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International Road Safety News from September 2006
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September 29,
2006: Road Accident Kills at Least 20 in Pakistan
At least 20 people
including four children and three women died Thursday as a truck
collided into a passengers' van in Pakistan's southern Sindh province,
police said.
According to a
senior police Makhdoom Ghulam Mohammed, a passenger van collided head-on
with a truck coming from opposite direction near Dadu, a town about 750
km southwest from Islamabad.
Twenty people
including four children and three women died, local private Geo TV
reported.
The collision
ruined the van completely and the corpses were retrieved out of van only
after the van's body was cut down.
The injured were
shifted to local hospitals in Dadu and Moro, another major town in the
area. Emergency was declared in hospitals.
Eight people are
injured, out of which five are under critical condition, Geo TV quoted
doctors of local hospital as saying.
Road accidents are
common in Pakistan, where many roads are in poor conditions and many
drivers are not properly trained and frequently disregard rules.
[Source:
People's Daily Online]
[SMc]
__________________________
September
28,2006: Road Deaths and Injuries Falling
Road casualties in
Britain fell last year, although figures show the decline in deaths has
now reached a plateau.
Deaths fell to
3,201 in 2005, a drop of 0.6%, with serious injuries down 7%.
The Department for
Transport released contributory factors for the first time, showing
drivers' failure to look properly featured in 32% of accidents.
But in fatal
crashes, loss of control was most common, with 35%, and excessive speed
was reported in 15% of all accidents and 26% of fatal crashes....
Full story, from
BBC News
[SMc]
__________________________
September 28,
2006: Motorcycle Deaths Continue to Edge up
Whether it's
recent soaring gasoline prices or a love for the open road, more and
more Americans have become "easy riders" and are hitting the highways on
motorcycles.
But with increased
motorcycle sales have come a steadily rising number of motorcycle rider
fatalities, both nationwide and in Florida.
Last year's
fatalities for motorcyclists in Florida was the highest figure reported
in 30 years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor
Vehicles. The number of motorcycle crashes and injuries also has
consistently risen in the state over the past five years. In 2005, 7,282
motorcyclists were injured in 8,147 crashes, compared to 4,474 injured
in 5,073 accidents in 2000....
Full story, from Gainesville
Sun
[SMc]
__________________________
September 28,
2006: Twenty Killed in Road Accident in Egypt
Twenty persons
were killed and one was injured when a mini-bus collided head-on with a
truck early Thursday near Minya, 245 kilometers south of Cairo. The bus
was heading from Cairo to Upper Egypt. The driver tried to pass the car
ahead of him when he ran into the truck coming from the opposite
direction, police told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
All the passengers
of the minibus were killed, except one. The truck driver was also killed
in the crash, the police said.
[Source:
Raw Story]
[SMc]
__________________________
September 28, 2006: Drowsiness Can Spell Disaster at the Wheel
High speed, no skid marks.
The motorist never even hits the brakes before soaring
off a cliff, slamming into a tree or barrelling serenely into oncoming
traffic.
Detectives recognize the hallmarks of one of the most
menacing hazards on today's busy highways - the drowsy driver....
...."Driving sleepy is the same as driving drunk,"
cautions Dr. John Kimoff, director of the sleep lab at the McGill
University Health Centre. "There is no difference in terms of risk. If
you can have Mothers Against Drunk Driving, you can have Mothers Against
Sleepy Driving, too.
"Sleep deprivation produces an impairment in
performance and attention that is really indistinguishable from that
associated with moderate alcohol intoxication."....
Full story, from
The Gazette
[SW]
__________________________
September 27,
2006: Irish Road Safety '10 Years behind UK'
Ireland is lagging
about 10 years behind the UK in terms of road safety, a survey claimed
today.
According to the
Society of Actuaries in Ireland, some 78 lives could have been saved
every year if the drop in road deaths after penalty points were
introduced had been maintained.
Experts found
there was a significant reduction in the number of people killed in car
accidents when the system began in 2002.
But six months
later the road death rate began to increase....
Full story, from Ireland
Online
[SMc]
__________________________
September 27,
2006: Road deaths in Dubai Soar 45% in 8 Months
Dubai: Three
people were killed in a horrific accident on Tuesday as police announced
a 45 per cent increase in road deaths in the first eight months of this
year compared with the corresponding period in 2005....
The death toll is
mounting, with 156 people being killed in road accidents in the first
six months of this year, an increase of 42 per cent over 2005.
Police have called
on motorists to be careful on roads and be courteous, especially in
traffic jams, and respect the right of other road users.
"Motorists should
reduce speed, especially while nearing interchanges. They should also
leave enough space between vehicles and the front vehicle," a traffic
police officer said.
Full story, from Gulf News
[SMc]
__________________________
September 26,
2006: Teens to Get Driver Training
A new Georgia law
that takes effect January 1 requires 16-year olds to complete a safe
driving course before they get their drivers license.
In some parts of
the state, that's not so easy to do because of a shortage of certified
driving instructors. An initiative called “Safe Teen Georgia”, sponsored
by the Safe America Foundation hopes to train 2,500 new instructors in
the state by 2007.
More than 120,000
Georgia teenagers will turn sixteen during 2007. There are only 703
certified driving instructors in the state.
The dilemma is
simple. There are not enough instructors to teach young drivers....
Full story, from WXIA-TV
[SMc]
__________________________
September 26,
2006: 16 Perish in Road Accident in Tanzania
Sixteen people
died yesterday,15 of them on the spot, in a tragic road accident that
involved a passenger bus christened `Champion`, heading to Dodoma from
Dar es Salaam.
According to
eyewitnesses, scores of other passengers were seriously injured when the
bus plunged into a deep valley when the driver, who was overtaking a
saloon car, attempted to avoid a head on collision with an oncoming
tanker.
Reached by
telephone, the police said from the scene that the accident occurred in
the morning at Kongowe village in Coast Region on the Dar es Salaam-Chalinze
road, some 25 kilometres from Kibaha town.
``After failing to
control the bus, the driver,who also perished in the accident, swerved
to avoid a head-on collision and plunged into the ditch, killing 16
passengers,`` an eyewitness said....
Full story, from IPP Media
[SMc]
__________________________
and
GLOBAL
September 25, 2006: FACTBOX-Key Facts about Road Traffic Deaths
Twenty-five
million people have died on the world's roads since the first recorded
automobile fatality occurred in London in 1896, the World Health
Organisation (WHO) said....
- Africa has the
world's worst death rate from road crashes, with 28 deaths per 100,000
population, the WHO report The Road Ahead said in June 2006.
- Britain has the
safest roads in the world, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reported in
2004, in terms both of deaths per capita and of deaths per kilometre
travelled....
- The WHO
estimates the cost of road traffic accidents exceeds the total amount of
development assistance received by low- and middle-income countries....
Full
story, from Reuters AlertNet
[SMc]
__________________________
September 25,
2006: Young Drivers and Speeding Does not Mix
Police said two
teens were arrested for racing over the Blue Bridge in Pasco.
Sunday morning,
two boys in the Seattle area died after plunging their Ford Explorer
into the Elliott Bay.
Police said the
mixture of inexperience and speed can kill.
According to
government statistics collisions cause 75 percent of all deaths among
American teens and two-thirds of all deaths among Washington teens.
Police said young
drivers need to be careful.
Kennewick Police
Officer Mary Buchan said, "It's really a game of Russian Roulette and
sometimes the out come is not good."
Police near
Seattle said they are still investigating the situation but said drugs
and alcohol might have been involved. Police also said four other teens
survived the crash.
[Source:
KNDO/KNDU]
[SMc]
__________________________
September 25, 2006: Tons of Steel in Motion — and the Bicyclist
....Bicycle injuries are no joke. According to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, they account for 2
percent of all traffic fatalities and injuries. Luckily, I wasn’t
included in that statistic. And lucky for you, Milwaukee is a relatively
safe city in which to ride a bike.
Police reports involving bicycle accidents in this area
are few and far between. Bad news for folks living in California,
Florida, New York, and Texas: those four states accounted for 43 percent
of bicycle deaths in 1999, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
reports. But regardless the state you live in, there are precautions any
bicyclist can take to prevent his or her next ride from becoming an
accident....
Full article from
The UWM post, (a ''student-run independent newsweekly'' at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
[SW]
__________________________
September 25, 2006: Two Cyclists Trying to Cross I-580 in Pt.
Richmond Struck by Car
Two bicyclists sustained serious injuries Sunday
afternoon when a car struck them on westbound Interstate 580 just before
the Richmond-San Rafael bridge toll plaza.
Rescue workers stopped traffic on the bridge in both
directions from 4:18 to 4:32 p.m. to allow two helicopters to fly both
victims to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California Highway
Patrol Officer Tracy Hoover reported.
The crash happened when the two bicyclists were
attempting to cross the freeway on their way to Point Molate, according
to Richmond Fire Department Battalion Chief Erik Newman....
Story, from
Marin Independent Journal
[SW]
__________________________
September 25, 2006: Troopers Try To Put Brakes On Street Racing
For the second time in a week, state Highway Patrol
troopers have broken up a drag race on a rural highway.
Six people were arrested this weekend when troopers put
the brakes on a race along Tippett Road, a dead-end state road a few
miles west of Interstate 95 in Halifax County, authorities said....
....The Highway Patrol is concentrating its crackdown
on drag racing in Halifax and Nash counties, which have miles of lonely
stretches of road that make them ideal for street racing, authorities
said...
Full Story,
from WRAL.com
[SW]
__________________________
September 25, 2006: Road Blitz Bags Drunk Drivers
Members from the Casuarina police station
conducted an operation targeting drink drivers, speeding, unregistered
vehicles and failure to obey traffic lights.
Sixteen people were apprehended for drink
driving, 23 were issued traffic infringement notices, five summonsed for
driving offences, four vehicles were defected and one person was issued
a first notice for "hooning".
Fifteen drivers were booked in relation to
speeding offences.
Officer in charge of the Casuarina police
station, Sen-Sgt Tim Moseley, said the offences showed it was clear the
road safety message was not getting through to some Territory road
users.
Full
story, from Northern
Territory News
[SSC}
__________________________
September 24, 2006: Road deaths Could Rise to Level of HIV/AIDS in
Jamaica
DEATH is likely
to come knocking in one of three forms if you are between the ages of
five and 29 years - motor vehicle injuries, child cluster diseases and
HIV/AIDS.
According to a
joint World Health Organisation (WHO)/World Bank report, these are the
leading causes of deaths worldwide based on 2002 statistics.
The report says
road traffic injuries is the second leading cause of death in the
five-14 age group behind childhood cluster diseases....
Full story, from Jamaica
Gleaner
{SMc]
__________________________
September 24, 2006: Jamaican Ticketing System Needs Makeover – Road
Safety Head
After months of keeping the matter close to the
chest,
road safety
advocate Paula Fletcher can hold it no longer.
Mrs. Fletcher, the executive director of the
National Road Safety Council (NRSC), a state agency, disclosed recently
that the $50 million ticketing system implemented two years ago with a
view to prosecuting delinquent motorists, has failed.
"With a ticketing system, you must have your
database working.
"If you don't have information on who has been
issued a ticket and how many tickets that person has, you can't have the
penalties being enforced," Mrs. Fletcher argued during an Editors' Forum
held at The Gleaner Company's central Kingston office on Thursday.
Mrs. Fletcher added that people have taken the
government to court for recourse because the system fails to work.
Full
story, from Jamaica Gleaner
News
[SSC]
__________________________
September 24,
2006: Safety Fears Over Ads On Streetlights
Road
safety experts and motorists have admitted worries over an increase in
"roadside clutter" after a Scottish council invited firms to bid for a
contract to sell advertising on streetlights.
Renfrewshire Council hopes to make thousands of pounds a year by selling
advertising on its lampposts and has invited advertising firms to bid
for a contract to sell the ads, with a share of the profits to go to the
local authority.
Just
last month, the Scottish Executive's own transport quango, Transport
Scotland, issued sweeping new guidelines aimed at scrapping superfluous
road signs and cutting the rest literally down to size in order to make
them less intrusive and less confusing for drivers.
Full
story, from The Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com
[SSC]
__________________________
September 24,
2006: Road Safety Scheme Backing Hope
Organisers of a
road safety scheme for young people who will soon be able to get behind
the wheel of a car are hoping to find a backer.
The Wise
Drive-Drive for Life programme is now in its eighth year and is run by
Durham Police and the Durham Agency Against Crime (DAAC).
Hundreds of 16-year-olds take part in
workshops, are shown crash footage and wear goggles to simulate drink
driving.
Full story,
from BBC News
[SSC]
__________________________
September 24,
2006: P-Platers Stupidity
MORE than half the
P-plate drivers killed in NSW road accidents this year were speeding at
more than 100km/h at the time.
Australian
Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) data shows 14 of the 26 P-plate drivers
killed died in accidents that involved speeds above the legal limit for
provisional drivers.
Highway patrol
officers on the front line have confirmed that P-platers rank among the
worst offenders when it comes to breaking road rules....
Full story, fromDaily Telegraph
[SMc]
__________________________
September 24,
2006: Young Killer Driver Reignites Safety Debate
The debate over the punishment of dangerous drivers who kill
will flare up again this week when a young male motorist who had never
held a driving licence is sentenced over the death of his girlfriend.
Andrew Lloyd
Bennett, 20, failed to call an ambulance after his teenage girlfriend
was thrown through the windscreen and seriously injured when his Subaru
Impreza collided with a row of trees. It is almost certain he will be
jailed....
The case comes
amid mounting calls for harsher penalties against dangerous drivers.
Campaigners are demanding that the driving age be raised to 18, with a
one-year minimum training period. Men aged 17 to 20 account for three
per cent of drivers but make up a third of convictions for dangerous
driving....
Full story, from The
Observer
[SMc]
__________________________
September 23,
2006: Road Accident Kills 13 near Islamabad, Pakistan
At least 13 people
were killed and some 40 others were injured in road accident near the
capital Islamabad on Saturday, a relief agency and police said.
The accident took
place when two passenger buses collided at Rawat, a small town at the
edge of Islamabad, the Edhi Foundation said.
According to
police a speeding bus, heading to North West Frontier Province, first
hit a Suzuki pick-up and later collided with a bus coming from the
opposite direction at around 4.30 a.m.
Seven persons,
including a woman and two children, died on the spot while six later
died in hospitals.
The injured were
rushed to government hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Both the buses and
a van were completely destroyed, witnesses said.
Bodies and injured
were pulled out after cutting the bodies of vehicles.
Locals joined the
police to shift the injured to hospitals.
[Source:
Islamic Republic News
Agency]
[SMc]
__________________________
EUROPE
September 23, 2006: Road Safety NGO: EU Must Do More to Reduce Road
Accidents
In an interview
with EurActiv.com, European Transport Safety Council Executive Director
Jörg Beckmann urges more political leadership to enforce existing
road-safety measures, especially across borders, and to introduce
"crucial" new technologies, in order to reduce the number of accidents
on European roads....
Full interview, from EurActiv.com
[SMc]
__________________________
September 21, 2006:
Russian Police Chief Calls Road Accident Rate Critical
The road accident
rate in Russia has reached a critical point, Russian Interior Minister
Rashid Nurgaliyev stated at a conference on traffic safety issues in the
Northwestern Federal District on Thursday.
"Some 100 people
are killed in car crashes daily, including three to four children," the
minister said, "the latest flagrant case is the accident in the
Krasnodar territory, when 52 vehicles collided in a fog; 25 of them
burnt down, causing fatalities," Nurgaliyev said....
The situation with
the incidence of children's becoming victims of road accidents is
alarming, he went on to say. "The province reported 210 road accidents
involving minors under 16 years of age in the first eight months of this
year, in which eight children died and another 218 were injured,"
Nurgaliyev said.
One of the prime
causes behind car accidents involving children is their poor knowledge
of traffic regulations. "Federal education programs allocate two hours a
year, and that only in the 8th form, to study road safety issues," the
minister said.
Full
story, from ITAR-TASS
[SMc]
__________________________
*
September 21, 2006:
Serbia Prepares Draconian Traffic Law to Curb Road Deaths
After a black
series of road accidents that has seen fatalities mounting on a daily
basis in Belgrade, speeding as been firmly established as the leading
cause of death on Serbian roads. The authorities now hope to reverse the
trend of reckless driving with a new draconian law, aimed at reducing
fatalities, injuries and damage. But at the moment, horrible scenes are
a daily spectacle on the roads....
At the moment, the
fines are laughably low for many - the absolutely highest is equivalent
of 400 dollars. But the new traffic law, which is due to be enacted by
the end of the year, would dramatically increase the fines as a
deterrent.
Along with the
draconian fines, the western-style points system and measures against
traffic hooliganism, it would in some cases even allow the permanent
confiscation of a vehicle from an offender.
Full
story, from The Raw Story
[SMc]
__________________________
September 21, 2006: Cats’ Eyes Bid to Cut Road Deaths
SOLAR-powered
light-emitting diodes fitted in new cats' eyes are expected to reduce
the risk of accidents at a notorious double bend on the A338 between
Fordingbridge and the Wiltshire border.
Research carried
out on Aftusia's LED road study at the Transport Research Laboratory at
Wokingham, Berkshire, showed that in simulated night-time driving
conditions motorists were able to see the new cats' eyes well before
they could see traditional models....
Full
story, from Dorset Echo
[SMc]
__________________________
September 21, 2006:
Dubai: Bad Road Manners 'Main Cause of Traffic Jams'
Dubai Roads and Transport Authority blamed drivers
for causing traffic congestion in the city.
"It is about behaviour on the road and drivers are the
one to be blamed for most of the traffic jams and accidents leading to
injuries and deaths," said Engineer Maitha Obaid Bin Udai, Chief
Executive Officer of the Traffic and Roads Agency at the Dubai Roads and
Traffic Authority (RTA).
Maitha said road safety issue includes three elements:
drivers, engineering and vehicles. "Our top priority is to focus on
driver education on road safety. Lack of patience, speeding and bad
driving habits are the main causes for congestion and accidents," she
said....
Safety conference to be held on November 6
With an aim to reduce traffic accidents and raise
traffic safety, the RTA has announced it will host an International Road
Safety Conference on November 6r.
The RTA has joined hands with the Ministry of Education
and various other departments to spread the road safety message. The
conference will be organised by Smart Vision Company. The main objective
of the conference is to provide a platform for the discussion of road
safety and best practices.
Full story, from
Gulfnews
[SW]
__________________________
September 21, 2006: Cameroon: National Road Safety Campaign
Launched
The campus of the University of Yaounde II, Soa, was
the venue of the official launching of the national road safety campaign
dubbed "Music and Communication against road accidents" last Tuesday.
The campaign, launched by AS Production, under the patronage of the
Ministry of Transport will run till August 2007....
....Particpants learnt six simple techniques which are
always neglected and which if respected will ensure road safety in the
country. These include: the need for the drivers to look further than a
few metres ahead of them, the need to keep a distance from vehicles
ahead of them, the need to keep watchful eyes in movement, the need to
provide enough parking distance, constantly putting on security belts,
and making use of other alarm gagets....
Read the
article, from AllAfrica
[SW]
__________________________
September 21, 2006: Plans Invited for Road Safety Programme in
India
With Rs. 6 crore being allotted for the Road Safety
Fund for 2006-2007, proposals have been invited from Superintendents and
the Commissioners of Police for allocation.
Under the programme, minor road engineering works will
be taken up, equipment bought and safety awareness created. Though the
amount is meagre, given the number of accidents and the need for
remedial measures, a senior police official says the fund helps to
improve road junctions, purchase breathalysers to check drunken driving
and radar guns to monitor over-speeding.
Full story, from
The Hindu
[SW]
__________________________
September 21, 2006: Keep
Driving Like your Life Depends on It
Through mid-September, fatal traffic accidents in Wisconsin had dropped
13 percent. That number might not mean much until you put it into real
lives. Accidents have killed 75 fewer people this year compared to a
year ago.
That's 75 fewer times that law officers had to contact relatives and
give them the dreaded news; 75 fewer times that families had to bury
loved ones too soon; 75 fewer times that the lives of those left behind
were turned to chaos.
"That is a big number," said Daniel Lonsdorf, director
of the state Bureau of Transportation Safety. "We had the safest August
since World War II in terms of body count."
Full
article, from
Gazettextra
[SW]
__________________________
and
September 20, 2006: Study Says Restrictions Help Young Drivers
A study released
by the American Automobile Association (AAA) has shown that areas with
restrictions on young drivers had lower amounts of serious collisions.
"This is the first
study of its kind ever," said Rick Preston, spokesman for the Alberta
Motor Association (AMA).
The study said
that jurisdictions that had restrictions on 16-year-old drivers had 20
per cent less crashes that were fatal or resulted in serious injuries.
"That sort of
steers you in the face," Preston said....
Full story,
from Redwater Tribune
[SMc]
__________________________
September 19,
2006: Belgian Road Safety Below EU Average
There were 112 traffic fatalities per 1 million residents
in Belgium in 2004, earning the nation an equal 10th ranking with
Slovakia in the 25-member EU....
....This compared to high-ranking nations the
Netherlands and Sweden, where 43 and 53 deaths per 1 million residents
were recorded respectively...The biggest increase was noted in Lithuania
(a rise of 167 percent), followed by Latvia (142 percent) and Portugal
(135).
Full story, from Expatica
[SW]
__________________________
September 19,
2006: Skateboarders the Same as Pedestrians
The Alberta Court of Appeal, in a decision released
today, said a lower court ruling defining pedestrian as including
skateboarders was correct.
The three-member court agreed with a Queen’s Bench
decision which overturned a traffic commissioner’s finding skateboarders
weren’t protected in crosswalks.
The case involved an Edmonton driver who was charged
with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk after striking a
skateboarder.
A traffic commissioner threw the case out, saying a
skateboarder was not a pedestrian under the Traffic Safety Act.
Full story, from The
Calgary Sun [SW]
__________________________
September 19, 2006:
Young Drivers 'Must
Learn Longer'
Young
people should spend a year learning to drive before being allowed to
take their driving test, the UK insurance industry has recommended.
The Association of
British Insurers (ABI) claims this would stop 1,000 serious injuries and
deaths among young drivers each year.
The ABI's call is
supported by a group of other road safety organisations.
They say passenger
numbers and night time driving should also be restricted for new
drivers.
"Every day, four
people are killed or seriously injured in crashes involving young
drivers," said Stephen Haddrill, the ABI's director general.
"The trend is
getting worse not better. We urge the Government to adopt these
proposals to improve safety on our roads and reduce this tragic loss of
life."
The safety plan is
supported by the ABI, RAC Foundation, the Parliamentary Advisory Council
for Transport Safety and three road safety organisations - Brake,
Roadsafe and Make Roads Safe....
Full story,
from BBC News
[SMc]
__________________________
September 18,
2006: Six Road Deaths as Drink Drivers Targeted
SIX people died on
Victorian roads at the weekend, prompting calls for renewed vigilance
from motorists — and tougher policing.
The deaths, in six
separate accidents, brought Victoria's 2006 road toll to 220, 23 fewer
than at this time last year. And police are bracing for more casualties
in September and October, statistically bad months for road trauma....
The TAC's
[Transport Accident Commission] new campaign will focus on drink drivers
who use back roads to escape detection.
Mr Ashby [Victoria
Police Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) ] said police in unmarked cars,
on motorcycles and officers on horseback would be used. "We know that
people go to the back streets … we know that the word goes out if people
know a booze bus is down the road," he said.
Full story, from The Age
[SMc]
__________________________
September 18, 2006: New
Jersey Governor Unveils $74 Million Pedestrian Safety Initiative
New Jersey Governor
Jon S. Corzine today announced the creation of a five-year, $74 million
initiative to improve pedestrian safety throughout New Jersey. The New
Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), the Department of Law and
Public Safety and the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) will implement a
three-pronged strategy to encourage motorists to safely share the road
with pedestrians through engineering, education and enforcement...
The initiative addresses pedestrian awareness, driver
behavior and roadway conditions that amplify accident risk. The fund
will be used for intersection and sidewalk safety improvement projects,
traffic mitigation measures, education and enforcement efforts and
planning and technical guidance. This initiative is funded from existing
money in the Transportation Trust Fund...
Full article, from All
American Patriots
[SW]
__________________________
September 16, 2006: Tesla
Electric Car a Hit with Consumers
The
limited edition “Signature One Hundred”-series Tesla
Roadster — representing the first 100
high-performance electric car to be manufactured by
Tesla Motors (San Carlos, Calif.) — has sold out in
three weeks, confirming that the stylish, zero-emissions
sports car is a hit with auto enthusiasts.
Full Article, from
Compositesworld
[SW]
__________________________
September 16,
2006: At Least Six People Die in Road Accident in Switzerland
At
least six people died in a road accident in Switzerland,
Reuters informed. According to the information of the
local news agency ATC a bus transporting 23 people –
hockey players – collided with a car in the region of
the Viamala tunnel. One of the injured is in serious
condition. The debris of the crash caught fire. So far
no details have been announced.
[Source:
Focus News]
[SMc]
__________________________
September 15,
2006: Teen Drivers, Parents' Ticket to Freedom?
As
our kids get older, they get busier.
The more activities they're in, the more time parents
spend driving them around. So, it's easy to see why many
parents are anxious for their teens to get their
driver's license.
But experts say, a teen's license to drive is not a
parent's ticket to freedom....
Full story, from
WFIE-TV
[SMc]
__________________________
September 15,
2006: No Change in Drink-Drive Limit for Young Drivers
The government has rejected advisors' attempts to lower
the drink-drive blood alcohol limit for under 25s, who
pay more for carinsurance because drink-driving is
particularly common in their age bracket.
According to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of
Drugs, the legal limit of alcohol consumption should be
lowered for this group because drivers under 25 are more
likely to be drunk at the wheel and have accidents.
The council said: "Given the poorer driving skills and
higher accident rates among inexperienced young drivers,
we recommend that the government should give
consideration to reducing the maximum blood alcohol
rate."
Road safety minister Stephen Ladyman responded by saying
the government had no plans to make the suggested
change. He said: "We continue to believe that education,
robust enforcement and tough penalties are the most
effective ways of persuading people."
Department for Transport statistics show that
drink-driving, which contributes to an average 3,000
deaths and serious injuries each year, is carried out in
particular by young men aged between 17 and 29 years,
which is reflected in their high car insurance premiums.
[Source:
Kwik Fit
Insurance]
[SMc]
__________________________
September 15,
2006: Campaign Targets Young Drivers
The Essex Safety Camera Partnership is to launch a
campaign to cut accidents involving young drivers.
More than 220 people were killed or seriously injured in
accidents involving drivers aged between 17 and 25 in
2005. A further 1,412 suffered minor injuries.
On
Monday the partnership is due to launch its Young
Drivers' Campaign.
Rachel Whitelock, the safety partnership's liaison
officer, said: "We know speed is a factor in
approximately a third of all accidents and when you mix
speed with inexperience, it is a particularly lethal
combination."
A
special credit card-sized DVD is to be handed out to
young people at pubs, bars and nightclubs.
It
features a crash reconstruction, photos of serious car
crashes involving young people in Essex and interviews
with the emergency services and victims.
Youngsters will also be urged to enrol on advanced
driving courses.
Miss Whitelock added: "Traditionally, the 17 to 25
age-group can be hard to reach with road safety
messages, but we are confident this campaign will make
an impact."
[Source:
This is Essex]
[SMc]
__________________________
September 14,
2006: IIHS: New Side Crash Tests: Performance Of Two Fords Improves
With Side Airbags
The
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently tested
four 2007 model vehicles with side airbags: Toyota
FJ Cruiser and Ford Freestyle (midsize SUVs);
Ford Fusion (midsize moderately priced car) and Ford
Crown Victoria (large family car). The FJ Cruiser and
Freestyle earn good ratings for protection in side
crashes. The Fusion is rated acceptable, and the Crown
Victoria is marginal. Side airbags are optional in the
FJ Cruiser and Crown Victoria. The Fusion has been
upgraded to standard side airbags for the 2007 model
year. The Freestyle will have standard side airbags in
2007s built after September.
The
tests were conducted outside of the Institute's normal
schedule at the request of the manufacturers. Tests of
the Crown
Victoria and Fusion update earlier tests of
these vehicles without side airbags.
Summary
of test results: The FJ Cruiser with optional side
airbags earned a good rating. Intrusion into
the occupant compartment was minimal. Performance in all
categories (dummy injury measures, head protection, and
structure) was good across the board.
Full
story, from
The Auto Channel
[SSC]
__________________________
September 14,
2006: U.S. Calls for Auto Stability Controls by 2012 Models
(Update2)
Automakers would have to install electronic stability
control systems on all passenger cars and trucks by 2012
models under a proposed U.S. rule that regulators said
may save at least 10,000 lives a year.
Installation of the systems, which use sensors to
monitor vehicle movement and steering and can help
prevent rollover accidents, would start with 2009
models, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration said in a statement today. They would
have to be standard equipment three years later.
``We think ESC is the most important invention since
seat belts,'' said Jon Linkov, managing editor for autos
at Consumer Reports magazine....
Full story, from
Bloomberg
[SMc]
__________________________
September 14,
2006: Drink Limit for Younger Drivers 'Must be Reduced'
THE Government has been told by its own drug advisers to
cut the alcohol limit for young drivers to curb the
growing numbers of drink-drive deaths on Britain’s
roads.
The influential Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
demanded that the limit be reduced from 80mg to 50mg of
alcohol per 100ml of blood for those aged under 25,
because they are more likely to be involved in fatal
drink-drive crashes than older drivers. It said that
Britain’s youngsters are some of the worst abusers of
drink and drugs in Europe.
The Government was resisting the demand last night, but
pressure is likely to grow as concern mounts about the
rising toll of Britain’s binge-drinking culture.
Road-safety groups yesterday backed the call to cut the
legal alcohol limit....
Full story, from
Times Online
[SMc]
__________________________
September 14,
2006: Seven Die, 16 Injured in Highway Accident in Papua New Guinea
At
least seven people were killed and 16 others critically
injured after a 25-seater PMV bus ran off the road and
slammed into a tree yesterday morning outside Mt Hagen.
The bus was travelling to Mt Hagen from Lae when the
accident occurred at Kuli Gap in the Anglimp district,
Western Highlands province.
One of the injured passengers John Tiptip, who was
treated at the Mt Hagen General Hospital, told The
National that the driver allegedly fell asleep and,
without control, the bus ran off the road and slammed
into the tree....
Full story, from
The National
[SMc]
__________________________
September 14,
2006: Gauteng Road Deaths Reduced
The death toll on Gauteng roads has significantly
reduced by 15 percent as a result of improved safety,
the MEC for Community Safety said on Thursday.
"This is particularly significant given that there have
been increases in the number of vehicles and licensed
drivers on the roads of the province," MEC Firoz
Cachalia said.
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