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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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October 2005
A powerful drama to highlight road safety among teenage drivers is being staged across schools and colleges in a Midlands county. The 50-minute production covers relationships, love, music, football and careers before tragedy strikes and a car crash destroys everything. Herefordshire Council’s Road Safety Unit and Herefordshire Community Safety and Drugs Partnership have teamed up with Walking Forward Theatre Company to bring “Never Saw the Day”. Ann Mann, Road Safety Officer for Herefordshire Council said: “ This year we have already had many young people, 16 to 19 year olds, injured on our roads. “Fifty nine casualties involved the car drivers and 41 were passengers. Three young people have died. This is three too many. “We have used theatre in education before and it works very well with this age group, getting the very important road safety messages home in a way that makes the student think.”... “This drama looks at the effect a road traffic collision can have on people’s lives, not just the families involved but also the friends of the victim.”... Full story, from 24dash.com [SMc] __________________________
Jason Taylor spent two weeks in hospital after a car accident, while doctors refused to let him see a mirror because his face had been so horribly damaged. Today, the teenager, whose face was left permanently scarred after a car accident a year ago has backed today's launch of a new organisation designed to tackle the number of road deaths in Wales. Jason, 19, of Seven Sisters, Neath, suffered severe facial injuries when he crashed his car into a tree while speeding.... [Jason said,] "It's only recently I've really got back on track, but I still don't have nerves in some places on my face." A new organisation, called Road Safety Wales, is aiming to promote safety on Welsh roads, on which four people die every week, with young people most at risk. Last year alone there were 201 deaths and 1,336 serious injuries, which Jason feels could be cut down through greater awareness of how to stay safe. "Since the accident my friends and me have all been a lot more aware about road safety," he said. "Before I had my accident I didn't take any notice of that kind of stuff but now I try as hard as possible to get the message across to people. "It's not worth it."... [SMc] Full story, from ic Wales __________________________
Question: If it is illegal to have a television or DVD screen within the sight of a person who is driving, how can it be even remotely acceptable to put a fully-fledged, touch-screen, business computer within a driver's view and reach? In terms of safety, this latest offering from Ford is frankly outrageous! Read an excerpt from a Ford press release, and DSA Comments, here. __________________________
You want scary? You want mind-numbing, color-draining, jaw-unhinging, queasy-gutted, flat-out frightening? There's no collection of low-budget slasher flicks or assortment of animatronic ghouls that compares to the haunted world of police patrol every night they arrest someone for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you thought watching any number of flat-footed teens try to outrun the plodding menace of Jason in "Friday the 13th" was unnerving, try looking for a spark of comprehension in the eyes of a drunk driver who's plowed into a family of four.... Read the full, excellent article, here, by Colt Foutz at the Naperville Sun __________________________
[Source: LARSOA] __________________________
At the Stockholm Motorcycle Fair the Swedish Police and Road Safety Department put two vehicles on display to show the horrendous nature of some crashes. Alan Goodwin, one of our regular correspondents at Drive and Stay Alive, has sent us several photographs and a brief summary of the crash. View them here. __________________________
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a second historic resolution on road safety on 26 October 2005 which invites Member States to implement the recommendations of the World report on road traffic injury prevention to participate in the First United Nations Global Road Safety Week; and to recognize the third Sunday in November of every year as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. The resolution and related discussions at the UN General Assembly earlier this week commended both the United Nations Secretary General for his report on road safety as well as the World Health Organization for its collaboration and role as co-ordinator on road safety issues within the United Nations. Several speakers expressed strong satisfaction with the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration - an alliance of over 50 organizations - and the products it has delivered so far. __________________________
At least 17 people were killed and 31 injured, some seriously, after a mini-lorry carrying them collided with a state transport bus and overturned on Asur road near Thuvakudi on the Tiruchirapalli-Thanjavur National Highway this morning.... Talking to reporters, Tiruchirapalli Range DIG Sunil Kumar Singh said action would be taken against the industrial unit which hired the workers. He said the lorry was overcrowded and the driver lost control resulting in the accident.... Full story, from New Kerala [SMc] __________________________
As far as 14-year-old Chenise Nakanashi's concerned, new restrictions for teenage drivers that go into effect Tuesday might make Oklahoma's highways safer but state government shouldn't have to tell her when and with whom she can drive.... New rules for Oklahoma's graduated driver's license law were adopted by the Legislature last spring in an effort to improve highway safety and reduce the number of collisions and fatalities among teenage drivers. But the guidelines are getting mixed reaction from teens who will have to comply with them. "I wouldn't like it if I was a teenager either. Would you?" said Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, one of the law's authors. Although not popular with all teens, the rules will help give young drivers the experience they need to make safe decisions behind the wheel, Leftwich said.... But the driver's education guidelines concerned students at the Classen school, who said they are unfair because not all families can afford to pay for it. Driver's education is not mandatory in Oklahoma and not all public schools offer it.... Full story, from KOTV [SMc]
DSA Comments The state government shouldn't have to tell young people when and with whom they can drive? In our opinion, the media commonly tend to do nothing but unnecessarily stir up resentment with articles such as this. While the comments that follow are categorically not intended to show any disrespect for teens (quite the reverse), it is a fact that young people's brains do not finish developing until the age of 23-24 and this severely affects their ability to drive safely. It is also a fact that countries where people cannot start driving until the age of 17 or even 18 have much lower rates of serious injuries and deaths involving inexperienced drivers (largely because of the brain development situation, mentioned above). In addition, young people with no valid life skills other than a desire for the social freedom that driving brings are far from being the best judges about the age at which that freedom should be granted or the rules under which it will be available. Sen. Leftwich was politically wise to make restrained comments about this but in the interest of protecting young lives we feel -- at Drive and Stay Alive -- that somebody should speak out more strongly. So here is one such observation: If saving young lives is the priority then let's just have the sense to get back to some "tough love." Stop asking the kids their opinions on this subject because frankly it shouldn't matter at all! Their lives are what matters, so as responsible adults we should pleasantly but firmly be telling them "That's how it is!" And as for the media: Please stop your incessant attempts to sensationalize and jazz up every single article. A strictly good sense approach to issues such as this would be delightful! Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
Young Children Have More Than Twice the Danger of Pedestrian Deaths and Injuries on Halloween Children aged 12 and under are more than twice as likely to suffer death or injury from being hit by a car on Halloween than on other comparable days in October and November, according to an analysis by the Automobile Club of Southern California. The Auto Club warns motorists and pedestrians to be extra careful on that day. An additional concern is that Halloween falls on the day after Daylight Savings Time ends. The analysis of California Highway Patrol death and injury statistics for 1995-2004 found children under age 13 are 134 percent more likely to be killed or injured as pedestrians between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Halloween compared to other comparable days in October and November. Last year, Halloween fell on the day that Daylight Savings Time ended and there was a particularly large 156 percent increase in deaths and injuries.... The Auto Club recommends the following Halloween safety tips for motorists: -- Stay alert for children crossing streets at all locations, not just corners and intersections; -- Drive slowly in residential areas; -- Don't run red lights. Give yourself time to reach your destination; -- Check vehicles' headlights, taillights, brake lights and turn signals to ensure they are in proper working condition; -- Clean windows and headlights to improve visibility.... Full story, from The Auto Channel [SMc] __________________________
Parents are not ensuring they are belted up in cars. So far this year, 91 drivers have been fined across Cambridgeshire because a child has not been wearing a seatbelt in the car.... The figures have been released as part of the police's 'be safe – not sorry' road safety campaign which this week is focusing on seatbelt safety and mobile phone laws.... Story from, Peterborough Today __________________________
....At a recent Save a Life Conference in Austin, NHTSA honored large cities which showed significant increases in safety belt use in 2005. “On average, a single traffic death costs society $805,000, and every serious injury is an additional $100,000 economic burden shared by the victim and their families, as well as by the public collectively. As a result, this increase in safety belt use in our five states is expected to save the public a whopping $700 million,” said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) South Central Regional Administrator Georgia S. Chakiris Article, from Sweetwater Reporter __________________________
It is the second time in a week that the Government's record on the
issue has been hammered.
He was followed yesterday by IIF
vice-president John O'Neill, who cited: __________________________
With road accidents claiming 155 lives so far this year, the Ministry of Interior said on Sunday it was pressing ahead with plans to make road safety awareness part of the school curriculum in the country.... ....The need is to inculcate the importance of road safety at a young age. “We need to make the new generation aware of the significance of safety on roads and the dangers of high speed while driving,” he said.... Full Article, from The Peninsula __________________________
Distracted drivers are dangerous. Inexperienced drivers distracted by cell phones and other devices are doubly dangerous. ....The National Transportation Safety Board estimates that about 1.2 million crashes a year are caused by distracted drivers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety earlier this year reported that drivers using cell phones -- again, of all ages -- are four times as likely to get in a crash serious enough for hospitalization... Full Story, from mlive. __________________________
The council's acting executive director Timoci Satakala announced the plan at the launch of its 'Safer Drivers' programme at the NRSC headquarters in Valelevu yesterday. Full Article, from Fiji Times __________________________
People suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol should no longer have the option of refusing to submit to blood or urine tests, a legislative study committee recommended Monday.... The current law allows drivers to refuse to give a blood test on their first or second arrests for drunken driving, but they must submit to such tests if arrested for a third offense. If drivers refuse the tests on their first or second arrests, their licenses are revoked for up to a year, although judges sometimes allow people with revoked licenses to drive for work or school.... Sen. Gene Abdallah, R-Sioux Falls, [also] a former Highway Patrol superintendent, said he believes repeat offenders need to be sent to prison. Only those with a third offense, which is a felony, can wind up in prison, he said. Many offenders who lose their drivers' licenses still wind up driving while intoxicating and endangering the public, Abdallah said. "There's one thing you can accomplish by incarcerating them - they don't drive," Abdallah said.... Full Article, from Aberdeen American News [SMc] __________________________
Victoria's peak motoring organisation has thrown its support behind the controversial idea of restricting the number of passengers inexperienced drivers can carry. The RACV has made the call as the State Government considers reform to the licensing system. RACV general manager Ken Ogden said P-platers should be banned from having more than one passenger during their first year on the road.... [Dr Ogden said,] "Interestingly, there was even a high level of support for this idea among young drivers themselves," Dr Ogden said. "A number of young drivers also told us that they often felt pressured into carrying a carload of passengers and would welcome a reason to refuse to do so."... Story, from Melbourne Herald Sun [SMc] __________________________
Stickers on lampposts and satellite technology are combining to help emergency crews locate accident scenes more quickly in Wrexham. The "999 react" signs carry numbers corresponding to the grid references of the street where they are pasted. The scheme is being tried on 12 Wrexham roads with a high number of accidents, and crash witnesses are asked to give the numbers to 999 operators. If successful it will be extended across the North Wales Police area.... __________________________
William Graham AM (Conservative Assembly Spokesman for Education) is concerned that the Be Safe be Seen road safety campaign appears to be invisible in Wales. He said today, "By the time pupils go back to school after their half term break the clocks will have gone back. Children may not have adjusted to darker evenings, therefore parents to make sure their children wear bright, fluorescent or reflective clothing to ensure they can be seen whatever the conditions. At the same time drivers share an increased responsibility to take extra care and look out for children especially near schools, parks and residential areas. “It is an alarming statistic that for the months October to December 2004 there were 539 children killed in road accidents in the UK, almost 50% of these - 253 were killed between 3pm and 6pm”. “In England, the Department of Transport has gained wide publicity for its annual ‘be safe be seen’ campaign. In Wales there is nothing.... Cross the road at the safest place possible e.g. zebra, pelican and patrolled crossings. Use the Green Cross Code: Stop, Look, Listen, Live. If you are out at night, choose routes that are well-lit by streetlights and cross at well-lit places. Read the Article, from News Wales [SMc] __________________________
The need for road safety is an important policy for all road users throughout the country, Mary Gahonzire, the Deputy Commissioner of Police has said. She was responding to queries on the new traffic regulations for motorcyclists during a recent talk show at Hotel Novotel Umubano..... She also called for the safety of passengers through the use of helmets for both the passengers and motorcyclists. Officials from the National Police, City Council (MVK) and the Association of Motorcyclists (ASSETAMORWA), jointly pledged to promote road safety around the city.... __________________________
Road safety agencies today announced plans for a two-stage $4.5m road safety campaign for State Highway 1 in the South Waikato and Taupo Districts....
All the major agencies with a stake in road safety will contribute –
Transit New Zealand, the Police, Land Transport New Zealand, South
Waikato and Taupo District Councils, Environment Waikato and ACC. Full Article, from NZ Police News __________________________
What happens to the brains of some motorists when they cruise through parking lots? What happens to common courtesy and common sense? Maybe some people just don't understand the rules of the road are still in effect even though parking lots are often private property. "If there's an expectation that the public has access to it, then the rules of the road still apply," says Edmonton Police Service Staff Sgt. Darren Eastcott, adding people can also face charges for collisions in parking lots.... Read this story, from The Edmonton Sun __________________________
...It may be unrealistic to expect cell phone users to abruptly change their habits behind the wheel, but folks in the state capital appear ready to provoke a bit of behavior modification. In any case, some common sense wouldn't hurt.... In the cell phone debate, legislators are focusing on fining young drivers who use a cell phone on the road. Whether cell phone restrictions will be extended eventually to cover all adult drivers remains to be seen. But a bill approved by the state House on Thursday may coax motorists to rethink inclinations to multitask while commuting.... Other governments have taken action. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that 40 countries have laws related to cell phone use while driving. In two European nations, drivers also can lose insurance coverage if they crash their vehicle while talking on the phone.... Article from the Ann Arbor News __________________________
UK motorists are causing mayhem and unnecessary traffic problems by driving miles out of their way because of their fears of breaking down on a motorway, according to new research from Direct Line Breakdown. Close to one in five female British motorists fear breaking down on the motorway, so much so that over two million refuse to drive on M roads, resulting in [each of them, on average] driving an extra 384 miles each per year. During the past 12 months, over a million motorists have broken down on a motorway and worries about doing so are well founded as these breakdowns have resulted in more than 94,000 accidents or near misses on the hard shoulder.... More than one in 10 drivers impulsively exit from the drivers' door -- and into oncoming traffic -- rather than correctly exiting from the passenger side.... [Full article will be added imminently] __________________________
[The Institute of Advanced Motorists is training winter drivers in Switzerland and issues advice for everyone.]... Although business drivers in Britain should not expect to regularly encounter Swiss ski conditions, IAM Fleet’s head of training, Mark Edwards, believes everyone can benefit from a little more understanding. Said Mark: "In the UK, we have relatively little exposure to snow and ice and perhaps less call for some of the advanced techniques required to drive in such conditions. However, you don’t need several feet of snow for road dangers to increase and there are some basic tips and skills that could make us all safer and ready to deal with winter driving problems." Full article and advice here, from Easier __________________________
The driver's license, one of the most prized possessions of a teenager, could soon come with a whole new bundle of restrictions in Massachusetts. Driving instructors, state Registry of Motor Vehicles officials, and safety activists urged state legislators yesterday to stiffen the laws regulating young motorists. A bill would require teens to spend more time behind the wheel with adult supervision before obtaining their license and would increase penalties for violations, among other provisions.... Kimberly Hinden, the state's registrar of motor vehicles, said that last year, about 30 percent of 16-year-old drivers and 20 percent of 17-year-old drivers were involved in serious accidents.... The proposed bill would double the required number of behind-the-wheel hours during driver's education to 12 hours. It would also increase from 12 to 30 the number of hours an adult must supervise new drivers ages 16 and 17 before the teen can obtain a license.... Those pushing for stricter rules contend that the 1998 law has been unsuccessful in reducing collisions involving teen drivers. Several recent high-profile deadly wrecks involving young motorists have focused lawmakers' attention on the issue. Last week in Southborough, two sisters, ages 15 and 17, died when the sport utility vehicle they were in struck a pole. ''You need over 1,000 hours of training to get your license to be a barber, but you only need 18 hours to drive a motor vehicle," said Representative Bradford Hill, an Ipswich Republican who is the bill's chief sponsor.... Full story, from The Boston Globe [SMc] __________________________
A real-world experiment is showing that a few simple changes can make urban arterial streets safer. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) looked at Leesburg Pike in Virginia and saw that there were a lot of rear-end collisions and left-turn T-bones on the busy suburban Washington, D.C., street. Cars were being rear-ended when they stopped while trying to merge onto the street or when they stopped behind buses that were picking up or dropping off passengers. Drivers making left turns were hit as they tried to scurry across three lanes of oncoming traffic.... Full details, from ABRN __________________________
It’s no fun to just barely avoid hitting a kid with your car on a dark, rainy Kodiak morning. It is tempting to blame the kid, who may have been wearing dark clothing and chose to ignore the designated crossing area when he dashed across the street in front of your car. However, the onus is on drivers to keep up their vigilance and exercise safety precautions now that fall is upon us.... Full story and advice, from the Kodiak Daily Mirror __________________________
Mercedes-Benz USA LLC is persisting in its campaign to bring flashing
brake lights to the United States. Full Story, from Auto Week
DSA Comments The standard and therefore the efficacy of many brake lights in the USA could be much higher. Many American-made vehicles have red rear indicators -- itself a very poor idea -- and frequently these use the same light bulbs as the brake lights. The result is that if a vehicle is braking and signaling at the same time, not only are all of the visible lights the same color, but one of the two brake lights no longer functions because its bulb is now being used for the flashing indicator. To quote a popular Americanism, it is a "no brainer" that having yellow (referred to as amber in the UK) signals makes them stand out better from the red rear lights and brake lights -- something that is particularly important and effective in bad weather, such as a drab, rainy, winter morning -- and it is equally obvious that it is undesirable to lose one of the two brake lights (or clusters) whenever one is signaling. On a similar theme, the US administration will generally not allow matched pairs of red rear fog lights to be fitted to vehicles in America, ostensibly because these might at times be mistaken for brake lights, but which is more important in thick fog: not being able to see the vehicle ahead until it is too late, or being able to see it even if somebody does think that what they can see is brake lights? This is just one situation where the USA would be well advised to look to methodology and legislation in other countries, many of which have significantly better road safety records (as in much lower rates of deaths) than America. See the DSA page on these specific topics: The Red Light District Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. __________________________
A new study of more than 500 teenagers found that new young drivers take risks on the road, but that parents can help reduce risky driving behavior. In the study by University of Maryland professor Kenneth Beck, teen drivers who have had their driver’s license less than a month reported a noticeable amount of risky driving behavior. “But we found that when parents and teenagers agree on driving conditions and consequences for unsafe driving, there is less risky behavior,” says Beck, an expert in driving safety. “When there was discord between parents, the teens were more likely to be risky drivers.”... In asking the new teen drivers about their risky driving behavior, Beck found that: * Boys are more likely than girls to be risky drivers. * Mothers are better than fathers in getting teenagers to avoid risky driving. * The most common risky driving behaviors reported were * Going through a yellow light – 83%; * Speeding in residential or school zones – 50%; * Talking on a cell phone, reading, eating or horsing around with passengers – 48%; * Switching lanes and weaving though slower traffic – 46%.... Read the article, from newswise [SMc] __________________________
The Eden Lodge Nursery was the first of ten schools to benefit from a new Pilot Road Safety Programme, which has already affected over a hundred schools in the neighbouring island of Trinidad. Starting yesterday, October 18, this initiative, which is being sponsored by |
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October 25, 2005: Plan to Include
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