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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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March 2006
Based on 10+ Years of Success of the Frontal Crash Test Program
Frontal offset crash tests conducted by the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety since 1995 have prompted huge
improvements in how vehicles protect people in frontal crashes. Now this
consumer information program is undergoing a major change.
The Institute evaluates the crashworthiness of passenger vehicles based on
40 mph frontal offset tests in which the driver side of the front of a
vehicle strikes a deformable barrier. Institute researchers evaluate the
crash test performance of each vehicle and assign comparative ratings of
good, acceptable, marginal, or poor. More than 200 car, SUV, and pickup
truck designs have been rated.
When the Institute began evaluating frontal crashworthiness by vehicle
group, beginning in the mid-1990s, about half of the 80 vehicles that were
tested earned marginal or poor ratings. More were rated poor than good.... Full
story, from The Autochannel
[SMc]
__________________________
A road safety researcher says parents
should take more responsibility to ensure their children adhere to
restricted licence limits.
Speaking last week at an inquest into
the deaths of four teenagers in a crash last year, Coroner Peter
Dennehy said the power of cars that youngsters could drive should be
limited.
Mr Dennehy also called for parents
and guardians to be made liable for any breaches of a restricted
licence.... Full
story, from Radio
New Zealand
__________________________
As many as 12 foreigners, most of them believed to be
Americans, have died after a bus fell off a steep cliff in northern
Chile, Cooperativa radio station reports.
Celebrity Cruises said in a news release from Miami that the
dead and injured were from its Millennium cruise ship, which was
docked in Arica, a port city in northern Chile. The company did not
confirm the number of casualties but other reports put the toll at
11.... Full story, from The Age [SMc] __________________________
Safety organisation, RoSPA, is urging the House of Lords to
support a three-year time trial to bring lighter evenings all year
round in order to bring down the number of deaths and serious injuring
on the roads.
The Lighter Evenings (Experiment) Bill proposes that in England
clocks should stay one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in the
winter, and two hours ahead in the summer. Other countries within the
UK would make their own decision on whether to join the experiment
which would run from October 2006 for three years.
The RoSPA is supporting the bill because of the rate in which
road casualties increase after the clocks are moved back each year,
with the arrival of darker evenings and worsening weather. In 2004,
road deaths rose from 269 in October to 300 in November and to 323 in
December. Pedestrian deaths went up from 56 in October to 76 the
following month and 78 in December.... Full story, from CARkeys [SMc] __________________________
The widow of motorsport legend Mike Hailwood has helped launch
a campaign to keep motorbike riders safe on Warwickshire's roads.
Pauline Hailwood attended a memorial service to Mike and their
daughter Michelle, aged nine, who died in a crash on the A435, at
Portway, Warwickshire, on March 21, 1981.
Mike and Michelle are buried at the village church in Tanworth
in Arden where Sunday's 25th anniversary service was held, attended by
bikers from across the region.
And following the service, Mrs Hailwood helped police launch
Bikesafe, a scheme to promote safer riding.
Just one per cent of all road users are motorcyclists, yet they
make up 20 per cent of all fatal and seriously injured road
casualties.... Full story, from ic Coventry [SMc] _________________________
In the first 36 days of this year, five pedestrians were killed
and one seriously injured in Southeast Washington, causing alarm among
officials in the District and its suburbs....
To combat the rise in fatalities, [D.C. Police Chief Charles]
Ramsey endorsed the Street Smart initiative, which is designed to
increase safety awareness for both pedestrians and drivers. Sponsored
by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Street Smart
was launched in 2002, and after going somewhat silent, is being
revived after the recent spike in pedestrian deaths....
The newest addition in D.C.'s Street Smart initiative is an
advertising campaign focused at English- and Spanish-speaking
pedestrians. Ads will be strategically placed on the radio, Metro, bus
and outdoor transit to ensure that pedestrians as well as drivers are
paying attention to their surroundings. Full story, from AXcess News [SMc] __________________________
Kids Ride In Trunk Of Moving Car
Teens are issued a provisional drivers license for one year
before getting a real drivers license. During that time, they're not
supposed to have other minors in the car. So now they're putting their
friends in the trunk.
There's concern that some California high school students
practice "trunking." That's when kids ride in the trunk of a
moving car.
Xavier Garcia, teen driver: "I remember I was in my
younger days, I use to be the "trunkee". Now I'm the "trunker."
I've got people in there." (laughs)
But it's not a laughing matter to these parents from Glendora,
just east of Los Angeles. Their 15-year-old-son Chris Snyder and his
friend Scott Atchinson were killed last year when they hitched a ride
in the trunk of a Mazda Protégé. The driver crashed while making a
lane change. The impact hurled the boys out of the trunk and onto the
highway where other cars ran them over.... Full story, from abc7news.com [SMc] __________________________
The National Road Safety Council wants new legislation to make
it mandatory for all drivers to undergo defensive driving courses.
The recommendation follows the council identifying poor driving
habits as the main cause of road fatalities in Fiji.
Council executive director Akapusi Tuifagalele said the council
hoped the Government would take heed of its recommendation for the new
law to complement Land Transport Authority's recently-proposed
licensing scheme.
He said the proposed legislation would require all drivers
classed within the bronze license group identified by the new
licensing scheme, undergo defensive driving courses.... Full story, from the Fiji Times [SMc] __________________________
Road-users champion GEM Motoring Assist is to create a 'safety
time machine' when British Summer Time (BST) begins on March 26.
As the clocks go forward to ensure lighter evenings GEM will
designate one time piece at its East Sussex headquarters that will
never be altered again and year round will run at BST.
Come the autumn, anyone relying on the clock will have to make
a mental adjustment and be reminded of the horrific loss of life and
injury on our roads because of the government's unwillingness to keep
lighter late afternoons throughout the year.
"Along with other road safety organisations we have been
campaigning for years to stay locked on British Summer Time,"
said GEM Chief Executive, David Williams. "It is just plain
common sense. At the end of the day when drivers are tired and school
children are eager to get home, it is simply foolish to add to the
recipe for disaster by making the late afternoon dark and dismal.... Full story, from PR Newswire UK [SMc] __________________________
Shoddy recordkeeping at the Division of Motor Vehicles allows
some dangerous drivers to remain on the roads, a Department of Safety
official told The Telegraph.
The official, a hearings examiner with the Department of
Safety’s Bureau of Hearings, said delays in entering convictions
into DMV computers keep officials from yanking the licenses of
scofflaw drivers, including habitual offenders, for up to two years
after they become eligible.
The examiner showed The Telegraph Department of Safety e-mails
and driving records - with drivers’ identities blacked out - citing
more than a dozen drivers whose convictions for speeding and other
offenses were entered into the DMV computer system nearly two years
after the agency received the tickets.
Such delays are common, though not the norm, the examiner said.
"For punishment to be effective, it must be swift and
sure. It’s neither swift nor sure," the examiner said in an
interview Saturday.... Full stor, from Portsmouth Herald News [SMc] __________________________
Safety-wise pupils at a Hartshill school were chosen to help
launch a new scheme aimed at cutting road accidents.
Youngsters at Michael Drayton Junior School in The Woodlands,
were introduced to the Kids 4 Safety award scheme.
The initiative replaces the current school safety award merit
scheme and has been rolled out to help cut the number of accidents
involving school-age children.
The school was selected because youngsters have already earned
it a top-level gold award.
The new scheme encourages the creation of a "stronger
health and safety conscious culture in schools".... Full story, from ic Coventry [SMc]
__________________________
Queensland's peak motoring body has called on the State
Government to bring back P-plates and introduce compulsory driver
training for learners and zero tolerance on alcohol.
The RACQ [Royal Automobile Club of Queensland] wants the new
measures to halt the soaring number of young motorists being killed on
our roads.
Chief executive Alan Terry said it was time the Government put
the protection of young lives ahead of popularity and supported a more
onerous education and licensing regime.
The RACQ, in its response to the government's discussion paper
on reducing road trauma, said Queensland should follow the hardline
approach of other states... Transport Minister Paul Lucas welcomed the
RACQ suggestions. "After they've been considered, a package of
young driver safety initiatives will be put forward for consideration
in June and key recommendations will be rolled out at the start of
2007," Mr Lucas said. Full story, from Queensland Sunday Mail [SMc]
__________________________
Shocking driving statistics are prompting gardaí in Cork city
to launch a campaign aimed at making young people safer drivers.
Inspector Pat Lehane highlighted the fact that in the first two
months of this year, five people died in accidents in the city and
suburbs, compared to two for the comparative period in 2005.
Nationally, 82 people have lost their lives on roads so far this year.
Astonishingly, speeding offences are up a massive 82% from 447
over the first two months of 2005 to 1,259 so far this year.
Drink-driving arrests remain relatively static at 102, only up
two on 2005.... Full story, from Irish Examiner [SMc]
__________________________
...The ESPN cell phone is the company's latest initiative in
its quest for world domination of the sports-media industry.
"People have a need to stay connected anytime, anywhere -
and it's perhaps greater in sports than any genre of content,'' said
Manish Jha, senior vice president of Mobile ESPN.
But there is one teeny-tiny concern: Safety....
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates
that distractions such as smoking, attending to children and yapping
on a cell phone play a role in 25 percent of all crashes....
Jha said ESPN wants its customers to use the new device wisely
but says the issue of safety is beyond the company's scope.
"We are concerned about safety. However, we can't control
how consumers use their wireless phones," he said. "We
obviously don't encourage using it in a car."... Full story, from San Jose Mercury News [SMc]
__________________________
Alcohol played a part in more than half of the 15 fatal crashes
in Maui County last year, police said, representing a higher
percentage compared with alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 2004.
At least nine of the 15 traffic deaths last year were
alcohol-related, said Sgt. Barry Aoki of the police Traffic Section.
The number could increase because police are waiting for test results
in other cases.
But already, the rate of at least 60 percent is higher than the
52 percent rate in 2004, when 11 of the 21 fatal crashes were
alcohol-related, Aoki said....
Maui police made 883 arrests of drivers under the influence of
alcohol last year, with nearly half of them by officers in the Traffic
Section, which includes the DUI Task Force, said Sgt. Stacey
Yamashita, who supervises the unit.
The total last year was nearly 10 percent higher than in 2004,
when Maui police made 806 DUI arrests.
In the first two months of this year, police made 139 DUI
arrests, up from 119 during the same period last year, Yamashita said. Full story, from Maui News [SMc] __________________________
Repeat drunken driver being blamed for crash that killed two
students
Two weeks ago, three Hiram College students were packing their
bags for the annual rite of spring break -- a vacation.
But plans for the trip went horribly wrong when a repeat
drunken driver without a license struck their car March 2....
As the story has unfolded, students have become even more
stunned -- the driver of the pickup that struck the students had a
checkered driving record and shouldn't have been on the road anyway.
Lab tests show he had a blood alcohol content of .260 percent -- more
than three times the legal limit in Ohio.
The State Highway Patrol reports that James Cline, 47, of Troy
Township, has had 11 convictions for drunken driving since 1984.... Full story, from Akron Beacon Journal [SMc]
__________________________
Police are looking to give a second chance to some 2,400 youths
who are on the verge of having their driving licenses revoked after
amassing nine or more penalty points.
Statistics confirm that persons of the 20-25 age group are more
prone to driving infractions. Sadly, this is reflected in figures for
road fatalities so far this year: seven out of 12 people who lost
their lives behind the wheel were under the age of 25. That’s 58
percent, a significant rise over the 47 percent recorded in 2005.
The two major causes of road deaths among young people are
inexperience and a tendency to speed.... Full story, from Cyprus Mail [SMc]
__________________________
On St. Patrick's Day, the luck of the Irish may not extend to
drunken drivers, as law enforcement agencies across Metro Detroit plan
to step up patrols.
The fact that St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday this year
increases the chances that revelers will drink harder and longer,
counting on a lazy Saturday to cushion their fall.
Additional law enforcement officers in 19 Michigan counties,
including Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Wayne and St. Clair, will be on
the lookout for drunken drivers, according to the Office of Highway
Safety Planning, a division of the Michigan State Police....
During St. Patrick's Day weekend in Michigan in 2005, 58
percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol, resulting in seven
fatalities in six alcohol-related crashes, according to the Michigan
State Police Criminal Justice Information Center. On average, 36
percent of traffic deaths in Michigan involve alcohol and/or drugs.... Full story, from DetNews.com [SMc]
__________________________
Tri-Cities children are safer thanks to Betsy Preston and the
Tennessee Child Passenger Safety program.
Preston directs the CPS program from ETSU's Kingsport campus.
Backed by the Governor's Highway Safety Association, the program
focuses on child safety systems and seat belts for all ages. Workers
are trained and certified as child passenger safety technicians, then
they establish child safety seat inspection checkpoints throughout the
state. Research has found that child safety seats reduce fatal injury
by 71 percent for infants.... Full story, from Kingsport Times News [SMc]
__________________________
A dangerous sub-culture of thrill seeking by young male drivers
in Counties Cavan, Meath and Donegal may go someway to explaining why
the region has more fatal crashes than anywhere else in Ireland.
These revelations were reported to delegates at a National Road
Safety conference orgainsed by the NRA at the Citywest in Dublin last
week.
Delegates were told that young male drivers hold high speed
races along unsuitable country roads, frequently performing stunts and
many of them have left the education system earlier than normal.
An investigation, as yet unpublished, has uncovered pockets of
this new sub-culture of high risk driving in Counties Cavan, Donegal
and Meath....
Tragically, the young male drivers were also inexperienced and
unaware of their limitations and were frequently tired and under huge
peer pressure to speed. Full story, from The Anglo Celt [SMc] __________________________
A new road safety and safe driving initiative targeting
transition year students in secondary schools will be launched this
week by the Roscommon and East Galway Garda Division. As part of a
nationwide educational initiative, Tuesday will see the first road
safety roadshow for secondary students take place in the county....
Inspector Paul Glynn explained that the initiative would
operate on a pilot basis, with a view to being rolled out to
transition year students throughout the county at a later date. This
is the first initiative of its kind to be undertaken in secondary
schools, as the Garda schools programme had, up until now, largely
targeted primary school pupils in road safety campaigns....
He said that the roadshow would adopt “a little bit of shock
tactics”, with a fairly tough lecture and quite graphic video
footage of what could go wrong. Equipment used by Gardai, including an
alcometer and speed guns, will also be on display. Inspector Glynn
said that speed and inexperience were the biggest problems associated
with young drivers.
“Young people predominantly don’t drink and drive but speed
is a killer; and inexperience combined with speed can be a lethal
combination,” he added. “Inexperience is a problem with drivers
starting off and it takes time for these drivers to become
experienced,” he said, adding that accidents tended to occur in the
first 12 months of driving. Full story, from Roscommon Herald [SMc]
__________________________
Six students of a community secondary school in Onigambari,
Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State, were killed in an auto
accident involving an articulated vehicle (trailer) and a commercial
vehicle on their way home last Friday.
The state Commissioner for Education, Professor Nureni Olawore,
was at the Ifesowapo Community Secondary school to sympathise with the
principal, staff and students of the school.
The principal of the school, Alhaji Hammed Rasheed, told the
commissioner that the students were killed by the trailer that hit the
commercial vehicle conveying the students home from the rear and the
bus somersaulted and fell into a ditch.... Full story, from Nigerian Tribune [SMc]
__________________________
Five people died in a road accident in central Russia on
Wednesday.
A passenger bus ran into a transformer that had fallen off a
truck, killing five and injuring forty-four people in the Ryzan
region, the spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry, Irina Andrianova,
told Itar-Tass.
The accident happened at 5.53 p.m. (1453 GMT). “According to
preliminary information, a transformer fell off from the passing MAZ
truck, and the bus ran into it,” the head of the operational
department of the Emergencies Ministry’s Information Directorate,
Natalia Lukash, said.
“As a result of the collision, five passengers died at the
scene and 44 were hospitalised,” she said, adding, “Fourteen
injured people are in critical condition.”
Traffic police are investigating the circumstances of the
accident. [Source:
ITAR-TASS] __________________________
The Department of Safety and Tennessee Highway Patrol announced
today that the Tennessee Trucking Association is joining the effort to
educate motorists on Tennessee’s Move Over Law. The law, which went
into effect in July 2004, requires motorists to move over or slow down
for stopped emergency vehicles.
“The Move Over Law is an important resource in safeguarding
the lives of the men and women who work along Tennessee’s busy
highways and interstates,” said Gerald Nicely, Interim Safety
Commissioner, who also serves as Commissioner of the Department of
Transportation. “The truck drivers who travel our roads are highly
visible. I am pleased to see the Tennessee Trucking Association
joining the effort to protect our workers.”
Tennessee Trucking Association member Mid-South Logistics has
placed decals advising motorists to move over for stopped emergency
vehicles on the rear doors of 42 trailers. In addition, Wal-Mart has
put posters with information on the Move Over Law in employee break
rooms at all Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores in Tennessee. Company
officials estimate some 520,000 people have viewed them.... Full story, from The Chattanoogan [SMc]
__________________________
Road fatalities in high income countries are expected to fall
by 27.8% as compared to countries with lower incomes such as those in
the MENA and S. Asia region.
On a worldwide basis, road fatalities are expected to increase
66% between 2000 & 2020 with strong increases in the developing
world and decreases in high-income countries. Currently, Asia has the
highest percentage of worldwide traffic fatalities with the strongest
increases projected as compared to the rest of the world according to
a leading expert on the road industry who addressed the conference
sessions organized in parallel with ROADEX 2006, the region's largest
road industry event.... Full story, from AME Info [SMc] __________________________
On Saturday, March 10, the Illinois State Police (ISP) in
cooperation with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT)
conducted a public information, education, and enforcement event on
U.S. 34 east of the Cameron Road overpass between Monmouth and
Galesburg.
The event was designed to increase public awareness of Scott's
Law, a law enacted in 2001 in order to protect department of
transportation, police, and fire personnel while performing their
duties on the roadside.
According to literature supplied by the ISP, "Scott's Law
mandates that upon approaching a stationary authorized vehicle,
displaying flashing warning lights, a person who drives an approaching
vehicle shall yield the right-of-way by making a lane change if it is
safe to do so, or shall reduce speed and proceed with caution if
changing lanes would be impossible or unsafe." The law requires
the same actions of motorists when "entering a construction or
maintenance zone when workers are present."... Full story, from Monmouth Daily Review Atlas [SMc] __________________________
State police say parents have been receptive to the new
campaign called "Safeguard" since it started last summer.
Police officers around the state are encouraged to call the
parents of teenagers if those teens are caught doing something the
officers think the parents would like to know about.
This includes speeding, being at a party where there's drinking
or other situations where the police are involved.
State police say the parents' reactions have been helpful in
making teens more responsible.
"We expect that not only should law enforcement be working
on this young driver issue, but also parents should be as well. They
have a responsibility with their children," said Major Tim Doyle
from the Maine State Police.
Major Doyle says drivers 16 to 24 years old makes up 13 percent
of the state's driving population, but is involved in nearly a third
of the accidents in the state.
Safeguard's motto is: your parents will be the first to know. [Source:
WLBZ-TV]
__________________________
The Oklahoma Senate has passed legislation forbidding teen
drivers with learner’s permits from using cell phones while behind
the wheel.
“We’ve seen recent studies that discuss the high incidence
of accidents by young drivers and the high correlation to the use of
cell phones and the distraction that causes,” said Sen. Clark Jolley
(R ). “The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that
motorists that use cell phones are four times more likely to have a
crash than those who don’t. When you take that into consideration,
it seems obvious that new drivers don’t need to be taking additional
risks by trying to drive while making calls on a cell phone.”... Full
story, from RCR
News]
__________________________
Four people died and 61 others were injured when a sleeper
coach slid off the road after swerving to avoid a minibus running in
the opposite direction in China's southernmost Hainan Province on
Monday afternoon.
Rescuers said that in addition to the fatalities, two
passengers were severely injured, and 59 others got minor injuries in
the accident.
There were 48 passengers aboard the coach, which was heading
northward from Haikou, capital of Hainan. The coach driver was among
those killed.
The tragedy happened in rainy weather on the ring road
of Haikou. Initial probe suggested that the driver of the coach lost
control due to a wheel skid and the vehicle plunged into a roadside
paddy field.
The minibus carried 17 passengers. The bus driver was severely
injured.
The two fatally injured have not escaped danger in hospital.
The accident is still under investigation by police. [Source:
China
View] __________________________
Road Ranger Larry Griffin called to plead with the driving
public for more caution at wreck sites, and maybe a tad more respect
for the 28 people who work around the clock to help stranded motorists
on our highways. He called after the death of his colleague,
66-year-old Donald Bradshaw, on March 5.
Griffin, 56, a Vietnam combat veteran, has been a road ranger
for two years. In that time, he has had drivers scream and cuss at
him, throw things, and veer way too close as he set out traffic cones.
"They're not just kids, either," he said.
"They're just mad that they're being inconvenienced."
Road Ranger Justin Willis, 19, was killed in the pre-dawn hours
four years ago. Like Bradshaw, he was redirecting traffic around a
wreck on the same stretch of Interstate 275 west of downtown.
Road rangers are not police officers, so motorists feel free to
abuse them. But Griffin said rangers face some of the same dangers
officers do, especially the threat of being struck while trying to
help injured crash victims and clear wrecks.... Full story, from Tampa Tribune [SMc]
__________________________
Seven people were killed, including an unidentified woman, and
80 others injured when two buses collided head-on and fell into a
roadside ditch at Rajoir upazila in Madaripur yesterday.
Five of the dead were identified as driver Kamal Hossain, 28,
of Madaripur, freedom fighter Md Ainal Shiekh, 50, Somin Khan of
Faridpur, Maulana Anaruddin, 50, of Muksudpur and Alfazuddin of
Jhalokhathi. Identity of two others, a women aged about 50 and a man
aged about 40, could not be known immediately.
The injured are undergoing treatment at Rajoir Hospital,
Madaripur Hospital and Faridpur Hospital. Of the injured, condition of
15 are stated to be critical.
Witnesses and the injured said the accident occurred at around
2.50pm when a Barisal-bound passenger bus of Sakura Paribahan collided
head-on with Dhaka-bound passenger bus of Chandra Paribahan and fell
into a nearby ditch at Boulgram Macharang killing four passengers on
the spot. Three others succumbed to their injuries on the way to the
hospital. [Source: The Daily Star] [SMc] __________________________
When Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy switched on
his handphone on arrival at London's Heathrow Airport last Nov 6 after
a flight from Kuala Lumpur, one short messaging service (SMS) gave him
a shocking welcome.
The SMS came from Suret Singh, the Director-General of the Road
Safety Department, who told his boss that 29 people died in road
accidents the day earlier in Malaysia as recorded in the annual
two-week operation by the police to reduce road fatalities during the
festive season....
Chan readily admits that bringing down the number of road
fatalities is his most difficult task and biggest challenge as
Transport Minister, simply because of the tremendous odds against
achieving this objective.
"When I became Transport Minister two-and-a-half-years
ago, I thought the biggest challenge was to build ports and airports.
But it is nothing compared to bringing down the number of road deaths
which is actually a nightmare," he told journalists at the
ministry's media night the other day.... Full
story, from Bernama
[SMc] __________________________
One of Romania's most popular rock singers has died in a car
accident, police said Friday. Laura Stoica, 38, was returning from a
concert in the southern city of Urziceni Thursday night when her car
had a head-on collision with a small truck.
Stoica and her 36-year-old fiancé, Cristian Margescu, a
drummer in her band Dragobete, died immediately, police said in a
statement. Stoica recently announced that the couple was expecting a
baby in September. The other driver also died in the accident.
Hundreds of fans and artists gathered outside the Urziceni
hospital on Friday to pay their respects.
"She was a very sensitive person," Horia Moculescu, a
composer, told news television Realitatea TV.
He added that during her last concert on Thursday night her
song "Life Goes On" was interrupted by a technical problem.
Stoica continued to play the song, accompanied by hundreds of fans in
the audience.
Stoica received numerous prizes for her work, including
Romanian singer of the year in 1991, and was known for constantly
reinventing herself.
"People recognize me by my voice. My face is always
changing," she said on her Internet Web site. [Source:
Bucharest Daily News]
[SMc]
__________________________
Cops, firemen need protection
Many drivers aren't aware of a law
designed to protect emergency workers stopped alongside the state's
roadways nearly four years after it was approved by the state
Legislature.
Recent incidents, including the death
of a Broward Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Seguin who was struck by a car as
he made a routine traffic stop along Interstate 595 last month,
resulted in the latest public awareness campaign.
"It's an effort to get the word
out to the public," said Officer Bill Robertson, a spokesman for
the Miramar Police Department, which launched a month-long project to
educate drivers. "The educational portion will continue for the
next week and then comes the enforcement."
The Florida Highway Patrol and the
Sheriff's Office have conducted similar campaigns.
The law requires drivers to either move over one lane or slow
down to 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit when an
emergency vehicle with flashing lights is stopped on the side of a
highway or street. Emergency vehicles include police cars, ambulances,
fire trucks, road maintenance vehicles, tow trucks, road ranger trucks
and wreckers with rotating or flashing amber lights.... Full
story</a>, from the Sun-Sentinel
[SMc] See a DSA article
regarding moving over for emergency vehicles. __________________________
F1 ace Michael Schumacher yesterday flagged off a campaign
designed to drive death off Bahrain's roads.
He joined Crown Prince and BDF Commander-in-Chief Shaikh Salman
bin Hamad Al Khalifa to launch the nationwide Think Before You Drive
campaign.
It is part of a global campaign backed by the Federation
Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Foundation.
Foundation director-general David Ward, Interior Minister
Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Bahrain Motorsport Federation (BMF)
president Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, Information Minister and
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohammed Abulghaffar and
Bridgestone Middle East, Africa and Russia director Yuuji Kanahara
were also at the launch.
The national campaign is being spearheaded by the Bahrain
International Circuit, BMF, FIA Foundation, A J M Kooheji and Sons and
the Interior Ministry.... A display made up of wrecked cars also sent out a poignant message. Mr Schumacher wrote Think Before You Drive in Arabic in front of the display. The campaign has its own website www.thinkbeforeyoudrive.com Full
story, from Gulf
Daily News
__________________________
For all the enmity she aroused in Great Britain, you'd think
Donna Maddock had run down a busload of schoolchildren. But, all the
22-year-old Welsh woman did was apply makeup to her face while driving
32 mph on an accident-prone highway.
This offense, which was caught on surveillance tape, earned her
a $430 fine, six driving points and a front-row seat at her own very
public condemnation -- an event nearly as embarrassing as the one
endured by Britney Spears after photos showed her driving with her
baby on her lap.
"Miss Maddock's action beggars belief," a North Wales
cop told the London Daily Mail.
"Irresponsible!" cried a spokesman for the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
In New Jersey, similar acts of vanity barely rate a cop's
disapproving glance. But 41 people have been killed and injured over
three years on the highway stretch where Donna daubed eye shadow on
her lids.
"It's frightening to think what could have happened as she
was driving without her hands on the wheel, particularly in an
accident blackspot," said the royal society's Roger Vincent.... Full
story, from NorthJersey.com
[SMc]
__________________________
Answering a call while at the wheel could have fatal
consequences, the Transport Minister warned today as he launched a
crackdown on mobile phone use.
With a new Road Safety Bill set to outlaw the use of handheld
mobile phones while driving, Martin Cullen confirmed it would be
enforced in a bid to reduce the death toll on the roads.
“The issue of handheld mobile phones while driving has long
been discussed. It is my view that the time for discussion has ended.
It is reckless to drive and hold a phone simultaneously. Some drivers
feel they have more arms than an octopus while driving,” he said, at
a National Roads Authority safety conference in Dublin.
“Missing a call won’t kill you, but an accident could.”
At a major road safety conference attended by experts from the
US, Australia and Sweden, Mr Cullen said he intended to ban driving
with a handheld phone and make it a penalty points offence.
The penalty points system will be extended from five offences
to cover a total of 35 from next month.... Full
story, from Ireland
Online
[SMc]
__________________________
If the pictures don't get your attention, we don't know what
will.
The Nebraska State Patrol released three photographs along with
a story about how Roxanne Denny of Doniphan and her three children
escaped serious injury when their minivan was struck broadside by a
schoolbus last November.
The van flipped on its top, landing in a ditch.
Fortunately -- no it wasn't just luck, we're sure Denny did her
share of "nagging" to make sure the kids were properly
buckled up -- all four of the passengers were properly restrained.
Only one of her three children received minor injuries.... Full
story, from McCook
Daily Gazette
[SMc]
__________________________
More than 300 Fairfax teenagers and
their parents filled the auditorium at the county Government Center on
Saturday for a program to make young drivers better. The county's
suburban car culture, long on stop-and-go traffic and short on Metro
stations, is a growing concern, with a recent spike in fatal accidents
and injuries among drivers younger than 18.
One hot topic was the danger of
phoning while driving, a preoccupation not limited to young drivers. A
juvenile court judge spoke of a 16-year-old girl from Great Falls who
wrapped her car around a tree and died as she was text-messaging a
friend. There was wide agreement that teenagers would be safer if
prohibited from talking or "texting" while driving.
Concerned parents shouldn't look to
the Virginia General Assembly for help. For a second year running,
bills to allow cell phone use only for drivers 18 and older failed in
the legislature, along with bans on open containers and measures to
allow police to pull over a driver who isn't wearing a seat beat.... Full story, from the Washington Post [SMc] __________________________
The First Global Road Safety Film Festival will be held on 23 March in Salle XIX in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, hosted by the UNECE Transport Division. Addressing road safety issues, the films, originating from all regions of the world, will be presented under the following categories: communication and campaigns, education for road safety and driver training, risk prevention for professional drivers, road safety innovations and television broadcasts. An international jury, made up of road safety experts, will evaluate and select the winning films on the basis of the clarity and relevance of the message, adaptation to the target, quality and originality of the script, technical qualities (sound, sound track, camera work, editing) and the cost-effectiveness ratio. The Film Festival aims to promote international cooperation in road safety between the different regions of the world and will also serve as a springboard to promote the First United Nations Global Road Safety Week (23 to 29 April 2007) organized by the United Nations regional commissions and the World Health Organization. Organized by LaserEurope, an NGO involved in road safety initiatives, this festival follows previous film festivals that have been held at the European level since 1998, most recently in 2003 at UNESCO in Paris. Further details of the actual event are available from DSA's 'International Road Safety Conferences' page.
___________________________
Young drivers should be educated about distractions such as
mobile phones, said Australia's communications industry.
Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association chief
executive Chris Althaus told a State Parliament inquiry that research
showed mobile phones were one of many distractions drivers
encountered.
"However, they are not the most common or significant of
distractions faced by drivers," Mr Althaus said yesterday.
New drivers needed to be educated about all distractions, such
as talking, noisy children, changing the radio and rubbernecking, he
said.
"All distractions must be considered, and mobile phones
should not be singled out in any recommendations made by the
committee," he said... Full
story, from Melbourne
Herald Sun [SMc]
__________________________
Year 11 students were confronted first hand with the
devastation and damage a car accident can inflict during the
revolutionary Rotary Youth Driver Awareness program held in Cowra last
week.
Twenty seven year old Acquired Brain Injury sufferer David
Keare bravely shared his life as a wheelchair bound disabled person.
David was horrifically injured after a car accident near Orange
in 2002, in which he was drink driving.
Not only did the students hear from David about the impact of
Acquired Brain Injury, but they saw the x-rays of David's head, and
heard about his life now - unable to work, to drive, live completely
independently - and that it is something he has to live with for the
rest of life.
"This can happen to anyone, and it a lifelong
disability," he told them.
The shock of seeing just what can happen at the hands of the
wheel was one of several parts of the day-long program organised by
Cowra Rotary and held on Thursday.
The program involved numerous other agencies, including the
PCYC, police, drug and alcohol workers, health professionals, school
staff and Cowra Shire Council, and several core topics.... Full
story, from Cowra
Guardian
[SMc] __________________________
Cumbria Police are cracking down on motorists and passengers
travelling without seatbelts while warning of a trend in young people
refusing to belt up.
Officers say they are increasingly seeing teenagers and those
in their 20s taking to the road while running the risk of not wearing
a seatbelt.
They say this ties in with figures revealing a growth in the
number of children and young people injured in road smashes in the
last year.
Senior police also warn there have been road deaths where not
wearing a seatbelt was a factor.... Full
story, from News &
Star [SMc]
__________________________
Overtaking lanes are just one measure that could make a major
difference in tackling the carnage on the country’s roads, a major
conference heard today.
International experts from Sweden and Australia are
highlighting methods – including two plus one roads and making
roadsides safer – which could be applied in Ireland to lower the
death rate.
Harry Cullen, a senior project manager on road safety with the
National Roads Authority (NRA), said the two-day conference at
Dublin’s Citywest Hotel was focusing on an integrated approach
between several government agencies as the best way forward.
“Last year we killed 400 people (on the roads), and we
seriously injured between 8,000 and 10,000 people which is an awful of
lot of people,” he told the Integrated Approach to Road Safety
meeting.
“Everybody remembers the figures for the fatalities but
nobody thinks about the amount of people injured, these people are in
hospitals, in rehab, their families are very very badly
affected.”... Full story, from Ireland Online [SMc] __________________________
Ford Motor Co.'s new Fusion sedan, the automaker's hope for a
rebound in car sales, was labeled "a disappointment'' by an
insurance-backed trade group after receiving the worst crash-test
scores of 29 sedans that have been tested.
The 2006 Fusion, which went on sale in October, scored
"poor,'' the lowest grade, in a side-impact test, the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety said in a statement. The Fusion and its
Mercury Milan twin were also rated "marginal", the second
lowest of four ranks, in a rear crash. The cars were
"acceptable,'' the second-best mark, on a frontal test.
The group released scores from seven new tests today, including
those on the Fusion/Milan. The results may hamper Ford, the
second-biggest U.S. automaker, in its efforts to win back customers to
mid-sized sedans. The Fusion is a competitor to the Toyota Camry, the
best-selling car in the U.S. Ford sees the Fusion as a partial
replacement for its former No. 1 seller, the Taurus. Ford sold 9,143
Fusions last month; Toyota sold three times as many Camrys.... Full story, from Chicago Tribune [SMc] __________________________
Slick highways played a key role in the deaths of three people
Saturday as two Manitoba collisions proved fatal.
Cynthia Turner of Grand Rapids, 32, died shortly after the
Chevrolet Cavalier she was driving hit ice on a curve of Highway 6,
just south of Warren about 10:50 p.m., say police.
Warren is about 25 km northwest of Winnipeg.
The southbound vehicle rolled over, ejected one of its two
female passengers and landed on its roof in a ditch east of the
highway.
Emergency crews removed Turner and the second passenger from
the vehicle with the Jaws of Life, but Turner died at the scene.
It's a tragic reminder that driving conditions can turn
treacherous in an instant, said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Steve Colwell.
"The road was dry to the south and north of the curve, but
the curve was icy and, for whatever reason, the driver just didn't
slow down enough," said Colwell. "When there's icy road
conditions, just slow down and take the extra time to get to the
destination."
Turner and the passenger ejected from the vehicle were not
wearing seatbelts.... Full story, from Winnipeg Sun [SMc] __________________________
Road crashes are second only to AIDS as the leading cause of
ill health and premature death worldwide among men aged between 15 and
44. That statistic comes from IVV, a global association of driving
school proprietors and association, which will be investigating how to
reduce road accidents at the Safex World Driver Training Conference in
Dubai on March 11-12.
The academics, politicians and road safety practitioners at the
conference will also look into ways of encouraging fuel-efficient
driving, and how this can help to reduce global warming.
"1.25million people are killed in road crashes globally
every year," says IVV President Graham Fryer. Traffic regulations
change from country to country but the need for better driving
training and education remains constant wherever you drive. Most road
crashes occur as a result of driver error. The appalling statistics
are avoidable - better training is the answer." [Source:
CARkeys]
[SMc] __________________________
A staggering 20 youngsters aged 15 and under were killed or
seriously injured on Peterborough roads last year, new figures have
revealed.
One such victim was Nathan Green (14), of Eastfield Road,
Peterborough, who was killed after being hit by a car as he played
"chicken" on Frank Perkins Parkway, close to the Boongate
slip road, on April 1, last year.
The youngster had been with two friends, who later told police
they had decided to run across the road instead of using the nearby
underpass.
Now, in a bid to cut the number of road accidents this year,
the drama of a court trial is being used to target pupils across the
city.
"Courtroom" is being taken into schools by road
safety officers from Peterborough City Council in conjunction with
Tiny Giants Theatre Productions.
It is hoped that using the intensity of a trial will hammer
home to youngsters the importance of road safety, and how they can
protect themselves from the dangers they face on a daily basis.... Full
story, from Peterborough
Evening Telegraph
[SMc]
__________________________
In less than two months, four people were killed on Guam's
roadways while one young man remains in critical condition.
Of the four deaths on the road so far this year, three of them
occurred within a five-day period during the first part of February,
including one of the Guam Police Department's officers.
Police are urging motorists to slow down, pay attention and
drive defensively, said Guam Police Department Highway Patrol officer
Alan Guzman.
This year has almost been as deadly as last year. By this time
in 2005, there had been five fatal car accidents on Guam. In total,
Guam saw 23 people die on the roads last year, according to Pacific
Daily News files.
Guzman said if Guam wants to keep 2006's numbers lower than
last year, drivers need to use extreme caution.
Speed is a large factor in many accidents, he said. Drivers
that do not pay attention to the road also are a contributing cause.
Guzman said it may be a good idea for Guam to make cell phone use
illegal while driving unless the driver uses a headset for the phone.
Another contributing factor may be a lack of defensive driving,
Guzman said. All drivers should be conscious of other drivers and
other factors near the road, including utility poles, pedestrians or
other hazards.... Full story, from Pacific Daily News [SMc]
__________________________
EUROPE
March 5, 2006: EU Pushing Seat Belts in Drive to Cut Road Deaths
People in the European Union's mostly ex-Communist new member
states must get into the habit of wearing a seat belts to help cut the
high number of road deaths in the bloc, EU president Austria has
warned.
The EU has made reducing fatal road accidents a key priority of
its transport policy.
"About 40 000 people are killed on the roads every year in
Europe," said Hubert Gorbach, vice-chancellor and transport
minister of Austria and the European Union's current president.
"That's terrible."
Gorbach said failing to wear a seat belt made it seven times
more likely that a person would die in a car crash.
He said the level of seat-belt use in nations such as Sweden,
Britain and the Netherlands was 95 percent but in countries that
joined the bloc in 2004 it was only 70 percent.
The number of road deaths in Europe has fallen slightly: 40 000
in 2005 from 43 500 in 2005.
The bloc aims to reduce road deaths to 25 000 a year by 2010
but a recent report by the EU's executive commission said that target
would be missed. [Source:
Motoring]
[SMc] __________________________
Inexperience, speed, alcohol factors in No. 1 cause of death in
youths
Just north of Crystal Lake, a crab
apple tree was adorned with ornaments of youth and sorrow. Playful
road-trip photos dangled near cellophane-wrapped flowers. Homemade CDs
nestled against half-burned candles. Ping-Pong paddles shared space
with sympathy cards.
On Feb. 19, a speeding Acura TL
carrying Jeffrey Mills and Scott Scheckel swerved sideways on Red Barn
Road and slammed into the tree, killing two young friends. They
weren't the first Chicago-area teens to die in a car accident this
year. And as that roadside memorial withers, others will emerge
elsewhere--symbols of a stubborn, agonizing truth: teens and
automobiles, too often, are a fatal mix.
Every year, more American teenagers
die in car wrecks than any other way. Nationally, that number was
5,610 fatalities in 2004. In the Chicago region alone, from 1994
through 2004, an average of 57 died annually in accidents involving
teen drivers.
After a steady drop in the 1980s,
teen driving deaths have remained steady for the last 15 years--both
in real numbers and the rate per capita--enduring with such
persistence that some experts are calling for a wide-range public
health campaign.... Full
story, from the Chicago
Tribune
[SMc]
__________________________
Nearly 70 trains a day roll through Pacific, past the lumber
yard, the coffee shop and along backyards. On Oct. 30, the rail
crossing gates on Payne Street came down and blocked Anne Crick's
drive home.
Crick, 44, a mother of two, swerved around the gates and
started across, according to a police report. An Amtrak train smashed
into her car with deadly force.
Deaths at Missouri rail crossings doubled in 2005, alarming
state railroad administrators and reversing a decade-long trend in
safer crossings.
Preliminary figures from the Missouri Department of
Transportation show 17 people died from crashes along public rail
crossings, the most since 1996. There were 65 collisions last year, up
from 45 in 2004....
Missouri officials say no one trend explains last year's rise
in the state. Crashes occurred in daylight and after dark. Victims
ranged in age, situation, profession and type of vehicle. A woman from
Lincoln County was struck by a freight train after missing her turn
and getting her truck stuck on tracks in Old Monroe. A man from
Kirkwood collided with a train at a crossing at the bottom of a hill
outside Robertsville, in the piney woods of Franklin County.
Others, like Crick, a middle school janitor, died apparently
trying to beat the train, police in Pacific say. But the state also
experienced a 28 percent increase in crashes at minimally marked
crossings - ones marked by only an X-shaped rail warning sign called a
crossbuck. There, safety hinges on being able to see down the
track.... Full
story, from St.
Louis Post-Dispatch
[SMc]
__________________________
Troopers Also Cracking Down On Speeders And Drivers Who Violate
"Move Over" Law
2005 was a record year for traffic fatalities on Florida's
roads.
The state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says
there were about 260 more deaths in 2005 than in 2004, when the
previous record was set....
In the past, officers didn’t really enforce the “Move Over
Law” but FHP officials now say they will be ticketing drivers who
are caught breaking the law. Full
story, from CBS 4
[SMc] __________________________
Out of 29 cars undergoing a child safety seat belt inspection at the Florence fire station, inspectors only found one to be completely safe. Erin Eaton, child passenger safety coordinator for the Kentucky Transportation District, said that Kentucky has a 90 percent misuse rate of child safety belts and car seats. "A lot of parents don't know how their vehicle safety system works or how their child restraint system works," said Brandon Muravchick, a nationally certified child passenger safety instructor at the inspection. "If not used properly, they could cause more damage (in an accident)." Article from Cincinnati.com __________________________
The Senate passed legislation Thursday toughening penalties for those who speed in construction zones and adding restrictions for teenage drivers. The bill creates the crime of "endangerment of a highway worker," with criteria such as going more than 15 mph over the speed limit in a work zone with a worker present, failing to stop when a worker directs you to, or intentionally striking construction barrels. Violations in which no one was hurt could result in a fine of up to $1,000 and eight points against a license. If a highway worker is hurt or killed, offenders could receive a fine of up to $10,000 and 12 points - enough to have their license revoked for a year. Full Article, from The Kansas City Star __________________________
Red tape aimed at late-night trouble spots is jeopardising road
safety, according to the RAC Foundation.
Official Government advice tells tired drivers to "drink
two cups of coffee ...and have a rest for 10-15 minutes to allow time
for the caffeine to kick in" - but new laws are forcing garages
to stop selling hot food and drink at night.
New licensing laws prohibit petrol forecourt stores from
selling hot food and drink between 11 pm and 5 am* without paying
hundreds of pounds for a local authority licence. Many smaller stores
say the margins on sales of food and drink at night do not make it
worthwhile to go through the complicated application process. If a
tired motorist asks for a coffee, or even a mug of hot water to make
their own hot drink, a retailer without a licence cannot help without
breaking the law....
The Foundation is writing to the Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport calling on the Government to introduce an
exemption so that forecourt stores can continue to provide this
important community service. Tired motorists must have easy access to
a hot coffee to fight fatigue." Full story, from Car Pages [SMc]
__________________________
In an effort to reduce escalating road accidents in Dubai, the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) today, announced the launch of a Road Safety Awareness Program for 2006, at a press conference held at RTA's premises in Al Rashidiya.
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March
30, 2006: IIHS Makes Major Change in
Crashworthiness Evaluations for Consumer Information, 
March 26, 2006: Parents Should Take More Responsibility for Young Drivers:
Researcher
*
March 23, 2006:
March 23, 2006: Calls
For Lighter Evenings
March 22, 2006:
March 19, 2006:
March 18, 2006:
March 16, 2006:
March 15, 2006:
March 15, 2006:
March 14, 2006: Road
Fatalities in MENA Region Expected to Increase by 67.5% Between 2000
and 2020
March 13, 2006:
March 12, 2006:
March 12, 2006:
March 12, 2006:
March 10, 2006:
and 
March 8, 2006: UNECE to host first Global Road Safety Film
festival
March 6, 2006:
March 6, 2006: