned the bus around, he added. [Source: News From Russia] [SMc] __________________________
On Thursday 29 September, the European Parliament adopted a report by Ari Vatanen on how to cut by half the number of road accident victims by 2010. Mr Vatanen is a former world rally champion from Finland, but was elected in June 2004 as an MEP from France and sits with the largest political group, the EPP-ED (European People's Party - European Democrats). During the committee debate on his report he quoted the economist John Maynard Keynes, who said: 'In the long run, we are all dead'. But, Mr Vatanen added, this need not necessarily be on the EU's roads. In the debate addressing the entire the European Parliament, Mr Vatanen said on Wednesday 28 September "The figures regarding traffic safety are as bleak and grim as the weather outside tonight. There are about 50 000 deaths per year, about 2 million people are injured. It is the main cause of death in the under-50s age group. It costs about 2% of GNP, equivalent to EUR 200 billion. But that is only money. We have to realise that what is at stake is the human suffering...."
Read the full report by Ari Vatanen who, as a child, was in the family car when it crashed and his father was killed. __________________________
On 13 June, 2005, teams started in Greece, Malta, Poland and Portugal and have since travelled a total of 40,000km [25,000 miles] across Europe before they came to Brussels as their final destination. The Road Safety Campaign has been coordinated by the British Red Cross and consisted of four teams of drivers and vehicles that have toured all of Europe to raise awareness about road safety. The aim of the campaign has been to contribute to a reduction in the number of people killed or injured in road traffic accidents through spreading important first aid and road safety messages. The teams of drivers have reached out to a large audience, both young and old, and brought the message of road safety in a wide range of settings including schools and town festivals. Sir Nicholas Young commented: “The tragedy is that the first two or three minutes are absolutely vital. If we can get somebody who knows how to save a life to a road accident quickly enough we can save at least half of those [who would otherwise die]. And don’t forget, the person lying on the road might be YOU.... One Life, Keep it.” Full story here, from the Red Cross EU Office __________________________
Chatting with a fellow carpooler, checking voicemail on a cell phone on the way into the office, and grabbing a quick bite to eat can be hazardous to an employee's health ... if done while behind the wheel. That is why AAA Chicago is teaming up with employers across the nation to promote the ninth annual Drive Safely Work Week campaign -- October 3-7. __________________________
The number of drink-driving related deaths [in Britain] increased last year, government figures have revealed. There were 590 alcohol-related road deaths in 2004, up from 580 in 2003, the Department for Transport announced. The department reacted by saying it was "extremely concerned about the increase in drink-drive deaths".... But total casualties - which include injuries as well as deaths - where drinking was involved fell from 18,990 in 2003 to around 17,000 last year. [Government] figures revealed that 3,221 people - whether drivers, passengers or pedestrians - were killed on Britain's roads in 2004 - 8% fewer than the previous year.... The figures suggested that around 12% of all road accident casualties and 21% of those who died in road accidents were pedestrians.... The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said it was "shocked" by the findings. Kevin Clinton, who heads the body, said: "We cannot understand why the government continues to oppose a reduction in the drink-drive limit when the evidence shows it would save lives."... Mr Clinton went on: "Far too many motorists think they can drink and drive without getting caught."... He praised the UK for having "one of the best road safety records in the world", before outlining the reason for successes in recent years. He said: "The key to our success over the last three decades has been publicity and enforcement and we will continue to refine and target these measures to make sure they are as effective as possible."... Full story, from BBC News [SMc]
DSA Comments Based on the above figures, drunk-driving related deaths represent 18.3 per cent of the UK road toll. As for Mr Clinton's understandable frustration at the government's failure to reduce the blood-alcohol limit, and his undoubtedly rhetorical question about why this should be the case, the one-word answer -- as we all know -- is 'votes'. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
"Twenty-five years ago, drunk driving was the last socially acceptable form of murder in America," says Glynn Birch, MADD's first male president. "And those pioneers of MADD set out to change that." The advocacy group celebrated 25 years on Thursday with a rally on Capitol Hill, claiming to have helped save 300,000 lives. It said it aims to keep cutting the number of drunken driving deaths and will form stronger alliances with law enforcement and push for higher seat belt use. Still, the organization says it's fighting a feeling among Americans that the issue is no longer so important. "The nation has become complacent," said Birch, who became involved with the group in 1988 when his 21-month old son was killed by a drunken driver.... In 1982, more than 26,000 people were killed in drunken driving crashes, and alcohol played a role in about 60 percent of all highway fatalities. Drunken driving was punishable with fines and sometimes shrugged off by the legal system.... By 2004, the most recent data available, the number of drunken driving deaths had dropped to nearly 17,000 a year and alcohol factored into about 40 percent of all deadly crashes. The organization notes that the number of drunken driving deaths has made little downward movement in recent years. About 45 people are killed and nearly 700 are injured daily because of drunken drivers.... Full story, from The Washington Post [SMc] __________________________
The rising number of traffic fatalities on Grand Bahama streets in recent months prompted police officials and religious leaders throughout Grand Bahama to hold a forum yesterday designed to find a way to put a stop to the tragic accidents.... Chief Inspector Rahming said there have been 877 car accidents so far this year and of that number 368 resulted in serious injuries and 18 deaths.... Members of the panel offered numerous suggestion on how to begin to rectify these problems. Rev. Raymond Pinder said more police visibility is needed on the streets, noting that if people see the police cars they will automatically slow down out of fear of being written up.... In closing, Chief Inspector Rahming strongly advised motorists to obey speed limits and to slow down in areas where school age children are likely to be walking, especially the hours before 9:00 a.m. and after 3:00 p.m.".... Full story, from The Freeport News [SMc] __________________________
At least 42 people were killed and 40 injured when the passenger bus carrying them fell into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police said. The bus, on its way from Gool to Anantnag in south Kashmir, skidded off a mountainous road and rolled into a gorge near Dharmkund, about 165 km north of here, at 6 pm, police said. The bus driver was negotiating a sharp curve when the accident occurred. [Source: The Hindustan Times] __________________________
India accounts for six percent of the world's total road accidents and 10 percent of the world's road deaths, an engineers' association said here, on Wednesday. Though India has less than one percent of the world's vehicle population, the accident record is the worst, said Pradeep Chaturvedi, chairman, safety and quality forum, the Institution of Engineers (India) "In India, around 300,000 road accidents take place every year, resulting in 90,000 deaths. It is really shocking that six percent of the world's total road accidents and 10 percent of the world's road deaths happen in our country," Chaturvedi told a conference on road safety here. "Faulty designs of roads and curves, encroachments on pavements, the poor lighting at night, badly maintained vehicles and the lack of good public transport system are the main reasons for the record levels of road accidents," said Raju Sarkar, a road expert. "The major cause of road accidents in Delhi and other metros is due to poor traffic culture on part of both the road user and road authorities, non-maintenance of installed traffic signals, lack of road markings, the deficiency in geomatrics at intersections," added Chaturvedi. He also said that maximum numbers of all reported fatalities are of vulnerable road users (VRU), which include pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders. Sarkar warned that the rapid growth in vehicle ownership and construction of high-speed roads might lead to more road accidents and fatalities. Experts also stressed the need of advanced traffic control technologies including Intelligent Transport System (ITS) instead of the present outdated system. [Source: New Kerala] [SMc]
DSA Comments Given that the World Health Organisation and the World Bank put the estimated number of global road deaths at 1.2 million, the 90,000 figure, above, would suggest that road deaths in India actually account for around 7.5 per cent of the global total. With a population 1,080,264,388 (July 2005 est.), the approximate 90,000 annual deaths would give India a per capita death rate of 8.33. When compared to other countries, this may seem like a low per capita rate, but this is a classic case of a country with a huge population and -- relatively speaking -- a low vehicle population in proportion to the number of people. Getting an accurate estimate of the total distance traveled, collectively, by all motor vehicles in India each year would appear to be an impossible goal, so getting a VKmT rate would appear equally impossible, but it would be most interesting to ascertain the total number of motor vehicles in the country and, from that, calculate the number of deaths for every 10,000 vehicles -- another useful measure. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
New South police are working with Victorian police to establish the circumstances surrounding a pedestrian who was hit on the Hume Highway near Pheasants Nest. Senior Constable Sue Thompson from police media says the driver of a landrover contacted police on Monday night to say he thought he had hit a woman standing naked in the middle of the highway during heavy rain. "He told police he went back to what he thought was the impact sight and he saw a man and a woman in a white car driving southbound," she said. "Police contacted hospitals throughout Sydney and the surrounding area but there were no admissions matching the scenario. "At about 3:00am Victorian police stopped a red Suzuki sedan at Glenrowan, police noticed a woman in the front seat who appeared to be injured. "The 33-year-old woman from Cabramatta was taken to Shepparton Hospital where she underwent surgery for a number of injuries." The driver was charged with a " fail to pay" incident at Glenrowan. He was released by police but a short time later crashed his car into a tree at Shepparton, and he too was taken to Shepparton Hospital for treatment. [Source: ABC News Online] [SMc] __________________________
Euro-MP Eluned Morgan today backed EU moves to harness new technology to help halve the number of accidents on our roads by 2010. The European Union wants to cut the number of road deaths and serious injuries through a programme of road safety measures including encouraging road users to improve their behaviour, making vehicles safer and improving road infrastructure.... Welsh Labour MEP Eluned Morgan said: "Road safety is already a key priority in the UK and great inroads have been made in cutting the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. "But... more still needs to be done to ensure driver, passenger and pedestrian safety." The EU has already begun to implement its road safety proposals through the European Road Safety Action Plan. But today the European Parliament discussed further measures to ensure the EU meets its target to cut road deaths. These new proposals will form part of the EU's mid-term review of its road safety programme. Among the proposals put forward by Parliament was a bid to focus road safety education and control measures on higher-risk groups, such as truck and coach drivers and male car drivers aged under-25.Among the proposals put forward by Parliament was a bid to focus road safety education and control measures on higher-risk groups, such as truck and coach drivers and male car drivers aged under-25. MEPs also called for more attention to be paid to the role of new road safety technology, such as advanced restraint systems and speed limitation systems. Morgan, who sits on the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee, said "Technology has an increasingly important role to play in road safety as speed control systems, speed warning or limiting devices and seat belt reminders have already proved. "Many lives can be saved by new intelligent safety features. The EU, utilising its research framework programme, must be at the forefront of developing and implementing such cost-effective technology. Without this, the ambitious goals for road safety will not be attainable." The European Council is due to consider the new proposals in December. Full story, from News Wales [SMc] __________________________
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A series of road safety schemes, designed specifically to reduce the number of people injured in accidents, are to be implemented by Dundee City Council. More than a dozen sites have been identified for road safety intervention measures and the council has earmarked more than £170,000 for the projects.... The Road Traffic Act 1988 places a statutory duty on councils as roads authorities to carry out a programme of measures to promote road safety and prevent road accidents. National road accident reduction targets have been set by the Government to be met by 2010. They include a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) and a 50% reduction in the number of KSI accidents involving children, both as compared to the average for the period 1994-98.... [Planning and transportation director Mike Galloway said] “A 45% reduction in all KSI casualties and a 46% reduction in child KSI casualties has been achieved to date compared to the average for 1994-98.” Requests for traffic calming and road safety measures come to the council from various sources including elected members, the general public and community councils. They are assessed by a computerised accident database, which is also used to identify sites in need of safety measures which have not been requested. Full story, from the Evening Telegraph __________________________
An army official was arrested on Monday morning after the army vehicle he was driving was involved in an accident with a car on the N3 just outside Pietermaritzburg [South Africa]. The accident left an eight-year-old girl in a critical condition.... According to Road Traffic Inspectorate spokesperson Rajen Chinaboo, the driver had missed the turn-off and continued on the freeway. He then tried to make a U-turn on the freeway.... During the collision, [a BMW] car slid underneath the army vehicle, and the roof of the car was torn off. The two passengers, a woman and her eight-year-old daughter, were injured. Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said that because of the car's position, it took paramedics about half an hour to retrieve the girl from the car. "Paramedics had to use the jaws of life to remove the little girl," said Botha.
When police arrived at the scene, the driver of the army vehicle was
tested for alcohol consumption and was found to be over the legal
limit. He was arrested immediately. Full story, from IOL __________________________
Eight Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members were admitted to Chitipa District Hospital, four of them in critical condition, yesterday when the vehicle they were travelling in overturned near Chisenga in Chitipa.... “The driver of the vehicle, McChester Kaonga, said the accident happened after the steering locked and the minibus could not be controlled,” said Chinga.... Full story, from The Nation [SMc]
DSA Comments While we can have no way of knowing either that the alleged cause of the crash is actually true or -- if so -- what the cause of that failure might have been, it is always important to point out to drivers that the engine of a moving vehicle should never be turned off. Many people do this when going down hills, in order to save fuel, but this can result in the steering lock doing exactly what its name says. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
Four people are dead and two have been seriously injured in a tragic two-vehicle [crash] in northern New Brunswick. Police are blaming the weather and road conditions for the mishap. RCMP Cpl. Syd Arblaster said two mid-size vehicles collided on Monday afternoon around 3 p.m. on Highway 8 in Tabusintac Bridge. "The driver of one of the vehicles lost control and collided with a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction," said Arblaster. Two people travelling in one of the cars died at the scene while two of five people in the second vehicle also passed away at the scene.... [Arblaster said] "If driving conditions are not normal, such as during heavy rain, motorists need to adjust their speed accordingly." Full story, from The Brandon Sun
DSA Comments With all due respect to the writer of this piece, and of course to the families of the deceased, there appears to be some journalistic misrepresentation of the police officer's valid attempt at diplomacy, here. Corporal Arblaster quite clearly states: "If driving conditions are not normal, such as during heavy rain, motorists need to adjust their speed accordingly." That is NOT blaming the weather, it is pointing out that drivers who fail to respond correctly to bad weather conditions get into crashes. As desperately sad as this event may be, it is not appropriate for journalists to misrepresent comments that may serve as crucial warnings for other drivers in the future. Driver apathy is deadly, and promoting it is wrong. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
A Utah State University field trip to a Box Elder County farm ended in tragedy Monday afternoon when a van carrying the students blew a tire on Interstate 84 and rolled four times down an embankment, throwing all 11 on board from the van and killing eight.... Police used witness descriptions of the accident and skid marks to ascertain how the van left the road. It appeared the van was speeding when the left rear tire blew, Nelson said. It was not clear how far above the posted 75 mph limit the van was traveling, he said. A motorist who was following the van said pieces of tire flew from the van before it veered off the road and rolled. "It looked like bodies were being catapulted out," Nelson said. Rescuers found the bodies of the dead and the survivors in the tall grass within about 100 feet of the van.... Full story, from the Salt Lake City Tribune [SMc]
additional information
The van that rolled on Interstate 84 Monday killing eight students and one instructor from Utah State University was traveling at 95 to 100 mph when it crashed, the Utah Highway Patrol said Thursday. Highway patrol investigators use the curvature of skid marks and mathematical formulas to reconstruct accidents and calculate the speed a vehicle was traveling, trooper Jeff Nigbur said. The posted speed limit on the interstate is 75 mph. Based on the investigation, it is believed instructor Evan Parker, 45, was at the wheel of the 15-passenger van, Nigbur said. But officers want to talk with the two survivors of the crash to get a better understanding of what happened... Full story, from the Daily Herald, Utah. __________________________
BEIJING (Xinhuanet) -- More than 700 delegates of the third Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference vowed to improve road safety here Tuesday. At the three-day conference, with a theme of "Road Transport: Bridging Asia and Europe," which closed here Tuesday afternoon, the delegates from 16 countries approved a declaration.... Road accidents should be reduced, according to the declaration, by intensifying research into the causes of accidents, increasing accident risk awareness among truck drivers, enforcing basic rules which prohibit speeding and the consumption of alcohol while driving, and regular checking of vehicle safety devices. Full story (including transport security issues), from Xinhuanet __________________________
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Dr Saif bin Said Al Ma’amari, director-general of education at the Ministry of Education, yesterday [attended] the Private Schools Students Road Safety Show Safe and Sound, organised at Al Bustan Palace Hotel by the Department of Private Schools, Ministry of Educa-tion, in cooperation with the Royal Oman Police.... In his speech, Dr Saif stressed the efforts of the ministry toward meeting the requirements of the rapid growth in economic, social and cultural fields.... Dr Saif further said that within the context of the ministry’s beliefs on the significance of the vital role of the private schools in the spread of road-safety awareness, a new participation between the Ministry of Education and ROP has resulted in organising of several such joint effort participations. The Private Schools Students Road Safety Show, meanwhile, began with the National Anthem and the recitation of the Holy Quran and two speeches, the opening speech by Dr Saif and another speech by Nicholas Pryor, the artistic director of the play 'Safe and Sound'. As part of the programme, an ROP documentary film on the principles of road safety and ROP’s efforts related to road safety was screened for the audience. Then an enthusiastic group of young students both boys and girls from different private schools enacted a play Safe and Sound depicting the various principles of road safety. Road safety calls for participation from both sides, vehicle drivers as well as pedestrians, the two important components of road traffic. Belt up and drive; green safety code; use of reflectors at night; how to cross the road, etc. were some of the important traffic principles, which were portrayed by the children through simple drama techniques. The whole play revolved around a bright yellow talking car named ‘Saif’ which advised a group of young ‘doctors’ on how to solve road safety problems and complete their mission on road safety. The play conducted in chaste English by cherubic little boys and girls as well as older students will hopefully send across a message not only to students but also other adult road users. The video of the play will be converted into a DVD and will be circulated among the schools.... Full story, from the Times of Oman __________________________
An advertising campaign began on Monday to try to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on roads [in the east of England]. The "See More - Slow Down" message will appear on prime-time television and on buses, as well as on pay-and-display parking tickets. The campaign has been launched by the region's seven safety camera partnerships, the groups responsible for fixed and mobile speed cameras. It lasts for three weeks and aims to make drivers think before speeding. Bryan Edwards from the Norfolk Casualty Reduction Partnership said: "All we're asking drivers to do is to take the odd one or two miles per hour off their speed. "That will reduce the 12 people killed or seriously injured on the region's roads every day." The seven safety camera partnerships taking part in the campaign are Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Northamptonshire. [Source: BBC] [SMc] __________________________
At least 49 people were killed and over 130 injured in two head-on collisions involving buses in heavy pilgrim traffic in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province yesterday. “At the moment, I can just confirm the deaths of 49 including some women but the situation is still unclear,” a senior Sindh police officer told reporters.... It was feared that the death toll may rise further, as rescuers had been unable to count casualties in a pre-dawn crash in which a bus of the Police Foundation hit a passenger coach in Khanote town of Sindh. After the accident the two vehicles caught fire. “We can’t say exactly how many killed (in the accident) as mostly, we collected burnt body parts under the wreckage,” Sultan said.... Fatal accidents often occur in Pakistan as drivers, especially of public transport, do not follow traffic rules. Full story, from the Gulf Times [SMc] __________________________
The Lubok Pulau Takmir Mosque Committee held a driving skill competition for youths at the mosque's car park. The chief guest, Tutong's OCS, Inspector Mat Bahrin Haji Abu Bakar, gave away the prizes and certificates to the participating youths. The competition was organised by the mosque and the Tutong Mosque Affairs Department with support from the Land Transport and Police departments. The youths also heard talks on road safety awareness conducted by officials from the Road Safety Council.... The programme supports efforts by relevant agencies in raising community awareness on road safety matters. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin Full story, from Brunei Direct __________________________
[A group of two-year-olds in Glasgow were among toddlers] who took part in Beep Beep! Day to promote a campaign by road safety charity Brake. Around 20,000 nursery school children across the UK were given road safety training in the initiative. The charity is calling for improved road safety teaching to pre-school youngsters. And Brake has appealed to drivers to cut their speed to help save lives. A child hit by a car travelling at 40mph has just a 15% chance of survival, compared with a 95% survival rate at 20mph. Brake chief executive Mary Williams said: "It's never too early to start teaching children road safety skills." [Source: Glasgow Evening Times] __________________________
After the death of a second state trooper in five weeks in a roadside accident, motorists are being urged to obey a three-year-old law that requires them to slow down and change lanes when approaching an emergency vehicle with flashing lights. "People are neglecting to do that or are not paying close enough attention to what’s going on," said Lt. Tim Hull, a Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman in Jefferson City. "One thing that’s going to be looked at is stepped-up enforcement campaigns dealing with this particular law." Hull spoke yesterday after Donald Floyd, who would have turned 46 on Sunday, was killed when he was hit by a pickup truck during a traffic stop along Highway 60 near the Texas County town of Dunn.... Full story, from the Columbia Daily Tribune [SMc]
Viewers should also read 'Move Over to Pass Emergency Vehicles' (from DSA) __________________________
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq: More than 400 service members have lost their lives in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom due to non-hostile incidents since March 2003 according to www.Defenselink.mil Lt. Col. Walter W. Audsley, the II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD), director of safety, said vehicle roll overs are the number two cause of death to US service members in Iraq.... “We continually emphasize the importance of wearing seatbelts, both on and off the base,” said Audsley. “Many serious injuries and deaths could have been prevented had a seatbelt been worn.”.... Read the full story, by Lance Cpl. Evan M. Eagan, II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD) __________________________
The state highway-safety agency wants all motorcyclists to take a safety course in an effort to reduce deaths, saying people who have taken the classes are the only ones bucking a spike in motorcycle fatalities in Florida. Noting the sharp increase in motorcycle deaths and injuries in recent years, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles also is considering how much insurance coverage bikers ought to have, although a preliminary proposal to increase that requirement met resistance Thursday from Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet. There was agreement, however, that the agency -- which is overseen by the governor and Cabinet -- should push next year to change state law to require riders to take the safety course. Currently, people under 21 have to take it to get a motorcycle license, but no one else is required [to do so]. Highway Safety Executive Director Fred Dickinson told the Cabinet that in the past two years, none of the 150,000 people who have taken the course has died in a crash.... Full story, from the Orlando Sentinel [SMc]
DSA Comments Hmmmmm.... Not one death out of 150,000 riders? That seems a bit unlikely, especially as the riding course -- by its very nature -- can only be a matter of a few hours. If these figures are accurate, they are wonderful, but either way it is true to say that "every little helps!" Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
Young drivers will be barred from driving between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. during the first year after getting a drivers license unless accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 25 years old. The new law also prohibits 16- and 17-year-old drivers from transporting passengers under age 20 during that first year of licensed driving. The law, authored by Assemblyman Bill Maze, R-Visalia, allows exceptions for both restrictions for medical emergencies, school activities, employment and family necessities. It will take effect Jan. 1. 2006. [Source: San Francisco Chronicle] [SMc] __________________________
OPINION: We are angry, and we have a right to be. Why must we not be angry when death walks free on our nation's road networks while everybody seems to stand aside and look? How many more Suzie Willamses and Hon. Osei Kwekus do we have to sacrifice to the gods of the asphalt network, before we begin to take the situation into hand? The over 127,182 road accidents that officials now say have occurred within the past five years, is not the real issue. We are angry because behind these accidents are the thousands of lives cut short, and thousands more permanent disabling injuries, and many more thousands families and relatives devastated.... We, the citizens of Ghana are indeed tired and angry NOW. We have come to realize, belatedly and painfully, that not all drivers are bad drivers, but there are only a few good defensive drivers and very many bad, ignorant ones. We are tired and angry now because, a little chip of our fundamental human right to Life is whittled away any time a driving license is issued by default to a bad driver.... Full story, from the Ghanaian Chronicle, via allAfrica [SMc] __________________________
Botswana is ranked among countries with the highest number of road accident deaths throughout the world. Gabaake Gabaake, deputy permanent secretary, in the works and transport ministry said the number of deaths are even more than double those of South Africa. Officially opening a road safety youth festival in Lobatse on Saturday, Gabaake said road accident statistics continue to [soar] at an alarming rate despite the substantial resources invested in constructing modern roads, public education and enforcement.... The theme of the festival was Towards 2016 Together. Full article from Republic of Botswana __________________________
Some 26,000 people died in road accidents in the Arab world last year, out of a global total of 1.25mn, says a WHO study. There were 8,000 road victims in the Gulf. Some 164 people died on Qatar’s roads last year while the death toll so far this year is 125. The total loss in the accidents internationally is $518bn. Of this, $100bn had been in the developed world.... Full story from the Gulf Times
DSA Comments Cross-referencing the annual death toll for Qatar, above, with the estimated population of the country (the 2005 figure is what we have) reveals a Per Capita death rate of 19.07 per 100,000 members of the population, and this figure has now been entered in DSA's Multi-Country Per Capita and VMT/VKmT Fatality Data for 2004 Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
The devastated families of two young men who died in separate road crashes have both made emotional pleas for young motorists to take more care. Carl Anderson, 17, died when the Ford Escort he was a front seat passenger in collided with the cab of a [stationary truck] on an industrial estate in Clacton.
And 23-year-old Russell Hearn lost control of his Ford Escort
which landed on top of him when he crashed in the town. Mr Hearn survived the accident but died five days later in hospital, with his parents Michael and Linda at his bedside. Speaking at his home in Little Clacton yesterday, Michael Hearn said he had since learned that a lot of his son's friends did not wear seat belts when driving.... "I have found out that he did not wear a seatbelt a lot of the time and he came out of his car and it landed on top of him...... "But one moment's silliness can take it all away, and I would just ask people to think for a second about how they drive so that other families do not have to go through what we are experiencing at the moment."... Read the article, from East Anglian Daily Times __________________________
Volvo was founded in 1927 and the first significant mention of safety was in the 1936 sales manual. One of the co-founders, Gustaf Larson, wrote: "An automobile conveys and is driven by people. The fundamental principle of all design work is, and must be safety."
__________________________
Speed cameras are helping to save lives and cut down on casualties and
car crashes in Cheshire. Full Article, from Chester Evening Leader __________________________
Jerald Hundley gunned his Ford to 100 mph before ramming a Sycamore Township utility pole and cracking the car in half. Dead: friends Nickole Williamson, Stacey Williamson, Nicholas Lucke, Timothy Chaney. Michael Weber drank so much beer that he had a blood-alcohol content three times Ohio's legal limit when he ran through an Anderson Township red light and slammed into another car. Dead: Louise Black, mother of four. Amanda Bullington was distracted on her cell phone when she ran a red light in Greenhills, broadsiding another car as it passed through the green light. Dead: Tirzah Amrein, grandmother to 13. These six people and at least 20 others didn't have to die last year. But drivers in Hamilton County made fatal decisions that killed them: The drivers were drunk, fleeing police, speeding, talking on a cell phone, running red lights or breaking other traffic laws.... Read the article from Cincinnati __________________________
An ambitious campaign aimed at reducing road carnage globally was unveiled in Kenya on Friday. The "Think Before You Drive" road safety campaign, sponsored by UK-based FIA Foundation and Bridgestone Corporation is designed to help reduce road deaths, globally estimated at 1.2 million annually Kenya is the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to roll out the global campaign, which has been billed as the largest private sector road safety sensitization initiative. The campaign, which is to be carried out in east Africa by Automobile Association of Kenya (AA) will promote simple road safety messages to drivers and car users, while addressing many of the key road safety risk factors such as speeding and driving while under the influence of alcohol. "The objective of this campaign is to reduce thousands of unnecessary injuries and deaths, often caused by drivers and car occupants not following simple instructions such as wearing a seatbelt, using a child restraint, checking head rests and tires," said AA Kenya Director General David Njoroge.... Full Article, from China View __________________________
Motorcycle deaths are approaching a 20-year high in Montana this year, a trend that could reflect an upswing in their popularity in recent years.
Through the second week of Sept., 26 motorcycle riders have been killed
in wrecks throughout the state. That is a 37 percent increase over the
18 deaths reported during that same period last year, and the highest
number of deaths since 34 motorcyclists were killed in 1985, the state
Department of Transportation's Highway Traffic Safety Office said. __________________________
The second wave of a statewide crackdown on aggressive drivers is underway in the First State and speeding and dangerous drivers are keeping Delaware law enforcement officers busy. According to the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, since Sept. 1, officers participating in the state’s “Stop Aggressive Driving” campaign have issued 460 citations for aggressive driving behaviors. In this time frame officers also issued 133 citations to unbelted, unlicensed, and uninsured motorists bringing the total number of citations for the first two weeks in September to 593. The following is a breakdown of the number of violations found during the latest wave of aggressive driving enforcement: 17 Aggressive Driving, 312 speeding, 41 unsafe lane changes, 24 following too closely, 34 running stop signs and stop lights, 3 failure to yield the right of way, and 28 passing on the shoulder. __________________________
THE story is always the same whenever there is an accident involving public transport There is a role that stakeholders and road users need to play if they are serious about reducing the road death toll that currently stands at 44 compared to 49 at the same time last year The National Road Safety Council acting executive director Timoci Satakala said they had highlighted the need for better quality buses over and over again in light of the increasing number of accidents involving buses. Mr Satakala said between April and May this year, there were more than three accidents involving buses and that was why the council developed a program called JJ in the Bus. We invited all the bus operators in Suva to attend the program in June and July and it was quite successful, he said. The safe driving skills really had an impact, because after July no buses were involved in accidents until the one in Nadarivatu this week..... Full Article from Fiji Times __________________________
A one day police blitz on NSW north coast roads is under way. Operation Compliance Five is running throughout the state targeting offences committed by provisional and learner drivers, seatbelt and helmet infringements and the use of hand-held mobile phones. The operation began and will finish at midnight on highways and back roads around the region. Senior Constable Michael Hogan says the target of the campaign reflects the number of infringements in those areas in the past year. "The highway patrol supervisors within the state command made that decision looking at what's happened across the state because as you could imagine when traffic infringement notices are issued they look at the offences for which they have been issued," he said. He says it is often the minor infringements that cause major accidents. "We notice when [there are] motor vehicle accidents the offences that cause the accidents are things like people using mobile phones while driving and a lot of injuries are caused by people not having their seatbelts on," he said. __________________________
At least nine expatriate middle-school students of Al-Mawarid International School escaped unhurt yesterday afternoon, when their school bus crashed into another vehicle.... Arab News saw the wrecked bus shortly after the accident. It was parked out of sight, two streets away from the school. There were only two seatbelts in the 15-passenger, 1992 Nissan model bus. One was for the driver, and the other, for the front-seat passenger. There were no seatbelts available for the students. “This is an old bus that came from the manufacturer without seatbelts. The school recently bought a fleet of late-model Mitsubishi buses that are equipped with seatbelts for every student. We try to use those the most.... “We were in the process of retiring the older buses already, but we will now expedite. We shall immediately start looking into either installing seatbelts in the Nissans we still have, or trading them in for newer buses with seatbelts,” Fayez explained. There are no laws in the Kingdom dictating seatbelt usage for bus passengers.... Full Article, from ArabNews __________________________
Score Aiming to Educate Drivers A North East engineering company associated with the oil and gas industry has joined forces with Grampian Police in a bid to reduce the death and injury toll among young drivers. A total of 100 apprentices from Score Group plc will be the first to benefit from the scheme which is aimed at making them better drivers and less likely to be involved in road traffic collisions. Score Group plc, which has 19 facilities in 12 countries and its head office at the Glenugie Engineering Works, Peterhead, approached Grampian Police after it discovered that its employees were more likely to be injured in a road traffic collision than in any other kind of accident.... Full Article, from The Buchan Observer __________________________
An official said Iran has the highest road accident death toll in the world, according to Iran Daily. Alireza Mogheysi, the head of Health Ministry's Directorate for Preventing Accidents, added that for every 1,000 people [error, see DSA Comments, below], 38.7 people lose their lives in road accidents and 25 deaths are reported for every 1,000 vehicles in the country. Speaking to IRNA, the official said, "Every day 72 people on average lose their lives in road accidents in the country. About 63% of accidents in which people lose their lives pertain to road accidents and 29.1% of such deaths take place inside cities."... Article from Iran Mania
DSA Comments A quick check of the facts reveals an error in the above calculation. Given that the 2005 estimated population of Iran was 68 million, the figure should probably read slightly more than 38.7 deaths for every 100,000 people -- the standard unit of measurement -- allowing for some degree of population growth between 2004 and 2005. This would indeed currently rank Iran last among approximately 50 countries in the DSA table of Multi-Country Per Capita and VMT/VKmT Fatality Data for 2004 Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
National Defensive Driving Program Aims to Bring Licensing Procedure in Line with World Standards The time has come for driver's licenses to be earned, as opposed to simply bought, according to civil society organizations gathered to urge the government to launch a national driving campaign. The National Defensive Driving Campaign (NDDC) was officially launched at the Press Club in Downtown Beirut yesterday, with "driving defensively" being defined as "not only taking responsibility for yourself and your actions, but also keeping an eye on the other guy." Adel Matni, a board member of the Youth Association for Social Awareness (YASA), said that after a record-setting 600 deaths in 2004, it was "high time" for young drivers to learn the basics of defensive driving.... Full Story, from The Daily Star __________________________
Local Teens Affected by Latest Restrictions "Sweet Sixteen" has turned sour for many Maryland teenagers. On Oct. 1, a new law takes effect that lengthens the time drivers must hold learner's permits, raises the minimum age for obtaining a provisional license to 16 years and three months, raises the minimum age for obtaining a regular license to 17 years and nine months and imposes new behavior restrictions on teen drivers, according to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Association (MVA) web site. The new law was passed in response to parental pressure, a spate of car accidents since last September involving teenage drivers and recent research from national automobile safety groups regarding the driving conditions that make teens unsafe motorists, according to the MVA. In addition to raising the minimum age requirements for provisional licenses, the law revises the qualifications necessary for receiving a provisional license in three ways. First, teen drivers must have a learner's permit for six months, instead of the current four months. Second, applicants must have 60 hours of driving experience instead of the current 40. And third, ten of those hours must be nighttime driving hours.... Read the article, from Silver Chips Online __________________________
Larry Z. Leslie, a USF mass communications associate professor, often lectures to his media ethics classes on the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. “The cell phone has been a marvelous invention because it does enable us to communicate with law enforcement and health care people when we have an accident or when we see an emergency,” Leslie said. “However, I don’t think it’s been very helpful to us otherwise when we’re on the highway. In my opinion, Americans are not good at multitasking on the highway.”... Read the Article, from The Oracle. __________________________
according to statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation TxDOT and law enforcement officers from across the state said Monday that statistics showed a reduced number of alcohol-related fatalities for the period from 2003 to 2004. An increase has also been seen in safety belt usage across the state, according to a survey of 10 cities conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute. Full Story, from The Daily Texan __________________________
Road accidents significantly inhibit economic and social development. Road Safety has not been given priority in developing countries due to lack of funds and integration of urban and rural roads with Highway Development programs. According to a study by the World Bank, Harvard University and World Health Organization (WHO), by the year 2020, road accidents will jump from the present ninth position to become the third greatest injury and disease burden in the world way ahead of HIV and War and only exceeded by heart disease and depression. The U.S. Department of State Consular Information for most Asian Countries states that the roads are pathetic, chaotic and dangerous and that most drivers in these countries do not follow basic traffic principles. If Road Safety issues are not addressed on priority basis, fatalities and injuries are likely to increase by 65% from the present annual totals of 1.2 million deaths and 50 million injuries globally. Over 75% of the casualties occur in developing and transition countries though they account for only 32% of motor vehicles. Unlike the developed countries, the majority of road crash victims in developing countries are not the motor vehicle occupants but pedestrians, motor cyclists, bicyclists, Non Motor Vehicle (NMV) occupants and users of public transport. ... The International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD) is a global network of individuals and organizations interested in rural transport issues in developing countries. In India, the Rajasthan Forum Group of IFRTD spearheaded by Birla Institute of Technology & Science "BITS", Pilani has organized a "safety on Rural Roads Workshop" on 12 September 2005 at Pilani. Full Story, from Newswire __________________________
A motorcyclist was killed on M-19 in Emmett Township. Jeffrey Lawrence Rousseau, 40, of Caro was hit head-on by a motorist trying to pass a tractor-trailer at about 8 p.m. Thursday. The fatality is part of a troubling increase in deadly motorcycle accidents - in the Blue Water Area and the state. Michigan's number of serious injuries and fatalities is on the rise, according to the Michigan State Police. The same trend is reflected nationally. For seven consecutive years, the number of motorcycle-rider fatalities has grown. For the first time since 1987, motorcycle deaths exceeded 4,000. They clearly illustrate the risk motorcyclists assume simply by driving the same streets and highways cars and trucks dominate. Story from Port Huron Times. __________________________
ROAD campaigners are calling for tough new restrictions on new drivers after the deaths of eight young people in Wales in the past six days. In one of the worst weeks for road deaths in recent years, all those who died in three separate road smashes were aged 20 or under - they were all described by grieving friends and family as having "everything to live for".... According to a study carried out this summer by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), teenage drivers are 10 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured while driving than motorists in their 40s. The study also found young people were more likely to have crashes at night and while driving with groups of friends.... Full Story from ICNetwork. ___________________________
Obuor, who was voted hip life artiste of the year 2005, will produce a
series of TV commercials through music and drama, which will be aired
on the various television networks. Story from Ghana Home Page. __________________________
Schools' Seminar Tries to Help Parents Teach Their Children The warning was dire inside the cafeteria at Howard High School last week during a safe-driving seminar: One wrong move and you could be dead. Look at the pictures from a fatal accident on Route 29 and Johns Hopkins Road in Howard County, where a 19-year-old slammed into a UPS truck. Or another crash on Sanner Road in Howard, where a girl skidded on an icy patch while talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone. She hit a telephone pole. "When you are driving, you have a machine, and it could become a killing machine if you're not careful," said Pfc. Penny Branch, who is stationed at the school, as she flipped through the photos in her PowerPoint presentation. The more than 300 parents and students in the cafeteria collectively gasped at one horrific photo after another of local accidents. This year, the slide show has become mandatory viewing for all county students who want to apply for coveted parking permits at their schools. And they had to bring Mom or Dad.... Read the article, from The Washington Post. ___________________________
OUR MISSION: To stir a spirit of caring and involvement so that everyone can see themselves as part of the highway community and take an active part in creating travel that benefits everyone. This celebration is a call to action that shows how motorists and truck drivers around the country can work together to create safer highways and grow our economy. This is a FREE, FUN-FILLED, FAMILY EVENT ___________________________
After ten people die in two accidents on Britain’s roads, safety campaigners demand action to halt the rising toll among teenage motorists at a time when the overall death rate is in marked decline ROAD SAFETY campaigners called for new restrictions on young drivers yesterday after ten people were killed in two crashes less than two hours apart. Both the crashes happened late in the evening and involved groups of young people in heavily-laden cars.... Nine of the ten dead, including the two drivers, were in their teens or early 20s. The two crashes killed more people than the daily average of nine road deaths for the whole of Britain. The number of 16-19 year-old drivers and passengers killed on Britain’s roads rose 12 per cent last year while the overall road death toll fell by 8 per cent.... Read the article from Times Online. ___________________________
There’s been a dramatic increase in the number of alcohol related car accidents in the last six years since the drinking age was lowered to 18, say Massey University researchers. Recent trends in alcohol related harms and offences since alcohol laws were relaxed, have been surveyed and reported by the University’s Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research (SHORE) The researchers found a dramatic upward trend occurred in alcohol related crashes since the drinking age was lowered in 1999. Until that point, there had been a steady fall in drink driving incidents during the 1990’s.... Story from Massey News __________________________
Muzaffarnagar: At least eight people were killed and 50 other injured when a private bus overturned near Bodhana town, here this afternoon. Police said the mishap occurred around 1430 hrs after the bus driver apparently lost control over the vehicle when an overtaking jeep took a sharp turn. The deceased included two women and a child, police added. The injured were later rushed to the hospital, where the condition of several of them was stated to be serious. Senior police and district officials had rushed to the spot. Story from New Kerala ___________________________
For the second consecutive year, the European Commission has organised a large summer campaign to promote the European Road Safety Charter. Between 29 July to 15 September 2005, European road users will be invited to become ambassadors of the European Road Safety Charter by participating in a Europe wide contest. “Tougher police controls have substantially improved road safety in many countries but more action is needed to reach our goal of halving the number of road fatalities by 2010”, said European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot in charge of transport. “This campaign emphasises that road safety is also every driver’s responsibility”, he added. ___________________________
The Commission has decided to grant a final period of tolerance for the introduction of the digital tachograph until 31 December 2005. The legal deadline for the introduction of the digital tachograph had been extended until 5 August 2005 but an extra period of tolerance is needed. The digital tachograph must be legally recognised and accepted by all Member States from 5 August onwards.
DSA Comments For those readers who have not encountered such, a tachograph is a tamper-proof machine that accurately records the activities of a commercial vehicle in relation to the driver's permitted hours of service, compulsory rest periods, etc. It also records the vehicle's speed at all times and tachograph readings have been accepted as evidence in legal proceedings in some European countries for around the last 25 years.. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
Honda Motor Co. unveiled on Thursday the world's first airbag system to be mounted on a production model motorcycle, with plans to offer it on the new Gold Wing touring bike to hit U.S. showrooms next spring. The airbag module is built in between the bike's handles and activates when four crash sensors detect a severe frontal collision, creating a buffer as the rider is flung forward on impact. Honda, Japan's third-biggest car maker and the world's top motorcycle supplier, said the airbag would be effective in significantly reducing fatalities and serious injuries, citing data which shows that most occur during frontal collisions.... Full story, from Reuters UK ___________________________
Its goal will be to improve the quality of life for road crash victims. A special recovery and research centre to help road accident victims recover quicker will be established in Adelaide. The $1.4 million-a-year centre funded by the State Government is likely to be operating before the end of the year. Deputy Premier Kevin Foley said the centre would not only help victims but could save up to $9 million a year on claim costs for road accident injuries. This could eventually lead to reduced third party insurance premiums. "It has long been recognised that people who are injured and claim compensation for injuries in road crashes struggle harder to regain full health than those who suffer similar injuries but are not involved in the compensation process," he said.... Full story, from The Advertiser (Australia) [SMc] ___________________________
NSW Special Minister of State, John Della Bosca, today announced the results of new research which shows an alarming number of children are being put at risk through the improper use of seat belts and child restraints. The research, undertaken by the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute with the Children's Hospital at Westmead and the Sydney Children's Hospital, examined crash and injury data for children aged 2-8 years who were in motor vehicle accidents. "Our research project reveals 82 per cent of children in our study who were hospitalised after a crash were not using the best restraint for their size," said the Institute's A/Professor Lynne Bilston. "It also shows children are graduating to seatbelts before they are ready – and this is increasing their risk of serious injury."... Full story, from Eurekalert [SMc] ___________________________
Ten people have been killed in two horror road crashes. Six died in a head-on collision involving two cars in Hampshire, and four young people died when their car hit a wall in Carmarthenshire, west Wales. In the Hampshire crash, an 18-year-old passenger escaped with just broken fingers - but saw his father die in the high-speed, head-on smash. A senior police officer said it was the worst crash he had seen in 22 years with the force. And the crash in Wales took place on a stretch of road that local have dubbed a "mini Le Mans" in a campaign to stop boy racers speeding there. Both accidents happened last night within 90 minutes of each other.... Full story, from the Glasgow Evening Times [SMc] ___________________________
OPINION: [One of the issues that has] clouded the media landscape of late [is] the upsurge in road accidents. [This] has become a national issue, which is facing Ghana as a country. Survival demands that we find ways and means of grappling with this problem or never. Today, road accident is a dominating issue in all over the places, crowding the pages of the press and the daily conversation of Ghanaians. It appears no single day goes off without you and I hearing about road accidents. I just returned from Lome and on the Ghana portion of the journey, road accidents have littered all the places. Our roads have become our graves; our roads our graves. Just last week, the country lost three of its doctors through a lorry accident on the Kumasi-Accra road. Less than forty eight hours and on the Kumasi-Obuasi road, fifteen passengers lost their lives. On the same road some four weeks ago, an articulated truck crushed a 207 Mercedex Benz, killing 20 people instantly. Then the re-nominated candidate for the Dangme East District Executive post, Mr Kabutey Caesar, died in a motor accident last Sunday evening, August 28, when he was traveling with his wife and son from Accra to Ada. And this is going on day by day.... Full story, from the Ghanaian Chronicle, via allAfrica [SMc] ___________________________
Five people were killed and 34 other injured in a collision between a passenger bus and a truck in Khuzdar district on Thursday morning at 7:30 am. Most of the injured are said to be women and children. According to police officials a passenger bus from Karachi to Islamabad collided with a truck... which was standing alongside the road in Khuzdar.... [Source: The Pak Tribune] [SMc] ___________________________
A Codeta taxi driver who won the No 1 Taxi Driver Of The Year award has called on taxi drivers to do advanced courses to improve their driving. Khayelitsha resident Vuyani Kobese came out tops in theory and road tests and drew the highest number of commuters' votes as a responsible and safe driver.... Kobese, who has driven for 14 years, said... "I have learnt new things. For example I have learnt that when you drive on a rainy day, you should be very careful and try to ensure that there is a (proper) distance between your car and another one."... [He added that] it was critical that all drivers adhered to traffic rules because they were dealing with people's lives.... Kobese said taxi organisations and drivers also needed to promote the Arrive Alive Campaign on the roads. Full story from IOL
DSA Comments This is clearly not 'advanced driving' in the full sense of the term but any enhancement to drivers' knowledge -- particularly if it eventually helps improve drivers' attitude -- is tremendously important in all countries. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
New car dealerships around the country are hosting child safety seat inspections throughout September, as part of Child Passenger Safety Month, sponsored by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Child Passenger Safety Month coincides with the back-to-school timeframe. Dealers selling vehicles made by every manufacturer will participate in the month's activities. The Chevrolet brand of General Motors has taken an especially active role, promoting the campaign directly to NADA Chevy dealers and working with Safe Kids Worldwide to host child seat inspection events at many of its dealerships nationwide, in conjunction with its new initiative, "Babies, Boosters and Belts ... .All Buckled Up." More than 40,000 child passengers under age four are injured or killed in car crashes annually, according to NHTSA. The Agency reports that over 50,000 children between four and eight years old are injured or killed riding in cars annually. Approximately 40 percent of children under the age of eight who die or suffer serious injuries in fatal car crashes are completely unrestrained. For more information on child seat safety and the "Boost for Safety" campaign, as well as a partial list of participating dealerships, visit http://www.nada.org/boostforsafety ___________________________
A traffic expert believes the death toll on Cumbria’s roads could be reduced to practically zero if drivers followed three golden rules. Richard Watt, traffic management officer with Cumbria police, wants to see motorists slow down, stay back and take more care at junctions [i.e. intersections]. He was speaking at the launch of the ‘Lost Soles’ campaign in the centre of Carlisle which is aimed at getting road users to kill their speed, not people. A banner was unfurled in front of the Old Town Hall containing 57 footprints, one to represent each individual who lost their life on Cumbria’s roads last year. A further 377 people were seriously injured.... “Most accidents are caused by speeding, travelling too close to the vehicle in front or misjudgements at junctions. People can easily do something about that by slowing down, staying back and just taking more care when judging the speed of traffic on the major road at junctions. It isn’t rocket science.”... Full story, from the News and Star [SMc] Keywords: Cumbria Constabulary, Dickie Watt ___________________________
Even though petrol prices in Europe have not been affected so strongly by the Gulf of Mexico situation, they continue their inexorable crawl upwards. In Britain, petrol has now passed the £1 per litre mark. Once the conversion to imperial measures is allowed for, and then the conversion from imperial gallons to U.S. gallons, and then the current currency exchange rate, this comes out at the equivalent of U.S. $7 for an American gallon of 'gas'. Once British petrol prices reach £1.10p per gallon (which won't take long, now that the psychological £1 barrier has been breached) it will have reached £5 per 'old' gallon -- for those of us who still speak in imperial measures! And at today's exchange rate, that will be the equivalent of $7.64 per US gallon. On the other hand, through financial necessity, European-built cars have much more fuel-efficient engines and therefore get dramatically better miles-per-gallon than American cars. In addition, diesel engines have been refined and better refined to the point where European cars commonly use diesel fuel, with effectively none of the perceived drawbacks of just a few years ago. As a good example of this, I've just had the pleasure of test driving a 2.2 litre diesel Jaguar S-Type, in England, for two weeks during August, and it gave me almost 50mpg overall -- yes, fifty miles per gallon... in a Jaguar! So the price of gas isn't everything; fuel economy is just as important. Eddie Wren, Exec. Director, Drive and Stay Alive (& former police colleague of Dickie Watt, mentioned in the article above!) ___________________________
SkyTel Corp., a division of MCI Inc., announced yesterday the launch of a wireless vehicle tracking device designed for parents who want to keep tabs on their teens' travels. SkyGuard utilizes GPS technology to monitor where and when a car is being driven, as well as the speed at which the vehicle is traveling and relays that information back to a secure website... Parents can opt to set up perimeters around "areas of interest" that should be avoided (i.e. the mall) or that shouldn't be left (i.e. school).... [Source: PC Mag] [SMc] ___________________________
BEIJING: The spokesman of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and several journalists were injured in a road accident in China on Tuesday, RIA Novosti reported. According to information of the British TV channel SKY News, the minibus of the Prime Minister’s cortege overturned on a speedway leading to the airport in Beijing. A correspondent of the Associated Press is hospitalized with his clavicle broken.... Full story, from Focus English News, Bulgaria ___________________________
The Maltese Government has adopted a holistic approach to increase road safety, since it is not an issue that can be addressed solely by introducing new legislation, speed limits or stricter penalties for reckless drivers, Minister Jesmond Mugliett said on Tuesday morning. The Minister for Urban Development and Roads said so during his opening address at the meeting of the Road Safety Group of the European Conference of Ministers for Transport held in St. Julian's. The meeting follows the launching of the European Road Safety Charter in April last year, a European Commission initiative aimed at reducing the number of fatal road accidents and supported by all the EU member states. Minister Jesmond Mugliett said Malta today has one of the highest levels of motorization in Europe, with 680 motor vehicles registered for every 1,000 inhabitants. Although the country nevertheless has the lowest per capita fatality rate in Europe, with 40 road traffic-related deaths per million, the statistic can be misleading since the fatality rate per kilometre travelled is still higher than the European average, given the relatively short trips that one can travel on the island.... The Minister went on to say that several measures are being taken to make the road upgrade programme... safer for all to use. The measures include the use of imported aggregate to produce a wearing that offers greater skid resistance, the realignments of carriageways to decrease the incidence of bends in these roads and their reconstruction to standard widths, greater visibility for drivers through the redesign and widening of junctions, the construction of wider footpaths and cycle lanes, and the creation of 20 pedestrian crossings the majority of which are equipped with pelican lights. Further to this, crash barriers have been installed along most of the new roads to avoid traffic accidents from spilling over onto opposing carriageways and involving other vehicles, efficient stormwater systems have been constructed to ease off rain water runoff and prevent flooding, and... service roads have been built in residential and commercial areas to separate local traffic from through traffic.... The Malta Transport Authority, Minister Mugliett went on, upgraded its driving test for new drivers and adopted a penalty point system for repeated offenders, since, from the type of road accidents that were occurring, it was noted that improvements were required in the field of driver training and testing. The Authority is also working in closer collaboration with the Police in order to ensure more safety on the roads. There is more detail in the full story, from di-ve.
DSA Comments In American English (Ameri-glish?): "Way to go, Malta!" In British English: "Well done!" Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
People power has won the day after residents of a busy Douglas road persuaded the Department of Transport to place cameras on traffic lights. Earlier this year, Fiona Harcourt, proprietor of Cranford Nursery School, in Woodbourne Road, warned that hundreds of children attending nearby schools and nurseries were in danger because of speeding traffic. She organised an informal meeting at the road's traffic lights with DoT staff and representatives from nearby Murray's Road, Ballaquayle, St Mary's and St Ninian's schools, along with staff from the Isle of Man Children's Centre and Hopes and Dreams Children's Nursery. The residents were afraid a child on the pedestrian crossing would be seriously hurt by motorists jumping red lights and speeding through the Woodbourne Road/York Road junction. A pledge by the DoT to do what it could to help was honoured on Friday when the department announced red light cameras had been ordered for the junction.... Full story, from Isle of Man Today ___________________________
Toyota Motor Corporation announced today that it has developed a new version of its Pre-crash Safety System that provides early warning of an imminent collision when it detects the driver is likely not looking straight ahead. This new feature - response to data that suggests that most vehicle accidents are caused by lack of driver awareness is a world's first and will be offered on a Lexus-brand vehicle due to debut in Japan in the spring of 2006. While Toyota's Pre-crash Safety System until now has centered on the detection of other vehicles and obstacles on the road ahead, the newly enhanced system takes into consideration, for the first time, the state of the driver. Using a camera mounted on the steering column and an image-processing computer, the system detects the orientation of the driver's face. If the system reads that the driver is not facing forward when it determines that the probability of a collision is high, it will warn the driver sooner than when the driver is facing forward, aiming to lessen collision injuries.... Toyota became the first automaker to develop a radar-based collision safety system when it came out with its Pre-crash Safety System in February 2003.... Full story, from the JCN Network [SMc] ___________________________
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved results from negotiations between the World Bank and the government relating to a loan worth over US$31 million to Viet Nam’s Road Safety Project.... According to a June 10 World Bank press release, the project is designed to reduce the number of accidents, injuries and deaths on Vietnamese roads by improving conditions and management capacity. The Road Safety Project will initially focus on increasing resources and skills of the agencies responsible for carrying out the government’s programme, along with strengthening capacity.... Funding will additionally be supplied to help establish and support the development of a National Road Accident Database System, with $6.2 million going towards the project. Designed to enhance the identification and monitoring of locations around the country where accidents, injuries and fatalities most frequently occur, the database will help remedy the cause through effective measures. Full story, from Viet Nam News ___________________________
As many as 576,324 students went back to government schools across the Sultanate yesterday as schools reopened for the new academic year.... On the occasion of the new academic year, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) expressed its greetings to the students, teachers and the Ministry of Education officials. “The ROP is keen on spreading traffic awareness among students at the beginning of the new school year within the framework of its traffic safety concepts, in addition to spreading traffic awareness among the school bus drivers,” a statement released yesterday said. Among the crucial issues that came to the fore are the morning and noon traffic rush near the schools. The trend is seen made worse by the parents who come to pick their wards from the schools. The habit among students of gathering on the roadsides also creates traffic hassles. The ROP, in the statement, warned against the practice by some drivers of not sticking to the instructions and overloading their buses with more than the admissible passenger capacity.... The Directorate-General of Traffic has also stipulated certain specifications for the school buses as stated in the executive regulation of traffic law to ensure passengers’ safety in general and students’ safety in particular.... The ROP also cooperates with the Education Ministry in organising awareness lectures and seminars for students highlighting the psychological and social impact of road accidents. Full story, from the Times of Oman ___________________________
(Letter to the Editor, Sun St. Kitts/Nevis) I listened to the WINNFM radio interview in which Inspector Cromwell Henry talked about the continuing rise in traffic violations. I have to wonder what drivers are thinking about when they refuse to do mandatory things like licence their vehicles, renew their own licences and observe some of the more basic requirements of owning and operating a vehicle. The feeling I get is that a lot of people who own vehicles are not financially able to do so, consequently they have great difficulty in simply maintaining them safely and following the law, which really is a safeguard to other drivers on the road. Then you have the joy-riders, I like to call them, who have all sorts of cosmetic additions to their vehicles that inevitably impair their driving vision or create such noise pollution as to be offensive.... Most important of all our roadways need to be safe for all to travel on and the police Traffic Department must continue to carry out its checks to ensure that safety. Fred Full letter, from Sun St. Kitts/Nevis ___________________________
.......[An] emergency meeting of New Hampshire's motorcycle safely task force didn't touch the hot-button helmet issue — helmets are required only until age 18 here — but did agree that more riders need training. Only one of the 27 motorcyclists killed last year had taken motorcycle training. The 27 deaths were three times the number killed in 2003, and 29 motorcyclists have already been killed this year. New Hampshire's hand-wringing is part of a national problem that has highway safety officials and the motorcycle industry struggling to figure out why motorcycle deaths were up 85% from 1997 to 2004. Members of the Governors Highway Safety Association discussed how to reverse the trend — one of their biggest concerns — at their annual meeting last week in Norfolk, Va. Jim Champagne, the group's chairman, says rising motorcycle deaths are offsetting the life-saving progress states are making by boosting seat-belt use and cutting alcohol-related deaths.... Full story, from USA Today ___________________________
This column is based on the notion that almost all traffic fatalities are preventable [and] largely assumes that only rarely does a road have a structural safety problem and that most accidents are those we cause ourselves. However, sometimes a road does have a safety problem. An accident may have been caused by an engineering or design flaw or a combination of driver error and a road flaw. [When "Reader's Digest" starts writing about roadway safety ("Danger on the Road," July 2005), you know it's hit the mainstream. It looked at what most of us would call "bizarre" highway fatalities — car hits moose would be an example — and found that some have solutions.] That's where the Roadway Safety Foundation comes in. It is a national nonprofit organization "dedicated to reducing highway deaths and injuries by improving the physical characteristics of America's roadways — design and engineering, operating conditions, removal of roadside hazards and the effective use of safety features." ... Full story, from News Press [SMc] ___________________________
Dozens of motorists and cyclists are causing accidents as a result of being plugged into their iPod music players while using the roads, traffic safety experts have warned. The digital players are one of the consumer sensations of the decade and evidence is growing that many drivers and cyclists are concentrating more on music than on the rules of the road. New research suggests a significant majority of traffic accidents involve distraction by electronic gadgets, and one UK accident expert has warned that dozens of road users are being injured or killed as a result of MP3 mania.... New figures from America, where the iPod boom was born, suggest eight out of 10 crashes involve driver distraction due to hi-tech gadgets. [The NHTSA] studied the driving habits of 100 volunteers over a one-year period with cameras and sensors placed inside the vehicles of the volunteers. The cameras captured 82 crashes, 761 near crashes and 8,300 evasive manoeuvres. The researchers found that 80% of the crashes and 65% of the near crashes were a result of driver distraction. Sue Nicholson, head of RAC Foundation campaigns, said: "Drivers wearing earphones or changing tracks on digital music players are increasingly having bumps or some kind of accident.... A spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said it was also concerned by the phenomenon: "We advise motorists and cyclists not to listen to these devices with earphones. Concentration is a key factor in many accidents. Cyclists are particularly vulnerable to traffic and need to ensure that they are fully aware of their surroundings.".... Full story, from The Scotsman Related subject:
[This is a very lengthy article about all of the gadgets that are now being fitted to cars. Only three short extracts are posted below, together with comments from DSA.] ....Sociologists might cite the Manglapus vacation as evidence of growing dysfunction in American family life. But consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers, and a growing number of automobile companies, see it as a gold mine.... Automobile manufacturers are scrambling to redesign their vehicles to accommodate all of the portable electronics consumers may want to take on their road trips.... Automotive safety experts are wary of the trend toward turning vehicle cabins into family rooms and office cubicles. Video screens are not likely to decrease driving risks, safety experts say. CEA [Consumer Electronics Association] executives agree. The association’s Mobile Electronics Division is pushing for a worldwide regulation requiring the installation of entertainment video screens in the rear cabins of cars and trucks, out of the driver’s field of vision.... Full article, from the Nashua Telegraph (by Warren Brown, of the Washington Post)
DSA Comments "....Consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers, and a growing number of automobile companies, see it as a gold mine...." That more or less says it all. Any comments these organizations issue about road safety in connection with this topic might be deemed to be nothing more than lip service. Most of all, we are intrigued by the Consumer Electronics Association's alleged push for worldwide regulations. After all, with no disrespect intended, one of the major challenges to improved highway safety within the USA is the seemingly immense difficulty of getting all 50 states to agree on often-vital measures, and in the light of this situation a suggestion that the CEA will push for worldwide regulations seems both arrogant and over-optimistic. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is on the lookout for what troopers call "extreme driving" -- racing along at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. The patrol announced a crackdown on the super-high speeds [around] Columbus and four other cities in June. Lieutenant Rick Zwayer says drivers don't realize how quickly things can go wrong when their speedometers reach triple digits.... The Columbus Dispatch reports 448 drivers in Franklin County have been ticketed for speeds above 100 miles per hour since 2002. Eighty-six such tickets have been written this year.... Full story, from WCPO ___________________________
At least 17 people including three women and three children were killed in a head-on collision between a bus and an oil tanker in Pakistan’s north-western town of Karak on Saturday, police said. Officer Liaqat Ali told DPA that the accident apparently took place due to a failure of the oil tanker’s brakes as it was traveling towards Peshawar, the capital of the Northwestern Frontier Province (NWFP). Everyone on board the bus was killed in the accident. [Source: Khaleej Times] [SMc] ___________________________
Nine people were killed and two seriously injured when their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge near Battery Chashma, about 180 kms from here, on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway today, police said here. The vehicle, which was on way to Srinagar, met with the accident at around 1630 hours while negotiating a curve, they said.... [Source: Outlook India] [SMc] ___________________________
The National Roads and Motorists' Association [NRMA] is to open a series of high-tech driver training centres in a bid to slow the alarming fatality rate among young drivers. Simulators similar to those used to train astronauts and aircraft pilots have been sourced by the NRMA from Europe and will be installed in the centres from next month.... "The proportion of young drivers killed on the road is way out of whack with the number of young drivers on the road," NRMA president Alan Evans said.... "We want to ensure that when drivers get on road they are much better equipped and have the right attitude." An NRMA media spokesman said: "Drivers under 25 are most at risk of dying in crashes. They hold approximately 16 per cent of licences but are involved in 28 per cent of fatal crashes." [Source: The Sydney Morning Herald] [SMc] ___________________________
Rural property owners [in Australia] have defended their right to allow children to drive farm vehicles. Children as young as eight commonly learn to drive the family car on rural properties, helping out with farm chores and operating farm machinery such as tractors. The dangers of young drivers was raised after the death last weekend of nine-year-old Emmi Bielenberg, who was driving alone in a four-wheel drive on her family's property near Bluff, 180km west of Rockhampton, in central Queensland. It is legal for unlicensed children to drive on private property, and police say it is common among farmers.... Full story, from News.com [SMc]
DSA Comments There are similar problems in the agricultural regions of many large countries, including the USA, but as long as farmers fail to see the true extent of the dangers of allowing young people to drive on public roads -- or, as in this case, really young children to drive alone on private land -- there will continue to be many pointless tragedies. Should profitability and convenience ever come before the safety of one's own children? Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
Grief counselors from the area converged on Chaparral High School Thursday. Everyone in the school district comprised of Anthony and Harper, Kan., is in shock and grieving over the death of three teenage girls who were students there.... Wednesday, the three left the high school (located a few miles north of Anthony) to go sell yearbook ads about 1:30 p.m. They were southbound on K2 Highway going to Anthony. At milemarker 37 (1015 feet south of 40 road), the car they were in, a 1992 Pontiac, crossed the center line for an unknown reason and struck an oncoming 1995 Ford truck, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol report. Driver of the Pontiac was Leah Giesen who had just celebrated her 16th birthday on the weekend, according to friends. Leah and her two friends who were passengers in the vehicle, Morgan Elliott, 15, and Laura Arnet, 15, all died at the scene. The KHP report stated that Leah was wearing a seatbelt and her two friends were not.... Full story here, from the Alva Review Courier [SMc] ___________________________
Madhya Pradesh Minister of State for Transport Umashankar Gupta has said the state-level Road Safety Committee would be constituted shortly in Madhya Pradesh. The cooperation of voluntary institutions should be enlisted to enhance awareness about traffic rules. ''To minimise acidents, there is a need for better coordination between departments concerned. Indicators ought to be placed at accident-prone spots and roads designed for more safety,'' he said here yesterday while addressing a workshop on road safety, organised by the state Road Development Corporation, an official release said.... Full story, from NewKerala ___________________________
Eight persons including three women and a child, traveling in a
jeep, were killed and 11 were injured in a road mishap on Palanpur
national highway on Thursday morning.
The jeep carrying around 19 passengers
collided with a truck near Kali Mati village. Eight persons died on
the spot.
Gurvindersinh Jat, a resident of Amritsar, in his complaint with
Amirgadh police, mentioned that reckless driving of the truck driver
claimed eight lives and injured 11 persons. According to police, the
jeep was heading towards Amirgadh from Abu Road.... The truck driver
[has absconded].
[Source:
Ahmedabad.com, Gujerat]
___________________________
The Western Regional branch of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has called for urgent collaborative measures by all sectors of the society. This, the Commission said, include the various religious organisations to check the alarming spate of accidents on the roads. Mr Thomas Bismark Boakye, Regional Coordinator of the Commission said, as part of the efforts to ensure safety on the roads, leaders of the various Churches should make road safety part of their sermons during worship. "If they can allot only five minutes to talk about road safety to their congregations, half of the battle would have been won," [he said].... Many communities in these regions, he said, celebrate their annual festivals between July and October and drivers are tempted to overload and over-speed to make extra money, resulting in fatal accidents. Mr Boakye said in spite of constraints, the Commission is doing its best by sensitising the public through meetings, rallies and other fora, including radio talks for motorists to observe road signs and regulations always.... Mr Boakye noted that most accidents were caused by the use of imported second hand lorry tyres, and said such tyres were manufactured for a particular climatic condition and therefore, not good for our roads. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Victor Adusa-Poku, Regional Commander of MTTU said between January and August 2005, the region recorded 623 accidents in which 70 people lost their lives and 725 receiving various degrees of injuries. He urged passengers to help curb the spate of accidents by reporting to the police, incidents of dangerous driving or misbehaviour by drivers.... Full story, from GhanaWeb ___________________________
Ghana 's road safety is questionable. Statistics shows that our road safety is nothing to [boast] of. It is only now that that DVLA is seriously being effective and operational. Most of our Ghanaian drivers particularly lorry drivers have no formal education and one wonders how they pass their driving test anyway. Who in the DVLA okays these drivers to drive on our roads? No wonder lives are at risk because of they are not respected by some of these drivers. Ghanaians rely on trotro and taxis yet safety in the hands of these people is questionable. These guys call themselves professional drivers but with[out] any proper driving test who on earth would put their lives at risk?.... Don't we reflect on our achievement to enable us to move with development? Which department is responsible for looking into the future about our roundabouts and road developments? It rather saddens me that Government after Government [has] come but none so far have even thought of installing traffic lights within major roundabouts. Do we have a national speed limit so that passengers could report speeding drivers who do not comply to the national speed limit?... Full opinion piece here, from GhanaWeb Would readers with an interest in or knowledge of driving issues in West Africa please note that the writer of this article is actively seeking input on the subject. He may be contacted at mercyadede.bolus@tiscali.co.uk ___________________________
Queen's Park - Bill 73 came into effect on September 1, 2005. The Act was passed on December 6, 2004, and is designed to improve the safety of children and youth on Ontario's roads. "With more families on the road this long holiday weekend, it's more important than ever to make sure children are travelling safely," said Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar. "Infant, child and booster seats are proven life savers. They can reduce the risk of death and injury by up to 75 per cent. That's why all drivers are now required to make sure young passengers are safely secured in these seats." "Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and injury for children and youth," said Takhar. "That's why we are making every effort to improve our children's safety from the time they are toddlers to their teens." "This will help protect the 'forgotten children' who are too big for child car seats and too small to be properly protected by seatbelts," said Emile Thérien, President of the Canada Safety Council. Bill 73, which passed in December, includes several new road safety measures which focus on young drivers and children.... Full story, from The Fountain Pen, Guelph ___________________________
Volvo's latest safety innovations are designed to improve road safety, and include two concepts to help to prevent drink driving and speed related accidents:
To test if a driver is safe and legal to drive, and not under the influence of alcohol, Volvo has designed an integrated breathalyser that is attached to the seatbelt which must be used before the car's engine will start. The breathalyser shows a green light if the driver is OK to drive and, once the seatbelt is fastened, the car can be started as normal. However, if the driver is over the limit, a red light illuminates on the breathalyser and it will not be possible to drive the car. The other new Volvo safety concept is a special ignition key which can be programmed to limit the car’s speed to a predetermined maximum and is aimed at younger or less experienced drivers who, statistics show, are more likely to have speed related accidents. According to EU statistics, the risk of 18 to 25 year olds being involved in an accident is more than twice that of people aged between 26 and 50, and the accidents often result from a lethal combination of high speed and inadequate experience. Full story, from CarPages ___________________________
Cars will be fitted with radar to detect the position of other vehicles and pedestrians once technology in a joint UK government and industry project is rolled out. Two types of radar inside a sensor module behind the bumper or windscreen would scan for potentially dangerous movements up to 150m away and automatically slow the car down down or stop in emergencies. Ultimately, the sensor technology, which includes high-speed internet access, will be able to take control of vehicles joining and leaving major road networks and even allow automated hands-free convoy driving on motorways. The sensor is being developed as part of the joint industry, education and department of trade and industry Slimsens research project, part of the Foresight Vehicle programme. It is expected to be available from the end of the decade and to eventually become standard. The industry partners are UK aerospace and defence giant BAE Systems; and e2v Technologies and LEW Techniques -- two British companies with extensive microwave and sensor technology. Input is also coming from University of Birmingham's department of electronic, electrical and computer engineering. Jaguar cars are acting as advisers. The new sensor module, about the size of a fist, is believed to be the first in the world to combine radar and telematics. A pencil of three to five narrow radar beams spreads out in front of the vehicle to detect other vehicles' range, speed and direction up to 150m away. A second module can be used for the rear. The sensors relay information instantly to avoid collisions and use cruise control systems. A radar "cloud" with a 30m range at the front of the car is designed to detect pedestrians and activate the emergency stop if necessary.... The project is also looking at "smart reflectors" to allow car radars to identify road signs. Full story, from Motor Trend ___________________________
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. ___________________________
Florida's Turnpike, including median guardrails to prevent crossover crashes, and a cable barrier system to keep cars out of canals. Another bill he sponsored allows counties to add $3 to traffic fines to pay for driver's education at public and private schools. Fifty-two counties are participating.... Full story, from the Palm Beach Post
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and GLOBAL September 17, 2005 Global
Road Safety Campaign Unveiled in Kenya
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