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The main purpose of this web page is to let drivers, legislators, road safety experts, police officers, parents of young drivers, etc., have an easily accessible insight into what is happening in their own countries and elsewhere, and thereby possibly do something to help save some of the many wasted lives on roads everywhere. Page edited by Eddie Wren
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International Road Safety News -- November 2004
New South Wales Roads Minister Carl Scully has urged young people to read an options paper on ways to improve safety for young drivers, and send their comments to the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA). Mr Scully launched the discussion paper yesterday at a school road safety forum held for senior students at the Illawarra Sports High School at Berkeley. The paper canvases 11 different options including increased driver training, a limit on the number of passengers in cars, driving curfews and prohibiting "P" plate drivers from driving high powered cars.... Read the full article. [Source: ABC News] Or go directly to the Improving Safety for Young Drivers web page of the Roads and Traffic Authority, NSW. ___________________________
Recent crash tests have found airbags at head level are essential in protecting vehicle occupants involved in side impact crashes. NRMA Motoring & Services and the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority today released a summary of six research tests where four wheel drive vehicles were crashed sideways into a pole at 29 kilometres per hour [i.e. a mere 18mph]. NRMA Vehicle Policy Specialist, Jack Haley and RTA General Manager Road Safety, Dr Soames Job, said the results demonstrated very clearly that to ensure head protection in sideways crashes into poles or trees, a head protecting airbag was vital. They also said side airbags provided important protection for the chest and abdomen, but did not provide head protection in side-on collisions with trees and poles or with high fronted vehicles like large 4WDs....
DSA: Also see the ANCAP small car crash test report, here (July 2004). ______________________________
Research by insurer AAMI shows 93 per cent of Tasmanians favour State Government plans to introduce drug testing of drivers. The findings were released as the State Opposition called for a new strategy to reduce Tasmania's spiralling road toll. AAMI state manager Trent Sayers said the research showed support for random drug testing had remained strong over the past four years and was high among people aged 18-24 years. Four people died on the state's roads at the weekend, taking the toll to 56 compared with 41 for the whole of last year. [Source: NEWS.com] ___________________________
NANCY, France -- An elderly motorist driving along a 130-kilometre (80-mile) an hour motorway in eastern France caused an accident when he followed the advice of his onboard GPS computer - and made a U-turn to drive into the high-speed traffic. Police said the hapless 78-year-old driver, who was not named, and the occupants of the vehicle he ran into escaped unharmed from the collision late Sunday, but it could have been much worse. The man told officers his car GPS had told him to "make a U-turn immediately" as he drove along lost on the express way near the town of Nancy in search of a hotel. He did so, not realising the limitations of his satellite navigation device, which guides using verbal directions. "It's not the first time we've had a GPS incident," one of the officers said, recalling the time a police vehicle found itself face-to-face with a motorist going the wrong way in accordance with his computer's instructions. [Source: Expatica] ___________________________
A refreshingly honest view of aggressive driving, from News 24 columnist Serena de Souza -- DSA I've had to stop driving in the fast lane on the highway. I started to have genuine concerns that I was going to get myself killed. The behaviour that was hurtling me towards an early, silk-trimmed coffin was my tendency to get drawn into the grimly aggressive dicing game that the other drivers play. I'm not adopting a holier-than-thou, "it wuzzen me" stance on the matter - I've been right there with the worst of them; thin lipped, tense jawed, on the tail of the person in front of me, refusing to look left or right for fear of making eye contact with any people who might be expecting some basic human consideration from me. I'm generally a fairly moderate person. I have a continental temper, but for the most part, I try to spend my days being courteous and generous to my fellow man. This attitude of selfishness does not come naturally to me - so where did it spring from? Allow me to paint for you the few scenarios that exemplify life on the South African roads. See if you recognise them.... If any of [this article strikes] you as typical behaviour, of which you have been either the executor or the victim (but probably both, in your time), then you are, as I am, a fine example of what causes the ludicrous and unacceptable death toll on our roads.... Read the full, frank story here, from News 24 ___________________________
Inspired by their motto, “We care for you”, the Chandigarh Traffic Police have another citizen-friendly venture up their sleeve. Come next week and they will launch a website on Road Safety Education and Safe Driving, with 30 flash animations about correct and incorrect ways of driving a motor vehicle on the road. The website will be available as a link of the Chandigarh Police official website -- www.chandigarhpolice.nic.in -- which is already available for users.... Citizens can gather information about road safety techniques, right and wrong ways of driving a motor vehicle on city roads, the data related to fatal accidents, other accidents, pictures of accidents, etc., from the website. Besides information on road safety, the website will also have information about speed limits for vehicles, maps of various city roads, besides other interactive features.... Full story, from Chandigarh Newsline ___________________________
California lawmakers have passed more than 150 changes to the vehicle code, some of which are designed to toughen drunk driving regulations, clean the air, prompt drivers to pay better attention to traffic signs and limit the use of motorized scooters. Most of the changes take effect January 1. [Examples include the following:] You already must be at least 16 years old to ride scooters with a gas or electric motor, but in 2005, you'll also need a driver's license or learner's permit.... Meanwhile, even those drivers with daytime running lights will have to remember to turn on their vehicle's headlights whenever it's too foggy to see 1,000 feet or raining hard enough to require continuous use of the windshield wipers.... [New] laws will extend the period that drunk driving convictions remain on a driver's record from seven to ten years, and consolidate oversight of revoked and restricted driver's licenses with the state Department of Motor Vehicles.... Full article (with longer lists), from the LA Times (subscription necessary)
DSA comment: This is, of course, excellent news from California. Our only small disappointment with the details given is in the above reference to turning on a vehicle's headlights "whenever it's... raining hard enough to require continuous use of the windshield wipers." That stipulation could have been even more effective if the word "continuous" had been replaced by the word 'any'. Even a small amount of fine drizzle on the windshield of a lazy or unthinking driver can significantly degrade his/her view, so the safest rule is that if it is raining at all then headlights should be on, so that your vehicle will be seen immediately by those who think it is acceptable not to continuously keep the drizzle off their windshields -- and there are plenty such people around. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
Washington — As the United States prepares to commemorate National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month, respected criminal justice leaders released a report summarizing common-sense solutions and successes in reforming the DWI legal system for dealing with the high-BAC, repeat offenders who cause the vast majority of drunk-driving deaths. From a program that puts a “resource prosecutor” in each state for DWI cases, to a standardized packet aimed at reducing the massive paperwork burden, to a new program that tracks offenders across state lines, innovative solutions are helping reduce the death toll of drunk driving. These solutions are backed up by comprehensive research that has detailed the flaws in our criminal justice system when it comes to serious DWI offenders. In January, Ottawa-based Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) completed a major four-part research project that looked at ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal DWI system for dealing with hard-core drunk drivers. The primary goal of this project, sponsored by Anheuser-Busch Companies, was to identify priority problems and recommend practical solutions in each phase of the justice system.... Read the full, important report here, from the TIRF ___________________________
Stability systems based on antilock brake technology have been under development since the late 1980s. Bosch expects to ship 2 million electronic stability control units to automakers worldwide this year, spokesman Eric Kosmider said. Continental plans to ship more than 1 million stability systems to U.S. manufacturers by the end of 2005, and predicts double-digit growth rates in the years ahead, said board member Karl-Thomas Neumann. Suppliers have led the development of stability systems without any guarantee that carmakers would accept them, knowing that the payback in driver safety could lead to continuing business, said Continental spokesman Jim Gill. "Some of our own internal examinations we conducted concluded this could potentially save anywhere from 5,000 to 8,000 lives a year," he said. "It's not gadgets. We're trying to develop solutions to real public issues." Stopping a rollover accident begins long before a vehicle actually begins to topple, [according to] researchers from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Using extensive federal data, U-M researchers found that one-third of the rollovers began with a skid while the vehicle was still on the road. Another 15 percent of rollovers began with an on-road collision followed by skidding. Overall, 48.5 percent of SUV rollovers started with some form of skid or slide. Even the most basic stability systems can correct a developing skid. "Ninety-nine percent of the drivers," said Josef Pickenhahn, TRW's vice president of braking engineering, "are not as good as the systems." U-M's results back other studies released this fall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that show cars, trucks and SUVs equipped with stability control have fewer accidents and that up to 7,000 lives could be saved annually if rollovers are prevented. Stability systems typically sense two ranges of motion, yaw (or turning) force and acceleration both fore-and-aft and side-to-side. They use complex formulas to calculate whether a car may be out of control, and with added software can estimate potential rollovers and limit them. Direct anti-rollover systems use an additional third sensor to detect actual rolling forces. Renna estimates that most automakers will pay suppliers about $100 for stability systems, with a premium added for rollover control. While the systems will be a business boon to suppliers, Renna said the prices paid by carmakers will begin to fall dramatically as volumes increase and the systems become a commodity. "(But) it's not going to go down to the extent where it will reach the levels of a base (antilock brakes) system," he said. "There's still going to be a premium for them." Detroit automakers have said that nearly 2 million SUVs will be built with stability control systems as standard in 2005.... [Source: the above is an unmodified and important extract from a detailed article at the Detroit News.]
DSA -- also see: 1. A related article about the USA lagging behind Europe in the use of stability control technology 2. There Could be 20,000 Fewer Serious Accidents Each Year, in Germany, with ESP ______________________________
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A survey by one of Britain's largest mobile phone retailers has shown that people in the west of England buy the largest proportion of hands-free kits for their cell phones, whereas drivers in the north and around London have bought the least. The company also quizzed Britain's drivers about their reasons for buying in-car kits and found for many it was simply because they want to talk more easily at the wheel -- not because they are afraid of being pulled up by the police. A survey held at the company's 60 installation centres around the UK revealed that the top three reasons for buying a handsfree kit were: 1. More convenient to talk - 67% 2. Required for work - 20% 3. Feel pressure by the law - 13% The findings come after a recent Government study revealed that the number of motorists who drive while using a hand-held mobile phone has dropped by just 25% since the national ban came into effect last year. The company concerned is releasing the figures to encourage any drivers still defying the ban, to get kitted out with an in-car solution - especially after the Government recently announced a crackdown, which will mean offenders now face a GBP60 fine and three penalty points on their licences. The company welcomes the step up in enforcement and penalty fines. [Source of information: PR Newswire press release from the Carphone Warehouse; 30 November, 2004]
DSA comments 1. Oh, please! "The company welcomes the step up in enforcement and penalty fines" because of its potential for higher profits from hands-free kits -- no more, no less. 2. The rate of compliance with this law could undoubtedly be higher if the British Government had not facilitated a reduction of around 12 per cent in number of police traffic patrol drivers, across England and Wales, following the widespread introduction of speed cameras. 3. It is now widely recognised, through research, that using any mobile phone while driving is dangerous. The highly respected Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), for example, has compared the level of distraction in a driver using any cell phone to the level of impairment found in a driver who has the legal limit of alcohol (0.08% BAC) in the bloodstream. 4. 'Limited success' or not, it has to be acknowledged that a reduction of 25% in the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving is infinitely preferable to no reduction at all or, more likely, a significant increase in the rate of use. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ______________________________
A raft of new measures to tackle drink driving, clampdown on the menace of uninsured and irresponsible driving and improve road safety was unveiled by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling today as the Government's Road Safety Bill was published. Britain has one of the best road safety records in the world and the Government is committed to reducing the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on our roads by 40 per cent by 2010. In 2003 the number of people killed and seriously injured in accidents fell to 37,215 - which is 22% below the 1994-98 average. The number of children killed or seriously injured fell to 4,100 and was 40% below. However, in 2003, 3508 people were killed on the roads and reducing death and injury remains a priority.... Read the full outline to the Road Safety Bill here.
See also the insipid response to the Road Safety Bill, from the UK Conservative Party, here. ___________________________
Prevention of Road Accidents (PORA) an Accra-based local non-governmental organisation which has been advocating road safety awareness has formed a road safety club in Swedru in the Agona district of the Central Region. The formation of the club forms part of PORA's initiative to help reduce road accidents in the country in general through various interventions; but chose to start with the Agona district in particular because of the district's strategic location with regards to road safety awareness creation, Mr Paul Attabra the executive director of PORA, says. Mr Paul Attabra was speaking to the ADM shortly after holding a meeting with the of the Swedru road safety club executive in Accra. He said PORA aims at reducing fatal road accidents through conducting researches into their causes, "taking into consideration some factors including the road set-up, the condition of the motor vehicle involved, the driver, and the road regulatory agencies as well." PORA, he said, also aims at educating the public and other stakeholders on road safety through holding lectures, seminars and giving talks on the subject. To this end he said the organisation has organised a forum on road safety for stakeholders in the road transport sector and its regulatory agencies as well as some opinion leaders.... The chairman of the organisation, Mr Michael Francis Cubbage, a British mechanical engineer, advised drivers to refrain from bad road practices like over-speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, overloading, and driving without backlights. He urged them to ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy before they hit the roads. He called on them to respect the rights of the pedestrians, and to lobby with the local government to involve pavements, crossing points and walkways for pedestrians in new road designs.... Full story, from the Accra Daily Mail ___________________________
VANCOUVER -- In a nod to reality show entertainment, the Youth CounterAttack / RoadSense Society of BC is tailoring its Regional Road Safety Event to youth by planning plenty of activities parlayed from such shows as the Amazing Race and Speaker's Corner. The all-day event draws nearly 100 high school students from more than 20 schools in the Lower Mainland to Templeton Secondary to share concerns about road safety among young drivers. Among this year's activities is the "Impaired Olympics" where students will be put through a series of events using drunk vision goggles to simulate being intoxicated. In an Amazing Race-esque event, students -- like their TV counterparts -- race against time to gain as many points as possible and move quickly from task to task. A version of CityTV's popular Speaker's Corner will also have students scrambling to work out a road safety skit with one minute in front of a camera to perform it.... Read the interesting full report. ___________________________
In its determination to curb the rate of road accidents in the country, [Nigeria's] Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has released books and audio tapes aimed at instilling proper road culture in children, young adults and motorists. Speaking to newsmen in Abuja at the weekend, the Corps Marshal, Major General Haladu Hannaniya (rtd), said the book entitled "Road Safety Tips for Children and Young Adults" was designed to inculcate sound road culture in the minds of the youth. "The drivers and exposed road users would learn defensive driving techniques and tips on safe driving while children and youths would imbibe sound road culture early enough," he said.... Full story, from allAfrica ___________________________
When winter weather turns our roads into skating rinks it does an excellent job of focusing peoples' minds on vehicle safety issues. So it's timely that anti-rollover stability systems for sport utility vehicles are in the news. Every winter I am struck by the number of SUVs I see in ditches or on their sides in freeway medians whenever the roads are slick with ice or snow. Don't SUV drivers realize that such high center of gravity vehicles have different handling characteristics than do cars? Obviously printed warnings inside SUVs are ignored as drivers expect that all-wheel drive will keep them on the road, come what may.... Full story, by John McCormick at the Detroit News ___________________________
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends that the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances: 1. Work with the National Association of Attorneys General to develop a model law that provides immunity from liability for any person (such as a healthcare worker, an emergency medical technician, a family member, or a concerned citizen) who, in good faith, reports a driver with a potentially impairing medical condition, and also encourage the States to include this law in their statutes. (H-04-42) 2. Develop model legislation, in conjunction with the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors, that allows information gathered by emergency medical technicians concerning the potential medical impairment of accident-involved drivers to be conveyed to the State licensing authority. (H-04-43) The complete recommendation letter is available here. [Source: NTSB] ______________________________
...Conventional patrol cars have devices to detect speeding, but the new unmarked cars rely on the officer's trained eye and a hand-held mini-camera to record offences. Traffic Police said they went on special plain clothes operation only when they receive complaints from the public about errant drivers. From August 14 to October 1, they conducted 29 special operations and nabbed over 600 drivers Chua Chee Wai, spokesperson of Traffic Police, said: "Traffic Police uses unmarked traffic vehicle as one of the enforcement techniques to reign-in serious moving offences like careless, reckless or dangerous driving." [Source: Channel News Asia] ______________________________
Gardai [i.e. the police] have launched a six-week road safety campaign targeting four main areas: drink driving, speeding, seat belt compliance and vulnerable road users. 11,344 people were arrested for drink driving in 2003. It is estimated that alcohol is the primary cause of a third of all fatal road crashes. Gardai claim speeding still remains the greatest contributory factor to road deaths. [Source: The Limerick Post] ___________________________
Two weeks ago, after a 16-year-old student at Churchill High School in Montgomery County, Md., was killed while driving from a party where alcohol was being served, parents met to discuss how to stop teen drinking and driving. As well intentioned as such forums may be, they dodge the plain fact that the surest way to reduce the number of teen traffic deaths — nearly 8,000 last year — is to reduce the number of teens on the road. The best place to start is with 16-year-olds. In the U.S., 16-year-olds have a crash rate five times greater than that of 18-year-olds. Although the driving experience of 16- and 18- year-olds has to be taken into account, immaturity plays an even bigger role, especially among boys. The immaturity factor is so strong that, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, driver-education courses have had little or no effect on teen accidents. Yet, in most states, teens are allowed to get a permit at 15 and a license at 16. If the permit age were pushed up to 16, and if kids were required to hold the permit for a year before getting a license, there would be a substantial reduction in the deaths of teen drivers and their passengers. In England, the driving age is 17, and in Germany, it is 18. Both countries have lower teen fatality rates than the United States. [DSA note: This is despite these countries having factors which should make matters worse, such as higher speed limits and many small cars, etc., so this article is clearly making an accurate and highly important point.] Raising the driving age to 17 would disappoint 16-year-olds who have come to see getting a license as a rite of passage. It would foment an uproar among the growing numbers who have bamboozled their parents into thinking that they are entitled to a new car on their 16th birthday. And many parents would not be too happy to have to wait a year to stop driving their teens around or to delegate the chauffeuring of younger kids to teen drivers. But any responsible parent would gladly make that sacrifice to avoid the grief that I witnessed last month, when one of my students was killed as she rode with a 16-year-old driver whom police have charged with reckless driving. Laura Lynam, the best student in my senior English classes at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., became the 15th teenager in the Washington metropolitan area to be killed in a car accident in a three-week period.... ...when it comes to cars — the biggest source of death for American teens — parents have an obligation not to trust their kids and to do everything to save them from themselves. Read the excellent, full article, from USA Today.
DSA Comment: This article, by Patrick Welsh, an English teacher at the aforementioned T.C. Williams High School, is as important and valid as it is well written. [See our italicized note in the body of the article.] Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ___________________________
WASHINGTON
— Kat Mastrangelo was driving down a curvy mountain road on
hard-packed snow last winter when she hit a patch of ice and felt her
Volvo sport utility vehicle start to fishtail. Mastrangelo envisioned
her brand new XC90 crashing into oncoming traffic or spinning into a
ditch. But despite almost universal agreement on the life-saving value of electronic stability control, it is rare on cars and trucks in the United States. And some safety experts and consumer advocates say it may be years before they become common on American roads unless the federal government steps in to set standards. Such systems, widely used in Europe, are considered the next big step forward in auto safety in the U.S., which has concentrated on the construction of better roads and the development of air bags and more crash-worthy cars. The goal is to create vehicles that prevent accidents from happening in the first place. U.S. automakers, however, have lagged behind their European and Japanese counterparts in embracing electronic stability control technology. Overseas it is standard equipment in a wider range of models.... Full story, from the LA Times (subscription necessary)
DSA -- also see: 2. There Could be 20,000 Fewer Serious Accidents Each Year, in Germany, with ESP ___________________________
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SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Highway Patrol reports that holiday traffic fatalities have claimed seven lives on Bay Area highways between Wednesday and Saturday morning. Last year, the CHP reported one individual killed over the same period of time for the nine Bay Area counties.... Statewide, the CHP has reported 32 highway deaths, up from 19 during the same span of days last year. The CHP has made fewer statewide drunken driving arrests, however, with 986 DUI arrests since the holiday travel period began compared to last year's 1,061 arrests. Full story, from KTVU News ___________________________
Law enforcement authorities have arrested 699 impaired drivers as of Friday night during the first three days of the "Booze It & Lose It" campaign, the Governor's Highway Safety Program reported. The anti-drunk driving campaign is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The campaign began Wednesday and will continue through Jan. 2, authorities said this week. "If people choose to drive after drinking, they should be prepared to meet one of the hundreds of North Carolina law enforcement officers who are actively supporting this program," Darrell Jernigan, director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program, said in a statement this week.... The late fall "Booze It & Loose It" campaign coincides with the state Highway Patrol's focus on aggressive drivers during the holiday weekend.... In addition to impaired-driving charges, officers statewide issued 1,616 safety belt and 256 child passenger safety violations.... Full story, from the News Observer ___________________________
Local police detained the owner and driver of bus involved in a Saturday morning accident that killed 26 in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, according to local sources. An additional 46 people, including five children, were injured;13 of them are in serious condition. Twenty-five people died on the spot, and one died on the way to hospital. The bus, with 72 people on board, rolled over and fell down a river bank on a highway between Xi'an and Zhouzhi County at about 5:00 a.m. Saturday. The bus was traveling from neighboring Sichuan Province to Shanghai.... [The bus driver,] Li Bo told police that a rock sweeping from the mountain slope struck the front window, and he failed to brake the bus due to an iced road.... [Source: Xinhuanet] same country -- similar incident
Nine people were killed and four injured in a traffic accident, Saturday, in Pingtang county of southwest China's Guizhou Province, according to local police. The accident happened at 3:30 p.m., when a bus carrying 13 people from Pingtang county to Huishui county drove off the road into a valley. The driver died in the accident.... [Source: Xinhuanet] ___________________________
...high-technology gizmos in the Acura RL reflect a growing trend in the automobile industry to design cars so that drivers do not have to take their hands off the steering wheel. Automakers, their suppliers and cellphone manufacturers are pitching hands-free technology as a safe way to rein in the expanding clutter of gadgetry that can leave drivers grabbing for everything but the steering wheel. But how safe are these devices, really? According to early evidence, probably not as safe as you think. Some states endorse the trend. Florida, New Jersey, New York and Washington have passed laws banning hand-held cellphones, requiring drivers to use headsets, speaker phones or phones built into their car. But federal regulators, consumer advocates and some independent safety researchers are concerned that hands-free technology may give a false sense of security. A recent study by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration suggests that drivers who use hands-free cellphone adapters are actually no safer behind the wheel than drivers who hold the phone with one hand and steer with the other. Full story, from the International Herald Tribune ___________________________
A driver [in England] got revenge on a cop who booked him for speeding — by pulling the policeman over for going too fast.
Neil Saunders says he was stopped for doing 76mph on the M20 in Kent.
But further along the motorway he saw the same cop at 80mph. So he
flashed him to pull over — and phoned police to complain. Kent police said: “This is being investigated.” [Source: The Sun] ______________________________
The Electronic Stability Program (ESP) developed by Mercedes-Benz, which reduces the risk of skidding and helps drivers to better deal with critical driving situations, has led to greater safety on German roads and motorways. After five years of having the system included as standard equipment in Mercedes vehicles, the Stuttgart-based brand has registered a significant decrease in so-called driver-related accidents in which drivers lose control of their vehicles, skid and drive off the road. "If all automobiles were equipped with the stability system, more than 20,000 such serious accidents, which claim over 27,000 victims each year, could be prevented in Germany," says Dr. Thomas Weber, DaimlerChrysler Board of Management member for Research and Technology and head of Development at the Mercedes Car Group. Since being fitted with ESP as standard equipment, Mercedes passenger cars have been involved in serious driver-related accidents far less frequently than vehicles from other brands. The average share of newly registered Mercedes models involved in such accidents in 1998/1999 was 20.7 percent. ESP helped to reduce this figure by more than 42 percent in 2002/2003. At the same time, the share of passenger car models from other brands involved in these types of traffic accident fell by only about 13 percent. Driver-related accidents are one of the most severe types of accident that can occur: In 2003, 43 percent of all traffic fatalities and 20 percent of all injuries were due to driver-related accidents.... Full story, from AutoWeb, Australia ______________________________
LVOV, Ukraine -- A bus carrying 38 tourists from Russia overturned on a new high-speed Kiev-Odessa highway. Casualties have been reported. Ukrainian police said that the bus driver who was at the wheel of the Drahmuler-33-1 bus failed to keep a safe distance from the vehicles running ahead and rammed into a Fiat- C30. Both vehicles were pushed left and collided with a Maz truck with a trailer that was running in the same direction on the left-hand side of the lane.... Full story, from ITAR-TASS ______________________________
With the festive season upon us, the Arrive Alive campaign is once again focusing on the importance of road safety. For this reason traffic authorities and other role-players have joined forces to bring down the death toll on the country's roads. Today the campaign kicked off on the N6 between Bloemfontein and East London. The route is regarded as one of the seven most dangerous roads in the country. Motorists from Gauteng and the northern provinces who think that they can simply ignore speeding restrictions in the Free State during the festive season should beware. Traffic authorities have obtained some of the most modern equipment to monitor the N6 to East London and the N1 to Cape Town. The Arrive Alive Campaign officially began outside Rouxville in the Free State. It is in this area that the new Lidar D-Cam has managed to cut the number of accidents from 20 to seven a month. The camera takes six photos and it never lies. A Super-Cam, which is linked to a computer, can immediately identify motorists with outstanding fines. Anyone travelling through the Free State can be investigated in this way. [Source: SABC News] ______________________________
In 2003 on Guam, six of the 21 people who died in traffic fatalities were killed in alcohol-related crashes -- that's almost 29 percent. In an effort to reduce the number of people killed as a result of drunken driving, authorities will be cracking down during December [2004]. The Office of Highway Safety is running 3D Month: Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention, which will consist of sobriety checkpoints as well as an increase in law enforcement patrols, according to Therese Mantanane, director of the agency. Officers at the checkpoints will be giving no second chances either; the policing is "zero tolerance, zero chances." That means anyone driving under the influence will be arrested.... To increase your personal safety this holiday season, don't drink and drive. Don't let others drink and drive. Buckle up, follow traffic laws and be attentive when you're on the road. Full story, from the Guam Pacific Daily News ______________________________
SUICIDE and road accidents accounted for 52 per cent of injury-related deaths in NSW between 1998 and 2002, according to a new report.... Motor vehicle crashes caused the most injury-related deaths among people aged five to 24 and accounted for 22 per cent of all fatal injuries. The highest rates of road fatalities were among those aged 15 to 24 and 80 years and over. Males accounted for 72 per cent of all road accident deaths, while the most common cause of vehicle-related deaths for children aged five to nine was as pedestrians in traffic, the report found.... Drowning - closely followed by road accidents - caused the most fatal injuries in children aged one to four. NSW Health Minister Morris Iemma said a number of Government strategies were in place to cut the rate of injury-related deaths, including an $8.5 million Falls Prevention and Management Strategy and suicide prevention programs targeting those at risk. Improved medical procedures and trauma care, random breath-testing and speeding blitzes were helping to reduce the road toll, he said. The incidence of injury-related deaths fell from 48.5 per cent per 100,000 NSW residents in 1986 to 34.9 per cent in 2002. Full story, from the Herald Sun ______________________________
Chandigarh: The Licensing Authority today suspended the driving licences of 19 city residents for repeatedly violating traffic rules and regulations. All 19 motorists were declared habitual offenders, and the traffic police were intimated that the licences of these persons have been suspended for a period of one to four months. The UT Traffic Police had also appealed to city residents to intimate the particulars (name, address and vehicle number) of persons known to be habitual traffic offenders in their locality and dial to traffic helpline telephone no. 1073. The Chandigarh Traffic Police shall verify such information against the available computerised records of traffic offenders and recommend the cases of such habitual offenders for disqualification/ revocation of their driving licences under Section 19 of the Motor Vehicles Act, ’88, to the licensing authority concerned. Till date, traffic police have recommended 139 cases for suspension/ revocation of the driving licences to the UT Licensing Authority. Action has been taken against 75. [Source: Chandigarh Newsline] ______________________________
The new vice-president of the European Commission, responsible of transport policy, underlined the importance that he will attach to road safety in his first public intervention. Jacques Barrot delivered a speech titled "Road safety and concern for all" at the ACEA conference - « Sharing the Road Safety » that took place in Brussels on November 25. [So far, the speech has only been published in French -- ici -- but DSA will publish it here in full, in English, if and when it becomes available.] ______________________________
Vehicles apparently are hitting pedestrians at an increasing rate, the N.C. Highway Safety Research Center reports. More than 2,200 pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes have been reported to the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles annually over the past five years. On average, 170 pedestrians were killed and 354 seriously injured each year during that period, state officials reported.... Although safety officials found that pedestrian crashes in North Carolina are most likely to involve whites, blacks are almost as likely to be victims. But considering that blacks make up only 22 percent of the state's population, they are disproportionately involved in pedestrian crashes. Full story, from the News Observer ______________________________
OF ALL THE thin arguments for opposing red-light cameras at intersections, the catchiest but weakest is "privacy," as if reckless drivers have a right to blow through intersections and threaten lives unobserved. Yet once again, a Virginia House legislative committee has blocked bills that would have allowed some Virginia communities the option to keep their cameras beyond July 1, 2005. For several years, the "Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee" has rejected efforts to extend or expand the use of cameras on the pretense that photos of cars clearly breaking the law on public roads erode some nonexistent "right" to privacy.... Most motorists feel that red-light cameras make the roads safer, which they have been proven to do. More than 70 percent of motorists in AAA's Virginia surveys support use of the cameras. Opponents counter that longer yellow lights will cure red-light running; they may reduce some mad dashing but also may encourage drivers to step on it even harder.... Full, well-reasoned editorial, from the Washington Post (registration required). ______________________________
Smaller cars are getting safer for their occupants Euro NCAP (The European New Car Assessment Programme) revealed today. The organisation, charged with driving 'Car Safety for All', made the announcement at a pan-continental press conference at The Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid.... Euro NCAP's, Phase 15 results featured the Renault Modus the first car classed as a supermini to receive the coveted five-star rating for Occupant Protection. The Citroën C4 classified as a Small Family Car performed particularly well in the testing programme, scoring five stars for Occupant Protection, four stars for Child Protection and a creditable three stars for Pedestrian Protection. The Seat Altea classified as a Small MPV [in U.S. terminology: a minivan] is also showing the way forward, scoring five stars for Occupant Protection, four stars for Child Protection and three stars for Pedestrian Protection.... Full report and full Euro NCAP ratings on all cars tested, here. ______________________________
Tens of thousands of people will be killed and hundreds of thousands injured, unnecessarily, if motor manufacturers fail to introduce long awaited design improvements immediately, it was revealed today. The report (by TRL -- The Transport Research Laboratory) states that previous European statistics relating to the death and injury of Vulnerable Road Users have been seriously underestimated due to underreporting (Previous Estimates 12,021 Fatalities, 123,574 Serious Injuries). The statistics revealed today are horrifying, with more than 12,400 cyclists and pedestrians killed and 296,000 seriously injured each year within the European Union, with a number of new member states yet to be incorporated within the figures (Greece, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). But the European Commission has been told that 1,700 fatalities and 42,000 serious injuries to Vulnerable Road Users (pedestrians and cyclists) could be prevented each year if manufacturers produced cars that were compliant with the latest requirements. ______________________________
If every manufacturer made modifications to new cars at an estimated cost of £75 [currently equivalent to 107 Euros or US $140] per car, the lives of 1,700 pedestrians and cyclists could be saved each year, across Europe, according to the RAC Foundation, launching the latest Euro NCAP (The European New Car Assessment Programme) results today.
DSA Comment: What chance would any such measures have, here in the USA? The NHTSA very recently baulked at the prospect of making U.S. auto makers spend just $50 per vehicle on auto-reverse windows to prevent unattended children being accidentally strangled by power windows. Instead, only a requirement to change the design of window switches has been instituted, and even that won't come fully into effect until 2009! [For earlier stories on power windows, click on the following dates: July 5, 2004 -- October 23, 2004] ______________________________
DUBLIN, Ireland — About 40 per cent of deaths on Ireland's roads can be linked to alcohol, the government's National Safety Council said Thursday as police announced their annual pre-Christmas crackdown on drunk driving. Commanders of the national police force, the Garda Siochana, warned motorists they are mounting extra operations starting Sunday, including undercover officers in pubs watching which customers drive off after one too many. Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Hickey said the covert operations are necessary because of Ireland's rising death toll on the roads. So far this year, 334 people have been killed in traffic, 23 more than last year.... Full story, from CTV, Canada ______________________________
A gift South Africans can give this Christmas is their blood -- and it can save up to three lives.... The carnage on South Africa's roads during the busy festive season, when road accidents increase, has a direct impact on the South African National Blood Services (SANBS) blood supply. In December the number of units used for transport-related incidents increases by 10%.... Statistics from Arrive Alive indicate that the death toll on South Africa's roads increased by 3.78% between January and June this year, compared with the same period last year. The rate of road accidents has increased by 3.18%. Latest crime statistics are another area of concern regarding the use of blood, in which they show that drinking and driving has increased by 10.1% for the 2003/04 financial year.... Full story, from the Daily News ______________________________
Twenty people have been killed in road accidents in Punjab over two days, with the season's first fog blamed for most of the tragedies. At least five rickshaw pullers were killed when a Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport bus went out of control and ran over them Thursday morning.... All the other accidents happened on the nights of Tuesday and Wednesday as dense ground fog engulfed most parts of Punjab and Haryana. Motorists were caught unawares as the fog has come much earlier this winter. Six people were killed when a Haryana Roadways bus collided with a truck head-on while trying to overtake another vehicle in dense fog on the highway between Fazilka town and Delhi.... Full story, from Kerala News ______________________________
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen Tuesday appealed to all ASEAN member countries to make efforts to reduce traffic accidents. Hun Sen made the appeal at his speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the 10th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting held here Tuesday. Ten Transport Ministers of ASEAN member countries and ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong attended the meeting.... The figures from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday showed that some 75,000 persons were killed and more than 4.7 million were injured in road crashes in Southeast Asian countries during 2003. At the same time, the annual economic losses from road accidents are estimated at around 15 billion US dollars, or 2.2 percent of the region's total gross domestic product.... At Tuesday's meeting, ministers will consider and adopt the final drafts of the ASEAN Road Safety Strategy and Action plan andthe Phnom Penh Ministerial Declaration on ASEAN Road Safety. ASEAN consists of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Full story, from Xinhuanet ______________________________
Road accidents in the Philippines [have] killed 9,000 people, left 493,970 others injured and cost $1.9 billion in damages, according to the results of studies sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). [DSA note: The time frame for this was not stated.] The 63-nation multilateral funding institution said that the total cost of road accidents accounted for 2.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines in 2003. This is higher than the 2.23 percent average among the 10 member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Official police figures placed the death toll from road accidents in the country at 995 and the total number of injuries at 6,790. The ADB, however, claimed that while police-reported road deaths are usually fairly accurate, the number of road-related injuries is often significantly underestimated. Among the biggest discrepancies in police reports and the ADB estimates were reported in the Philippines.... Overall, police reported 43,259 deaths and 187,343 injuries in ASEAN last year, compared to the ADB’s estimates of 75,193 deaths and 4,745,578 injuries, respectively.... It warned that if Southeast Asian nations don’t start taking road safety seriously, there will be 385,000 road deaths and 24 million injuries over the next five years. These accidents, the bank added, would cost $88 billion in economic losses during the period.... The ADB noted that while the Asia-Pacific region contributes 44 percent of global road deaths, it has only around 14 percent of the world’s motorized vehicle fleet. The bank said it is helping all 10 countries draft a five-year ASEAN Regional Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan as part of the ADB-ASEAN Regional Road Safety Program. According to the regional plan, the adoption of individual country action plans could cut deaths in ASEAN by 42,000 and injuries by 2.9 million over the next five years; and spell $10.6 billion less in terms of economic losses. [Source: ABS-CBN News] ______________________________
In Britain, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) today welcomed the proposal in the Queen's Speech for a Road Safety Bill. Commenting on the possible content of the Bill, Robert Gifford, Executive Director, said "The inclusion of a bill to promote road safety in the Queen's Speech shows that the government has at last recognised that road safety is a quality of life issue. If we can reduce speeds on our roads and tackle incidents of dangerous and careless driving, we can begin to make our communities safer and more pleasant places in which to live, work and play. This Bill gives Parliamentarians an opportunity to discuss these issues. "Particularly welcome are the proposals to introduce evidential roadside breath testing and to make using a hand-held mobile phone an endorseable* offence. These will send clear messages to motorists to change their behaviour. "What is not so clear, however, is the detail of the proposal to have fixed penalties for speeding offences. The principle of matching the punishment to the severity of the offence is a right one. It should also be accompanied by the severity of the outcome. We must not suggest that the present punishment for breaking the 30mph limit should be watered down. It is in 30mph areas where pedestrians, children and cyclists are most at risk. "As with all legislation, the devil will be in the detail. I look forward to closer examination of the Bill when it is published." More details here: New Road Safety Bill in Britain Source: PACTS
[*DSA explanatory note: In the UK, an endorseable offence is one which results in penalty points being added to the offender's driving licence, in addition to a fine. The accumulation of a fixed number of points within a given period results in a driver being disqualified (i.e. 'suspended') from driving for an appropriate number of months or years.] ______________________________
WASHINGTON -- Seat belt use rates increased in 37 states this year, a fact that federal highway safety officials attribute to increased awareness and police enforcement. Arizona and Hawaii achieved seat belt use rates of more than 95 percent, the highest ever reported, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The national seat belt use rate in 2004 was 80 percent, also an all-time high. Mississippi improved its seat belt use rate by 1.6 percent but still had the lowest rate in the nation at 63.2 percent. Massachusetts, Arkansas and South Carolina were the only other states with belt use rates at 65 percent or lower.... Full story, from the Detroit News ______________________________
WASHINGTON -- You've seen the twisted wreckage on the local news. You've read the tragic headlines in the papers. But did you know that vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen fatalities in the U.S.? In fact, most years they are responsible for more teen deaths than suicide and homicide combined. Parents and guardians can do something about this problem -- and give their teenagers a great gift at the same time. driver-ZED ("Zero Errors Driving") is an innovative, high-interest CD-ROM that helps teens become safer drivers. ______________________________
BRUSSELS – A 13-year-old boy has been caught on a speed camera on his way to Brussels – driving a car at over 147km/h on the E40 motorway. Police sources told Tuesday's edition of La Derniere Heure that the gypsy boy... was the youngest speeder they could remember dealing with. The car... wasn’t stolen, but it didn’t have any insurance or papers and had fake licence plates. [Source: Expatica] ______________________________
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The state has the four most dangerous roads in the USA in terms of the most deaths for walkers and cyclists ...America's four deadliest roads for pedestrians and bicyclists all are in Florida, Orlando Sentinel research found. They are:
Eight other Florida roads, including U.S. 1 in Broward County, were among the nation's 25 worst. Florida's most notorious roads are all high-speed, multilane highways breached by hundreds of driveways and side streets. All serve haphazardly developed urban areas.... With the Sunshine State's tourist hordes, and weather that allows walking and biking year-round, Florida has more pedestrians killed per capita than any other state.... The Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS, data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded 3,517 people struck and killed on Florida roads from 1998 through 2003 [i.e. an average of almost 600 killed each year] That's almost 37 pedestrian and bicyclist deaths per million residents per year -- America's worst death rate. New Mexico is the second-worst....
Among the 59 people struck and killed on Colonial from 1998 to 2003, 50
were hit at night, dusk or dawn, according to FARS data. On U.S. 19 in
Pasco County, 64 of the 71 people struck and killed were hit at night,
dusk or dawn. The vast majority of those killed at night on both roads
were hit where there was no street lighting. Read the full, well-researched and well-written article here, from the Orlando Sentinel (registration required) ______________________________
Traffic accidents involving teenage drivers that have killed 17 people in the Washington area since September have raised concerns about the effectiveness of driver's education, with safety advocates citing evidence that the programs fail to reduce fatalities. "Driver's education programs don't lead to crash reduction," said Allan Williams, chief scientist with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit research group funded by the insurance industry and based in Arlington County. "The courses around here don't teach you how to drive as much as how to pass the driving test." Operators of area driving programs say the training, which is required in Maryland and Virginia, gives teenagers a valuable chance to learn traffic rules and get needed practice through classroom lectures and several hours on the road. Recently, some commercial schools have introduced "high performance" classes that teach emergency driving skills. Yet national safety studies suggest that these approaches have not been proved to lower the accident rates of young drivers over the long term. What does improve safety, experts say, is experience -- many hours of behind-the-wheel practice with a parent in the passenger seat, for example -- and raising the minimum age for getting a driver's permit or license. ... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) plans to evaluate driver's education programs next year, officials said.... Read this full and important article, from the Washington Post (registration required) ______________________________
The coldest November night in a decade brought mayhem to Scotland as freezing rain turned roads into deadly ice rinks yesterday. Scores were injured in smashes which paralysed motorways and roads across the country as the temperature plummeted to -13C in places. The big chill has already claimed two victims - a couple killed in a crash on an icy road in the Highlands on Friday. Fraser Campbell, 45, and wife Linda, 42, of Tain, Easter Ross, died when their car crashed into a lorry near Coulnagour, by Dingwall. The weather deteriorated as the weekend continued. At one point yesterday morning, both the M74 motorway link to England and the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh were closed.... The chaos was so bad, police chiefs admitted they were struggling to cope with all the incidents.... In East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, an ambulance taking a patient to hospital overturned before skidding off the road and hitting a tree. Then, a crew sent to their aid smashed into a crash barrier after hitting black ice on the town's A725 expressway.... Gritters worked non-stop overnight on Saturday with very little effect on the slippery ground as rain froze the moment it hit the ground.... An AA Roadwatch spokeswoman said: "The driving conditions on Scottish roads were extremely hazardous due to black ice. There were a large number of accidents and a lot of them were caused because drivers have failed to adjust the speed to the conditions."... The M6 just south of the border was closed for several hours yesterday morning. The road was deemed unsafe between Kendal and Penrith, in Cumbria. Full story, from the Daily Record Related Story
Chaos hit the M6 Motorway in Cumbria yesterday, between Kendal and Penrith, as treacherous icy conditions led to 32 crashes. Police were forced to close the M6 in both directions between junctions 37 and 40 at 6.30am after cars began to skid on the ice. But despite signs warning motorists of the closure, officers say some drivers put lives at risk by attempting to drive through the closed section of road. Inspector Adrian Johnson of Cumbria Police said: “The gritters went out but unfortunately, it was so cold even the grit froze and [the result] was effectively black ice. “We dealt with between 20 and 30 road traffic collisions. At one point, the hard shoulder was almost like a car park. We had signs up showing that the road was closed, but we still had people trying to come through...." The stretch of road was re-opened with speed restrictions at 9.30am the same day. Officers are now reminding motorists to check weather conditions before driving in the winter months, and to heed any signs put up by police. Full story, from the News and Star via Cumbria Online
DSA Footnote: I will wager that all drivers who deliberately ignore such 'road closed' signs then crash will write on their insurance claim forms that it was ice that caused their respective incident and omit the fact that their own dangerous stupidity was the real reason. Apart from anything else it would be too easy, in such circumstances, for one or more emergency services personnel, who are already helping other motorists, to be killed by a moron who ignores the signs in this fashion. Regrettably, Cumbria is known for drivers ignoring such signs during periods of ice or deep snow, particularly on the A66. In my own opinion, any driver who ignores a sign in this manner should automatically be banned from driving for a significant period of time. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ______________________________
MUSCAT — An official source at the public relations department of the Royal Oman Police said 314 road accidents occurred in the Sultanate’s various regions and governorates during November 6 to 20, causing the death of 33 persons and injuring 297 others. Of them, 181 were collisions between vehicles, 34 run-overs, 35 turnovers, and 64 collisions with stationary objects. The most fatal among them was a collision with stationary object in Ruwi, killing four persons and injuring three others. [Source: Times of Oman] ______________________________
TEHRAN -- Road accidents in Iran have killed 15,000 people of all age groups during the first half of the Iranian calendar year starting March 20, the official IRNA newsagency reported Monday. Ali Reza Moqisi, head of the ministry's accident department, was quoted as saying that the number of road accident victims goes up annually by 10-15 percent. Moqisi further pointed out that about 38-40 percent of the road accidents were caused by pedestrians' violation of traffic regulations. "The country spends over 2.5 billion US dollars annually for treatment of victims of road accidents," Moqisi added. Iran has one of the greatest rates of road accident in the world. Official statistics shows that in every 24 minutes there is one person dead in road accident. Transport experts blame most of the accidents on hazardous roads and reckless driving. [Source: Xinhuanet] ______________________________
MOGOBANE If the 2003 road accident figures are anything to go by, road accidents seem to be declining. The year 2003 experienced a total of 18 329 accidents with 557 fatalities and 1 855 people seriously injured while 5 557 had minor injuries. By October this year, road accidents stood at 13 335 with 460 fatalities, 1 111 serious injuries and 1 473 minor injuries. Speaking at this year's Road Safety commemoration for South East District, Masitara Foundation director Robert Masitara attributed the improvement in driving given the numerous roadblocks the police mount throughout the country as well as highway patrols by cattle chasers. He, however, cautioned that the decrease in traffic accidents should be viewed as a challenge to keep improving the standards of driving to save lives.... Full story, from the Botswana Daily News ______________________________
Driving licences [in Malaysia should] only be renewed for one year and not up to five as at present. The proposal, by the police, [would] allow the law to catch up more quickly with motorists who ignore traffic summonses... The Road Transport Department (JPJ) now blacklists traffic offenders with outstanding traffic summonses and does not allow them to renew their licences until the summonses are settled. The authorities, however, have to wait a long time before they can force offenders holding five-year licences to pay their dues. “We view the five-year maximum licence renewal period as too long as motorists might have committed many traffic offences in that time,” said Internal Security and Public Order Director Datuk Seri Salleh Mat Som, during a working visit to the Kedah police contingent headquarters here yesterday.... Full story, from The Star ______________________________
JEDDAH — At least 25 people were killed and 34 others injured in road accidents across Saudi Arabia over the past three days, press reports said.... Seven people perished when their GMC van overturned on the Dammam-Alkhobar Road on Friday. Three members of a family, including a man and his wife, died when a trailer truck hit their car on Hufouf-Riyadh Road. Full details from Arab News ______________________________
KwaZulu-Natal Transport, Safety and Security MEC Bheki Cele has issued a stern warning to unruly road users, saying noncompliance with road laws will mean punishment. Speaking at the launch of a festive season holiday road safety plan on Friday, Mr Cele said the state had the authority and capacity to deal with anyone who made travelling on the roads dangerous.... This year, people are encouraged to indulge in alcoholic drinks at their homes, in a plan dubbed "Omela Ekhaya", with the provincial government believing a home is the only safe place to do so. Tavern owners have been urged to take responsibility for their patrons by ensuring a sleepover place or a safe sober driver to drive drunken patrons home. The MEC explained that this not only showed the intensity of the plan, but also intolerance on drunkenness on the road... All road users have been urged to call 086 221 1010 to report bad driving. Full story, from allAfrica
DSA Footnote: To the best of our knowledge, KZN has the same 0.05% BAC limit as South Africa. The nearby kingdom of Swaziland is the one for which we do not have a definitive blood-alcohol limit. One source states that it is 0.10% while another claims it is 0.15%, but in any event we know of no other country in the world which has an equally high limit. A few American states which reduced their limits from 0.10 to 0.08%, earlier this year, were the only other places we know of that had such a high, legal BAC. If anyone can help us with the correct answer for Swaziland, please contact us. Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ______________________________
A horrendous traffic accident in which the brakes of a heavily laden lorry failed, leading to the deaths of three pedestrians, five others being injured, and the mowing down of several cars and the front of a building in the Knyazhevo district in Sofia, put back on the public agenda the construction of the Lyulin highway and the problems with TIR lorry traffic. The project for the new highway, which will detour the heavy international traffic from Macedonia and Greece to Serbia and Romania, was approved in 2001.
Even though the funds have been already provided under the EU ISPA
programme and the project has been approved by the Environment and
Waters Ministry, the residents of the village of Malo Buchino, through
which the road will pass, have practically stalled it. ______________________________
BANGLADESH -- Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has decided to install 30 speed detectors in Dhaka to check the speed of motor vehicles from next January with a view to reducing road accidents in the city. As the number of fatal accidents in the city is increasing day by day and most of these are due to uncontrolled speed, the DMP will install the devices very soon, sources said. According to the DMP traffic department, 277 accidents took place in the capital in one year till October 2004, that left more than a hundred people killed and many more fatally injured.... Initially, 30 portable speed-detecting devices will be installed at different points in the city. Training of the traffic police personnel who will operate these machines has already started. The detectors with high performance satellite receivers will measure acceleration, detect the over-speeding vehicles and give alarm immediately.... According to traffic law, speed limit for the motor vehicles within the city is 40 km per hour and on the highways it is 60 km/hour. But most of the drivers are not aware of the speed limit.... Full story, from The Daily Star ______________________________
Chandigarh Traffic Police today introduced sophisticated camcorders at a special naka held to check overspeeding and drunken driving on the Chandigarh-Panchkula road near the Housing Board lightpoint. Over 50 motorists were challaned for violating the permissible speed limit and for drunken driving.... A head constable was assigned the duty of viodeographing the entire naka. He prepared video cassettes that filmed violators arguing with police personnel and also the challaning process that carried on for over three hours.... Full story, from the Chandigarh Newsline ______________________________
PUTRAJAYA: Newly appointed Road Safety Department Director-General Suret Singh has been handed a very challenging task – to bring Malaysia’s road fatality rate down by 40% within the next five years. He said his department would have to reduce the current 4.9 deaths per 10,000 vehicles to three deaths per 10,000 vehicles by 2010. To achieve this, Suret Singh, who was the Transport Ministry’s Land Transport Division Undersecretary, said the department would be drawing up a blueprint which would cover 15 areas. Among these were inter-agency co-ordination and management, vehicle safety standards, improvement of hazardous locations, safety planning and design, law enforcement, education of children, legislation and funding.... He said his department would be working closely with road safety experts from Universiti Putra Malaysia, who had been appointed official advisers to the government on road safety issues.... Read this detailed and well-written article, from The Star ______________________________
KUALA LUMPUR: The festive season road death toll has risen to 165 since the launch of traffic operation “Ops Sikap VII” on Nov 7 even though the number of accidents has dropped.... Bukit Aman public relations department chief Supt Mohamad Daud said though the number of accidents fell to 715 from 802, the number of fatalities doubled to 18 from nine on Wednesday. Motorcyclists and pillion riders topped the list, with five deaths, he said in a statement yesterday.... Mohamad said federal roads were still the “death trap” with 14 deaths, followed by two deaths on state and one each on the highway and municipal road. The two-week operation launched in conjunction with Deepavali and Hari Raya Aidilfitri ends tomorrow, he added. Full story, from The Star ______________________________
Somewhere around 400 Iowans will die in traffic accidents this year, enough people to populate a small town. Death on the streets and highways is so common we long ago became inured to it. Mostly it's back-page news. Collectively, we may not notice much, but family, friends or classmates, in the privacy of their grieving, feel the terrible blow of each sudden and violent death. And sometimes the blood on the concrete leaps off the back page and beyond a family's private grief. It grips an entire community in sorrow - and in rage. So it was in Des Moines this week when Eric Nerison, 10, died while crossing the street in front of his home in the early-evening darkness that is so dangerous this time of year. It was a hit and run, which turned the tragedy into big news. Then the story became even bigger as neighbors came forward to report they have long complained about cars speeding on East 29th Street and that they had asked the city to restore a streetlight near Eric's home. It was one of many that was turned off to save money during a city budget crunch. It may never be known whether a lit streetlight might have prevented Eric's death, but city officials are rightly in the hot seat. Did what seemed like a painless way to save money contribute to the death of an innocent kid? Did the city temporarily forget that any government's first priority must be the safety of its citizens?.... Read the rest of this pertinent editorial, from the Des Moines Register. ______________________________
(If you're hammered, you're going to get nailed!) DELAWARE -- State officials on Friday kicked off an aggressive new campaign called Operation Slow It Down, hoping to reduce unsafe driving habits that are the cause of most highway fatalities. Five people have died in crashes in the state in the past week alone, said Tricia Roberts, director of the state's Office of Highway Safety. Roberts joined other officials at the state's Traffic Management Center in Smyrna to announce the initiative, which combines the Delaware State Police and 12 other law enforcement agencies in partnership with the Delaware Department of Transportation, fire and emergency medical services and Dover Air Force Base.... Since the start of the year, 116 people have died in highway crashes in Delaware. Aggressive driving was to blame in 64 percent of the fatal crashes, Roberts said, and speeding was a factor in 37 percent.... David B. Mitchell, secretary of the state's Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said although an emphasis is being placed on speeders, motorists who drink and drive will continue to be targeted. "If you're driving and you're hammered, you're going to get nailed," Mitchell said. "You have your warning."... In addition to police enforcement, the state plans to flood the airways with public awareness commercials. "When drivers know they will be caught, they slow down, buckle up and drive sober," said acting state police Superintendent Lt. Col. Thomas MacLeish. Full story, from Delaware Online ______________________________
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- North Carolina authorities and legislators say they're committed to reduce the number of dismissals of cases involving suspects charged with drunken driving. State prosecutors dismiss more than 10,000 driving-while-impaired charges each year, mainly because police officers or the suspects themselves fail to show up in court, according to an analysis of cases by The Charlotte Observer. "I just wasn't aware we were dismissing the numbers we are," said Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, a co-chairman of a task force examining drunken-driving laws. "We must do better on this." Counties that take longer to resolve DWI cases tend to have higher dismissal rates, the Observer reported this past week. Rand said the state should get tougher on drunken-driving suspects who don't appear in court to face their charges. He proposes the state treat failure to appear as a DWI conviction.... Read this full, important article, from the News Observer ______________________________
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ISLAMABAD -- AT least 21 people were killed and some 30 others injured when a passenger bus fell from an overhead bridge on Saturday morning in eastern Pakistani province of Punjab, a local official said.... More casualties were caused as some part of the bridge wall also fell on the bus and police and local people joined hands to carry out rescue operation.... Full story, from Xinhuanet ______________________________
Goes Global Euro NCAP's Phase 15 Launch is set to go global with a satellite TV feed of proceedings going to news organisations around the World, it was announced today. More than 400 TV networks will receive pictures of the event, direct from The Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid, on Thursday November 25th. The package -- available on APTN's Global Video Wire -- includes a powerful report on the safety of vulnerable road users across Europe. Thirteen new vehicles have been rated against Euro NCAP's rigorous protocols including the BMW 5 series, the Ford Focus, the Seat Altea, the Audi A6, the VW Touareg, the Fiat Panda, and the Mazda 2. Euro NCAPs official ratings will be revealed at 10.00hrs GMT (25/11/04). APTN Global Video Wire play out times are available at: www.aptncorporateservices.com ______________________________
Motorists are being warned to avoid using hot water to defrost their frozen windscreens or
they could risk a big bill for a replacement windscreen. Read the full article here, including the way women do it! ______________________________
GLOBAL November 18, 2004: Global deal on car door safety protects passengers GENEVA (Reuters) - Countries representing 90 percent of carmakers agreed on Thursday to the first global standard on vehicle safety, which will save lives and lead to other moves to harmonise rules, industry and government officials said. The United States, Japan, South Korea, Britain, France and Germany were among more than 20 countries to agree the new standards covering door latches and hinges. Passengers face the risk of being thrown out of moving vehicles when doors open accidentally due to latches and hinges failing. In the United States alone, there are 42,000 such failures each year.... "This is really a pioneering achievement and should lead the way to greater global harmonisation of rules that will provide even more safety benefits down the road," Jeffrey Runge, administrator of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told a news briefing in Geneva. "This fits in with our overall strategy of reducing ejections from vehicles," he added, saying there would be a major revamp of regulations on sliding doors used in minivans, also known as people carriers in some countries.... Future regulations already in the pipeline could cover head restraints, breaks, lighting, and emissions of hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles, according to the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) which hosted the three-year negotiations. Full, detailed story, from Alertnet/Reuters ______________________________
When a 74-year-old driver plowed his SUV into a crowd waiting at a bus stop in Montreal, killing two and badly injuring seven others, the response was sadly predictable: There was much gnashing of teeth about the so-called problem of elderly drivers. It's convenient to blame the aged, especially when there is a spectacularly gruesome crash. But doing so ignores the larger, more troubling reality: Carnage is commonplace on our roads -- and we've become utterly oblivious.... Motor vehicle collisions (please, let's dispense with the misnomer "accidents") are a leading cause of death and injury in Canada, and in the world. (We won't linger here on the health effects of tailpipe emissions and urban sprawl. Suffice it to say that, according to the World Health Organization, motor vehicles are the leading source of pollution on the planet.) Worldwide, more than 3,000 people are killed and 30,000 seriously injured in collisions every day. In Canada last year, the toll was 2,778 deaths and about 222,260 serious injuries.... Read the interesting, full article here, from The Globe and Mail, Toronto. ______________________________
Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) is pulling out all the stops this holiday season, attaching red ribbons to vehicles nationwide to remind motorists to drive safe, sober and buckled-up. MNAO today announced that it is the official automotive sponsor of the 2004 Tie One On For Safety campaign of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). The campaign runs during the heavily traveled holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day -- a time when alcohol-related traffic fatalities and injuries typically increase. Mazda dealers and MADD chapters nationwide are expected to distribute more than six million ribbons to the public. Drivers will tie a red MADD Tie One On For Safety ribbon to a visible location on their vehicles to show their commitment to safety and to remind others to do the same.... ______________________________
Fatal crashes involving animals have increased [in the USA] since the mid-1990s, federal government data show. During 1998-2002, the annual average was 155 crashes in which vehicle occupants died. This compares with an average of 119 fatal crashes during 1993-97. In 2003 there were 201 fatal crashes, a 27 percent increase compared with 2002.... "A majority of the people killed in these crashes weren't killed by contact with the animal," says Allan Williams, chief scientist [for the IIHS]. "As in other kinds of crashes, safety belts and motorcycle helmets could have prevented many of the deaths."... See the full, informative press release here, from the IIHS.
Also see the article below (November 14): Today is the Most Dangerous Day of the Year for Car-Deer Crashes ______________________________
Backing up into a parking space or garage is not the easiest maneuver for some drivers. Short people, for instance, must cope with a bigger blind spot than taller drivers--especially challenging when driving a larger vehicle such as a minivan, sport utility or pickup.... Maybe the reality is that some drivers are just too lazy or too distracted to get out from behind the steering wheel and walk around the vehicle to see if there's a clear path or not. And let's face it, some of us -- if not most of us -- don't have the option of even considering a device that tells us what's lurking behind unless the price comes down to $20 or $30.... That doesn't mean that the budget-conscious car owner can't practice safe driving when it comes to moving in reverse. KeepKidsHealthy.com and other Web sites offer some tips: • First, find your blind spot. Take an object that is 2 feet to 3 feet tall (about the size of your average 2- or 3-year-old) and place it behind your car. Check your mirrors. If you can't see it, keep moving it farther away until you can see it. That distance is the size of your blind spot. • Be aware of your environment and know where children are when backing up. Many incidents involve a child running out of the house after a parent that is leaving or arriving home. There is nothing high-tech about these recommendations. And they require nothing more than a little physical effort and some common sense. Full story, by Jacqueline Mitchell for the Detroit News ______________________________
...A handful of new and revamped minivans such as the 2005 Town & Country have helped fuel a comeback for minivans this year. After three years of declining sales, U.S. minivan purchases are up 4 percent through October and on pace to end 2004 near their all-time peak, defying predictions that the 1980s-born family hauler was headed the way of the eight-track tape.... Full story, from the Detroit News ______________________________
ALL November 16, 2004: Enter the Ultimate Off-Road Driving Competition and Win a Range Rover! Gaydon, England: The Land Rover G4 Challenge recce team is breaking new ground every day, having already covered over 10,000 miles of remote terrain across southeast Asia seeking out a trailblazing route. Trekking from Thailand to the Vietnamese border, taking in Cambodia and Laos, the mountains, jungle and valleys of the region have been combed in order to locate the most rigorous tests for the competitors and their near-standard Land Rovers in the opening stages of the 2006 Land Rover G4 Challenge.... The climax to the event comes on the high plains of Bolivia. For more details about this stunning adventure and details of how to enter, click here. ______________________________
"We are very pleased that the Volvo seats have performed in line with our expectations," says Ingrid Skogsmo, Safety Director at Volvo Car Corporation. "Tests only show a part of what happens in real life. However, this is one of several results that confirm Volvo has the right approach to help reduce neck injuries in rear impacts." In Volvo Car Corporation's Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) the entire backrest is designed to help protect the occupant's neck in a rear impact. Introduced in 1998 WHIPS is standard in all Volvo car models. "After having the system in our cars for six years now, the feedback from Volvo Cars' own real life Accident Research Team shows that WHIPS has halved the risk of long-term neck injuries in rear-end impacts even compared to previous Volvo seats. Also, other independent field studies have shown a significant injury reduction," says Dr Lotta Jacobsson, Technical Expert, Biomechanics, Volvo Cars Safety Centre. 208 front seats were tested in the US and Europe by IIWPG to measure how head restraints are designed and how they perform in a crash simulation where the seat is placed on a sled that reproduces a rear impact with a speed of 16 km/h (10 mph). All the Volvo seats tested - whether from the Volvo V70, XC90, S40, S60 or S80 - achieved the top result. Volvo has built a reputation for excellent seat comfort and these tests add further proof that Volvo seats also offer superior safety and protection on the UK's crowded roads.
Few Seat and Head Restraint Combinations do a Good Job of Protecting People from Neck Injury in Rear-End Crashes -- Most are Rated Poor ARLINGTON, VA -- Using a new dynamic test and a dummy designed especially for rear impact testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has rated 73* seat/head restraint combinations available in 63 car models sold in the U.S. market.... Only 8 of the 73* seat/head restraints that were dynamically tested earned overall ratings of good. Sixteen are acceptable, and 19 are rated marginal. The other 30 seat/head restraint combinations that were tested are rated poor, as are 24 seats that weren't tested because of inadequate geometry.... [In other words a staggering] total of 54 seat/head restraint combinations are rated poor overall. Among the seat/head restraints that were tested dynamically, the winners are the ones in Volvos (all models -- see separate story, above) and Saab 9-2X and 9-3 models. These are rated good. So are the seat/head restraints in the Jaguar S-Type, Subaru Impreza, and some Volkswagen New Beetles.... For the full, detailed press release and lists of cars in the various safety categories, click here. [*Note: From the article immediately above this one, it can be seen that a total of 208 front seats were tested, overall.] ______________________________
On November 14, 2003, just over 600 car-deer crashes were reported [in Michigan alone] -- the highest number for any day of the year. The greatest number of car-deer crashes occur in the fall, especially during the month of November, reports Richard Miller, Chairman of the Michigan Deer Crash Coalition (MDCC) and AAA Michigan spokesman. Last year, 12,509 car-deer crashes were reported during November in Michigan. Car-deer crashes cause at least $130 million in damage each year, or an average of $2,000 per vehicle. More importantly, 11 motorists lost their lives [in Michigan alone] last year due to car-deer crashes.
Also see the article above: Fatal Crashes Involving Animals Increase Significantly, But Don't Blame the Deer! ______________________________
Fifteen children under the age 13 were involved in road accidents every month last year, in Singapore. A new programme called the Mercedes-Benz MobileKids Project hopes to reduce this by equipping children with better road safety skills. The virtual road safety theme park made its first stop at Lakeside Primary. The children were on bicycles but they were actually having a virtual experience, in which they could watch, listen and react to traffic situations within the safety of five brightly coloured domes. The domes take up only one and a half basketball courts, a mini theme park to sensitize children to the dangers of road traffic. Road signs, sounds, environmental and speed awareness are covered separately in each dome. To add fun and a competitive element to the project, the students' performance in the domes can be tracked down with their personal Ez-link cards. The top scorer from each level will be appointed as their school's MobileKids ambassadors. They will also act as role models for traffic safety and road-crossing monitors. The domes stay for two weeks at each school, and pupils get to use them during lesson time.... Full story, from Channel News Asia ______________________________
Almost 4,000 Northern Ireland drivers have been fined for using mobile phones since March this year. Police said it was evidence the message that their use while driving was illegal was still not getting through. The ban on the use of hand-held mobile phones brought Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK. Although it was introduced on 1 February, police operated a "yellow card" system of warning drivers before implementing the fines from 1 March.... Chief Inspector Brian Kee, of the PSNI's road policing unit, said... "Drivers need to realise that if they are using a mobile phone while driving it does distract them and they are not paying attention to other road users. They are putting themselves, their passengers and other road users at risk." Police advise that when a mobile phone rings while driving, the call [should be] allowed to go through to voicemail. On a motorway, it is illegal to pull over onto the hard shoulder to answer a call. Hands-free kits are allowed, but many road safety experts say they do not reduce the risks of having an accident. Chief Inspector Kee said while hands-free mobiles were less of a threat, they could still cause distraction and affect driving ability.... Full story, from the BBC ______________________________
WEST VANCOUVER - As police and government investigators examine the truck that spilled its load of logs on the Upper Levels Highway Thursday, killing a woman and her daughter, the forest industry says it will order a review of truck safety procedures. The Truck Loggers Association, which represents 550 companies, said Friday the move was prompted by the number of deaths and injuries caused by logging truck accidents.... Full story, from the Vancouver Sun ______________________________
Rimini -- Naples is a high risk area for road safety. The greatest amount of car accidents occurs in areas near the main cities, Naples, Milan and Rome. This figure is confirmed by the new map of the high risk areas drawn up by Euro Rap, the international no-profit organisation which promotes the improvement of safety standards on European roads. The map was presented in Rimini at the second international road safety meeting (SISS). According to this map, the most dangerous stretch of motorway is the A1 motorway near Naples (km 753.00/754.30), the most dangerous both for the number of car accidents and the most deaths. In second place is another stretch of the same motorway, near Milan (km 0.00/3.50). In third place is the A4 Milan-Venice motorway (km 0.00/10.80) followed by the first stretch of the East Bypass in Milan (km 0,00/29.40). In fifth place is great ring road in Rome (km 18.80/68.20). The A1 motorway also in first place for the number of deaths.... Full story (with further statistics) from Agenzia Giornalistica Italiana (AGI) ______________________________
As part of the Brunei Road Safety Council's efforts to raise awareness among road users on the importance of road safety and to make it as their priority, the council this morning distributed leaflets on road safety to the public. The distribution of the leaflets is one of the Road Safety Council strategies or a reach out programme to remind the members of the public on the phenomena of road accidents during the festive season in the country. The leaflets were distributed on behalf of Awang Haji Mat Jahri bin Haji Mohd Yussof the Director of the Land Transport Department. The leaflets are both in Malay and English. The leaflets it is hoped would make the public aware of road regulations and safety so as to reduce road fatalities caused by carelessness and negligence as well as to ensure the roads are safe for all users. Amidst all the excitement in celebrating Hari Raya, the Brunei Road Safety Council advises all road users to take extra precautions, and to abide by the traffic rules and regulations at all times and to have patience and tolerance towards other drivers. The council hopes all drivers to develop a mentality in which they are always careful while reminding each other on the importance of road safety. [Courtesy of Radio Television Brunei, via Brundirect] ______________________________
General Motors and Ford, responding to growing concerns about the safety and stability of sport utility vehicles, said Thursday they will make anti-rollover technology standard equipment on 1.8 million SUVs next year. General Motors Corp. said it would make electronic stability control systems standard on 1.3 million sport utility vehicles, including the popular Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. The technology will be available immediately on full-size SUVs, and on midsize models for 2006. Ford said more than 500,000 of its SUVs will be equipped with its anti-rollover system by the end of next year. Ford pioneered the system on the Volvo XC90 SUV... The moves by the nation's two largest automakers are the industry's most concerted effort yet to address safety questions dogging SUVs.... Last month, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study that said stability control systems could save up to 7,000 lives each year if they were standard equipment on all vehicles.... Toyota made stability control equipment standard on all SUVs, including the entry-level RAV-4, more than a year ago. included stability control as part of a campaign to make key safety features standard on every vehicle it sells. The Japanese automaker pledged to have vehicle stability assist system standard on 84 percent of its U.S. model line by the end of this year, and on all vehicles by the end of 2006.... Full, important article here, from the Detroit News ______________________________
Road safety campaigners yesterday slammed the inadequacy of government measures to reduce traffic accidents and claimed that almost half a million Greeks will be killed, maimed or injured in crashes this decade. At a meeting organized by Attica traffic police, Vassilis Theodorou, head of a support group for road accident victims, said that between 2001 and 2010, 25,000 Greeks would die in crashes, 75,000 would suffer disability and 350,000 would be injured. Theodorou said one in 10 Greek hospital beds are taken up by road accident victims. He said the previous government’s plan to reduce accidents failed because it lacked independent funding or a strategic plan, relying instead on the cooperation of seven ministries. Other reasons given for the parlous situation on Greek roads were regular highway code infringements, a lack of driver etiquette and slack law enforcement. [Source: Kathimerini] ______________________________
Year 7 pupils at West Hatch High School, Chigwell, took part in a series of workshops designed to encourage road safety. The workshops, entitled Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?, were a Road Safety Theatre Production by the Stop Watch Theatre Company. Youngsters took part in different activities aimed at keeping them safe when they are out and about, encouraging them to be confident, make wise decisions, and not to bow to peer pressure. Head of year seven Karen Depreli said: "The pupils really gained from the experience, it was extremely beneficial." [Source: The Epping Forest Guardian, England] ______________________________
Next week, farms throughout Wales will be visited by Health and Safety Inspectors who will be focussing on farm transport, particularly maintenance of vehicles and the training and competence of operators. From November 15, tractors and trailers, telehandlers and ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles), and their use, will be subject to inspection. HSE will take enforcement action if necessary.... Full story, from IC Wales ______________________________
Ontario is considering making it mandatory for school buses to be equipped with restraints for small children and other provinces will be pressed to follow suit as Transport Canada moves to amend its motor vehicle safety regulations. The dramatic moves follow the release of the results of a coroner's investigation yesterday into the death of Allyceea Ennis, 4, whose death from asphyxiation on a Thunder Bay school bus on Feb. 12 remains a mystery.... Each year, about three million Canadian children ride in an estimated 22,000 school buses across the country, yet none of them wear any type of restraint or seat belt. On average, one child dies in a school bus every year, according to the Canada Safety Council.... Ontario's chief coroner, Barry McLellan, recommended yesterday that all children up to the age of five and weighing less than 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms) be secured in approved child-safety restraints; that drivers receive annual training in first aid; and that an adult monitor be in the vehicles that transport junior and senior kindergarten children at all times. He also recommended some form of monitoring and supervision be available for all school buses transporting elementary-school-aged children.... Full story, from The Globe and Mail ______________________________
At 2:31 p.m. on Nov. 2 - the day the world was on the edge of its seat because of the U.S. presidential election - former Quebec Superior Court chief justice Lyse Lemieux discreetly pleaded guilty to the drunk-driving charge that had forced her from the bench after 26 years.... The first woman appointed chief justice in Quebec retired Sept. 30 after revealing in August that she'd rammed a piece of road equipment on the shoulder of Highway 13 while driving home from a bridge game in Laval. A breath test indicated her blood/alcohol level was double the legal limit of 0.08.... Quebec Court Judge Serge Boisvert fined Lemieux $600 - the minimum for a first offence - and suspended her driver's licence for one year. Francois Huot, a Quebec City lawyer appointed as an ad hoc prosecutor in the sensitive case, said Lemieux was dealt with like any other person facing the same charge.... But a spokesperson for the Quebec branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said yesterday she still worries what message it all sends to the public. "I don't know if that's enough to make people realize what a serious crime it is," Theresa-Anne Kramer said. "What strikes me most in this case is that it did not have to happen. "It was her choice. She's suffering the consequences of her choice. Fortunately, no one else is suffering the consequences."... Full story, from the Montreal Gazette ______________________________
A series of fog related accidents on State Highway 18 this past week resulted in minor injuries, smashed cars and trucks and totally exhausted law enforcement officers, emergency personnel and tow truck operators. On Tuesday, 13 cars were involved in one pileup, alone.... Full story, from the Lake Arrowhead Mountain News ______________________________
PEOPLE should call either 999 or the traffic hotline 199 in the event of serious road accidents, police said yesterday. Traffic police will alert other emergency services, such as fire or ambulance once they get any call on the 199 number, said a General Directorate of Traffic spokesman.... "Both numbers provide similar services and people can call either number in the event of traffic accidents that result in serious injuries or fatalities," said the spokesman. However, a Health Ministry official spokesman said people should dial 999 in all emergencies, including traffic accidents.... They were responding to a report that a mix-up may have caused a delay in getting ambulances to the scene of an accident last Friday in which four members of a Bahraini family were killed.... Full story, from the Gulf Daily News ______________________________
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They are Edinburgh’s equivalent of the crime-scene investigators found on prime-time shows such as CSI and Silent Witness. They are permanently on call to attend horrific road accidents, often spending hours surveying crime scenes and gathering evidence. And, like on-screen investigators such as CSI’s Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows , they have to rely on forensic evidence and scientific logic to provide the facts for every case they deal with.
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After being successful to a large extent in convincing women riders to wear safety helmets, the UT Traffic Police is now set to discipline rickshaw pullers. In what could lead to less accidents on the roads and smoother traffic flow, rickshaw pullers would be challaned for provisions under the Motor Vehicles Act and also under the provisions of the Rickshaw Bylaws. UT Traffic police have prepared a challan book that would exclusively deal with rickshaws challans. The challan book specifically mentions the offences: overloading, pulling over a rickshaw on the wrong side of the road, jumping the red light, wrong parking, and several others.... While talking to Newsline, a traffic police official said: ‘‘Rickshaws are a major menace on the city roads. One can’t predict how the rickshaw going in front would turn. Despite the cycle tracks and the clear indications given on the roads for the rickshaw pullers, the rickshaw pullers hardly follow them. That results in road accidents.’’... Full story, from Express India ______________________________
Mothers Against Drunk Driving has announced the 2005 MADD Media Awards with a "call for entries." Entries must be postmarked by March 31, 2005. To help celebrate MADD's 25th anniversary next year, MADD Media Awards winners will be honored at a luncheon in front of hundreds of volunteers and staff at the MADD National Conference in Washington, D.C. Get more information on the MADD Media Awards or submit an entry form online at: http://www.madd.org/media-awards ______________________________
featured on the all-new 2005 Acura RL performance luxury sedan has been named Best of What's New in the Automotive Technology category of Popular Science Magazine's 2004 Best of What's New list.... The Acura SH-AWD system is the first and only all-wheel-drive platform to distribute the optimum amount of torque not only between the front and rear wheels but also between the left and right rear wheels. The result is uncanny cornering performance that provides extremely neutral steering and outstanding vehicle stability. For more information about Acura vehicles, visit www.acura.com Source: Acura ______________________________
AAA Michigan Calls the Vote 'Tragic' DEARBORN -- A bill designed to repeal Michigan's mandatory motorcycle helmet law was passed by the State House of Representatives today (November 10), in an apparent bid to take advantage of a lame duck legislature.... "It is well established that motorcycle helmets decrease the severity of injury, the likelihood of death and the overall cost of medical care," said Richard J. Miller, manager of Community Safety Services for AAA Michigan. "Motorcycle riders are much more at risk than persons driving or riding in a passenger vehicle."
Miller cited National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
data, which shows that, in states where the mandatory helmet laws are
repealed or weakened, motorcycle fatalities increased substantially:
Nationwide, motorcycle fatality rates have been rising. The total number
of fatalities is up 73 percent between 1997 (2,116 deaths) and 2003
(3,661 deaths). In addition, the fatality rate per 100,000 registered
motorcycles is up -- from 55.3 in 1997 to 65.3 in 2002. Source: AAA Michigan ______________________________
Increased for the 2005 Model Year The Electronic Stability Control Coalition today announced that the availability of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has increased in model year 2005, as vehicle manufacturers have either made the automotive safety feature standard or expanded its availability. Notably, the number of vehicles that retail at or under $25,000 and which offer ESC has increased by more than 100 percent, making this important technology a safety option for a wider variety of consumers. A full list of ESC equipped vehicles for the new model year is available on the Coalition's website http://www.esceducation.org/ In addition, ESC is marketed under various trade names, which can be found at http://www.esceducation.org/ ______________________________
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Washington, D.C. - In a report adopted today, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that certain medical conditions can increase a driver's accident risk and are incompatible with unrestricted operation of motor vehicles. In order to better evaluate the impact of certain medical conditions on a person's ability to drive, the Board asked for a national system to collect accident data including information regarding medical conditions of the drivers involved. The Board noted that aside from alcohol addiction, the extent to which medical impairment contributes to the number of traffic accidents is not well defined. Therefore the Board recommended that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) develop a procedure to collect, evaluate and report data regarding the impact of drivers' medical conditions on traffic accidents.... ______________________________
SALISBURY, Md. — The sterling image of teenage swimmer Michael Phelps, who won a record eight medals in the Athens Olympics, took a hit Monday as news spread of his arrest last week for driving under the influence. Phelps was stopped late Thursday in Salisbury, about 85 miles southeast of Baltimore, by a Maryland state police trooper who saw him run a stop sign in his 2005 Land Rover. After an investigation, Phelps was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving while impaired by alcohol, violation of a license restriction and failure to obey a traffic control device, according to police, who noted Phelps was "fully cooperative." "Last week, I made a mistake," Phelps, 19, said Monday. "Getting into a car after anything to drink is wrong. It's dangerous and unacceptable. I'm 19 and was tauwww.ap.org/ght that no matter how old you are, you should take responsibility for your actions, which I will do. I'm sorry." Full story, from AP, via USA Today ______________________________
Every day, nine people are killed and ten times as many are seriously injured on Britain's roads alone.... The theme of Road Safety Week 2004 is whatever you want it to be! Think about the road safety issues in your community and plan a campaign that tackles those issues. At a national level, however, Brake has chosen DRINK DRIVING as its theme for Road Safety Week 2004, and we will be promoting anti-drink driving messages through the media during the Week. ______________________________
Older tires with very little wear are called an 'invisible hazard' and blamed for 37 deaths. WASHINGTON - A consumer safety group is petitioning the federal government to require easy-to-read "born-on" dates for car and truck tires, citing 50 crashes resulting in 37 fatalities caused by older tires with very little wear and tear.... According to Sean Kane, president of SRS, tire performance can start to degrade after six years - even if the tires have not been used - because of the rubber's age. "It's an invisible hazard," Kane said. "The industry knows a lot about it, and they have recommendations that they've hidden from the public for years. Just about every other product, from food to paint, has an expiration date on it." In many of the accidents documented by SRS, tires with little wear in the tread suddenly failed.... The Tyre Industry Council, a nonprofit organization in the United Kingdom that is funded by the tire industry and tire retailers to promote tire safety among consumers, warned in 2003 that motorists should replace tires that were more than 10 years old, regardless of wear. The council said tire components dry with age and can separate. Anti-aging chemicals in tires are active only when a tire is in use, the council said. The council went on to say that spare tires, tires in storage or on a shelf, or tires that spend a long time on a trailer or a recreational vehicle run the risk of premature aging. In the United States, consumers and tire dealers must decipher part of a serial number engraved on one side of a tire to determine the date it was manufactured. But there are no set recommendations on how old is too old for a tire.... Read this full, important article here, from the Detroit News ______________________________
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — State troopers say the number of fatalities in accidents they have handled this year already has surpassed the number for all of 2003 — by a lot. The number of highway deaths last year was 576. So far this year the number is 657, including 12 in the first three days of November, troopers said. Of those this year, the most — 275 — died on county roads, rather than state or federal highways. "We're still crashing more on our rural roadways, by a significantly larger margin than anywhere else," said Sgt. Tim Sartain. "Some of these roadways don't connect to any real populated areas, but people still get out on them and drive and have crashes."... Full story, from al.com ______________________________
The Traffic Police and enforcement officers from the Land Transport Authority caught more than 260 errant motorists on Saturday night and early Sunday morning after a five-hour operation.... Those who were caught exceeding the speed limit numbered 143. Thirteen were arrested for drink driving, while another 77 motorists were booked for illegal modification offences. During this operation, the Traffic Police also gave out letters of appreciation, road safety advice and goodie bags to other motorists. Full story from Today Online ______________________________
MALAYSIAN drivers who cause road accidents will have their driving licences automatically suspended for two weeks. They will have to return to the district police station where the accident took place to pay their fines before they can claim their licences, reported Malaysian newspapers. The proposal, the toughest yet, was proposed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He said the move was to reduce the number of road accidents in the country [and that] this would serve as a lesson to motorists who caused accidents. He added that the high number of road accidents in the country was 'very shameful'. 'I discussed it with Cabinet members and they agreed that it is a good idea and should be implemented as soon as possible,' Datuk Seri Abdullah told reporters.... The Malaysian leader said he disliked imposing such harsh rules on the people but this one was necessary to prevent road accidents, especially the fatal ones. He said that year after year, the authorities advised motorists to drive safely, especially during the festive periods, but the number of accidents continued to rise. 'We can't be kind and give gentle advice because it doesn't work.' Full story, from the Electric New Paper, Singapore ______________________________
Lucknow: Over 3000 challans [i.e. tickets], nearly Rs 60,000 recovered as fines and more than 150 vehicles seized. It took some time, but the Traffic Police finally woke up to their much-publicised ‘‘Traffic Month’’. Bogged down by incessant VIP duties for the first two days, SP (Traffic) Onkar Singh claimed his men were now back at the job. ‘‘We’ve stepped up the tempo now. The target for the next few days is vehicles without registration number-plates,’’ he said. Last week, Newsline had reported how the entire Lucknow Traffic Police force had been drafted for VIP duties instead of setting out to achieve the 10-point target chalked out by Director (Traffic) Brij Lal for the ‘‘Traffic Month’’ of November. Nearly 90 per cent of the challans have been issud for two offences: riding without helmets and illegal parking. The other self-imposed targets — making seat-belts compulsory, banning use of mobile phones while driving and targetting public transport which don’t have permits — didn’t seem to get much headway.... Full story, from Express India (Lucknow). ______________________________
British government ministers have said systems to prevent cars from starting if the driver is drunk should be introduced as soon as possible. "Alcolocks" are fitted to the ignition and require the driver to blow into a tube. If a certain blood-alcohol level is detected, the car will not start, the BBC reported on Sunday. The Commons transport committee has said Britain should not miss the opportunity to cut repeat offenses of drunk driving. [Source: Washington Times] ______________________________
Six people were killed and about 150 injured yesterday when a high-speed train slammed into a car on an unmanned rural crossing west of London. There was no one in the car at the time... The train driver was among the dead after all eight carriages of the train from Paddington to Plymouth were derailed.... The level crossing was guarded by automatic half-barriers, which flash amber lights and then red lights when a train is approaching. Barriers then come down to stop traffic at least 30 seconds before the train arrives. Experts said a collision at such a crossing was possible only if a car driver ignored the flashing lights and stopped on the tracks or tried to drive around the barrier.... Full story, from The Australian Related story, out of sequence:
Police
investigating the Ufton Nervet crash are focusing on the state of mind
of Brian Drysdale, Reports today have also suggested Mr Drysdale, who lived in Radstock Road, Newtown, may have been a regular drug user.... Superintendent Ball also said initial inquiries had ruled out suggestions [Drysdale] was making a mobile phone call at the time of the crash. He added there was no evidence of alcohol in Mr Drysdale’s blood.... Full story, from getReading ______________________________
Thirty-three Egyptians, including pilgrims returning from the holy Saudi city of Mecca, were killed when their bus crashed into a truck in southern Egypt, police said today. The accident happened at an intersection near Samalut, a town on the River Nile about 200km south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after the truck failed to give way to the bus, a police official said.... Road accidents are common in Egypt because of bad roads, high speeds and poor enforcement of traffic laws. Traffic police statistics showed that an estimated 8000 people were killed and 320,000 injured in road accidents in Egypt in 2003. Full story, from the Herald Sun, Australia.
DSA Comment: According to the CIA World Fact Book, the population of Egypt is 76.1 million (July 2004 estimate) thus according to the estimated figures, above, the per capita road crash fatality rate is approximately 10.5 deaths per 100,000 population. Frankly, at Drive and Stay Alive, we find such a low rate to be well beyond belief and would suggest that the number of people killed on the roads of Egypt must be vastly higher than the 8,000 allegedly mentioned in traffic police statistics. The per capita rates for 30 countries and all 50 American states may be viewed here. ______________________________
In an article titled "Chases take a brutal toll: 21 young lives snuffed out" two Sydney Morning Herald writers appear to imply that the 21 deaths to which they refer were purely the result of police chases. In the body of the article, however, they outline that of those 21 young people:
These 21 deaths, all seemingly in New South Wales, were spread over a period of ten years -- so on average there were 2 a year -- and although every single young death is a tragedy the one question or comment that was totally absent from this article was how many other people in NSW are killed by drunk drivers, dangerous drivers and the drivers of stolen cars each year. At Drive and Stay Alive, we offer the informed opinion that considerably more than two innocent people die in New South Wales each year as a result of the three named offences and that were it not for frequent police intervention that number would be much higher still. [Original article, from SMH] Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ______________________________
Tinted windows are no longer just for the rich and famous. These days, darkened vehicle windows are about as common as, well, drivers with a steering wheel in one hand and a cellphone in the other.... State law allows car windows — except front windshields — to be tinted. But the law specifies that the amount of light penetrating the front driver and passenger windows may not be reduced by more than 35 percent. Mirrored window tinting and tinting that is red, yellow, gold or black material, or brushed or sprayed on material, is prohibited. The law also says windshields must be clear, though a tinted strip up to 6 inches wide is allowed across the top. But state law allows back windows of trucks, vans and sport-utility vehicles to be darker as long as the front two windows are 35 percent or lighter. Trooper Jeff Merrill of the State Patrol says troopers in the field carry "tint meters" that can test and determine the amount of tinting on windows. Violations can result in correction notices or citations, and Merrill says he issues tickets quite frequently. Tinted windows are meant to help reduce sun glare. But style plays a big part in their popularity. Some vehicle owners have gone so far as to have after-market tinting added to factory-tinted windows. "Tinted windows not only obscure vision into a vehicle by other drivers, but police officers have trouble seeing inside vehicles on traffic stops," Merrill said. He said the Patrol has asked the Legislature to re-evaluate the state's window-tint law. Laws governing tinting differ from state to state. States such as Arizona, with more sun and heat, allow more tinting.... Full, informative story, from the Seattle Times ______________________________
Pretoria - The taxi industry has taken a firm grip on the wheel of the taxi recapitalisation programme following the government's decision to scrap the tender process and proceed with a revised form of the project.... In terms of the revised plan, the government would introduce a specification for the national taxi vehicle within the next three months through regulation by the transport minister, with a focus on the safety aspects of the vehicles by a defined date.... [One] implication is that manufacturers who had vehicles they believed complied with the new specifications, will have to get these vehicles approved by the SA Bureau of Standards to ensure the vehicles comply with the new compulsory safety and other standards. Full story ["Taxi industry firmly in driving seat"], from Business Report ______________________________
Three women in their 20s - two sisters and a cousin - were killed Friday evening in a car accident near Kafr Kama in the Lower Galilee.... The total number of people killed in accidents [in Israel] this year has reached 447.... Full story, from Haaretz ______________________________
Kota Kinabalu: The State Traffic Police attributed the high number of accident cases in Sabah to the poor driving standard of motorists. State Traffic Police Chief Supt. Abdul Karim Abu Bakar said an average of 33 accidents occurred in Sabah daily this year and reminded motorists to be careful at all time.... "To me, a lot of motorists' driving standards [leave] much to be desired. You cannot blame the weather or road. If it is raining, don't speed and then suddenly jam your brakes. You are putting yourself in trouble," he said.... Abdul Karim said... traffic police throughout the State will start a road safety campaign from November 8-21 in view of the Deepavali and Hari Raya festivities.... He [added that] traffic police will keep watch especially on three offences: speeding, overtaking on double lines and overtaking dangerously. "Those who balik kampung should plan their journey such as checking their vehicles thoroughly before embarking on their journey. They should also plan where to stop after every two hours to get some fresh air," he said.... Full story, from the East Malaysia Daily Express ______________________________
The theme is: 'Don't Drink and Drive - Not A Drop' ....Renault hopes to make a valuable difference in saving lives, not just through its products but also by educating the public in each of the markets in which it operates, via a series of international safety programmes. One such initiative in the UK is Renault’s sponsorship of National Road Safety Week, which this year runs from 8-14 November. Co-ordinated by Brake, the national road safety charity, this year’s theme for the Week is ‘Don’t drink and drive – not a drop’ and Brake will be highlighting how a new generation of drink-drivers are increasingly getting behind the wheel, faced with the disturbing fact that drink-drive casualties (deaths, serious and slight injuries) have risen by a third over the past decade from 14,890 in 1993 to 19,010 in 2003, causing nearly one in six road deaths. ______________________________
LOS ANGELES - An 87-year-old man who plowed through a farmers market with his Buick last year, killing 10 people, must stand trial for manslaughter, a judge ruled this week. The driver, George R. Weller, told the authorities that he confused the gas pedal for the brake, panicked and then accelerated over the distance of three football fields before coming to a stop. He tested negative for alcohol and drugs. By the time Weller regained his composure, 10 people were dead and 63 were injured. The judge, Katherine Mader of Los Angeles County Superior Court, said on Wednesday that she found Weller's explanation of momentary confusion difficult to believe, considering the distance, the bedlam and the screams on that overcast July afternoon.... The case has reignited debate in California over whether drivers should be required to take road tests when they reach a certain age. California law prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from testing on the basis of age alone.... About a dozen states have age requirements for renewal of driver's licenses, and California lawmakers have periodically tried to institute similar rules. But such legislation meets stiff resistance from powerful lobbies that represent the elderly, who consider age-based testing to be discriminatory.... Full story, from the Houston Chronicle ______________________________
Prosecutor of the Astrakhan region Alexander Uss died and the driver of his car was severely injured in a road accident on Friday... According to the police department, the prosecutor’s service car fell off the road into a ditch and overturned at a turning near the Priyutnoye populated locality in Kalmykia republic at around 10:00 am, Moscow time. The traffic police sources said the driver of the prosecutor’s car lost control of the vehicle and the car overturned several times... Prosecutor of Kalmykia and officials of the Astrakhan Prosecutor’s Office went to the scene for an investigation. “Alexander Uss has been very recently appointed to the regional prosecutor’s post and has worked a mere 34 days,” said First Deputy Prosecutor of the region, Igor Korovin. Uss, 43, left three children. Full story, from Itar/Tass ______________________________
In conjunction with the upcoming festive Hari Raya season, the Bintulu Lions Club has recently organised a road safety campaign for motorists and road users in Bintulu. A total of 5,000 road safety campaign stickers were distributed by members of the association along the main roads in Bintulu. [Source: Borneo News] ______________________________
On the letters page of the Yorkshire Post newspaper (England), Rev B Russell, of Leysholme Drive, Leeds, wrote:
"When I am travelling at 70mph on a motorway I tend to stay in the
middle lane. This avoids constantly changing lanes which is,
statistically, the highest risk manoeuvre in motorway driving. Those of
us who drive in this way are being urged, by those in authority, to move
over in order that we do not inconvenience those who wish to break the
law by exceeding the speed limit. Perhaps we should also be urged to
leave the doors to our homes unlocked so that we do not inconvenience
burglars.
DSA Comment: Lane changing, Reverend Russell, is only risky if done incorrectly, so either you are saying that you are incompetent as a driver and unable to make safe lane changes, or you are saying that you believe that the enforcement of a very long standing rule should not apply to you. N.B. Rule 238 of the Highway Code states: "You should drive in the left-hand lane if the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking a number of slow moving vehicles it may be safer to remain in the centre or outer lanes until the manoeuvre is completed rather than continually changing lanes. Return to the left-hand lane once you have overtaken all the vehicles or if you are delaying traffic behind you...." The two obvious questions, Reverend Russell, are: 1. How many years is it since you have actually read an up-to-date copy of the Highway Code? 2. Why should it not apply to you? Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc. ______________________________
The American Trucking Associations named 30 professional truck drivers as finalists Nov. 3 in the competition to become captains on the 2005-06 America’s Road Team. America’s Road Team, the trucking industry’s premier ambassador group, is sponsored by Volvo Trucks North America. The 30 drivers now move on to the final round of competition, January 10-12, 2005, at ATA headquarters in Alexandria, Va. A panel of trucking industry officials and trucking news media will judge the contestants on their knowledge of trucking industry and safety issues. A battery of interviews will test their media and communication skills. Once selected for America’s Road Team, the drivers will spend the next two years representing the U.S. trucking industry. Their job will be to deliver ATA and Volvo Trucks North America highway safety message to the motoring public, the news media, civic organizations and legislatures.... Full story, from eTrucker ______________________________
A Free Clinic Offers Young Women Safe Driving Strategies, Auto Care Basics Fatality data show that young drivers continue to be over-represented in fatal crashes. In the Washington, DC area alone, more than a dozen young people have been killed on the roads in recent weeks. In the ten-year span between 1992 and 2002, young women's fatal crash rates escalated by 42 percent at the same time that crash rates for young men declined. To help educate and empower this vulnerable and oft-overlooked population, Safe Smart Women (S2W) is today hosting a free Car Care Clinic open to all area young women and their parents. The Clinic will offer hands-on opportunities to learn safe driving tactics and under-the-hood auto care from experts. Visit the Safe Smart Women website here. ______________________________
CHERRY HILL, N.J. -- Subaru of America, Inc., the only car company that features Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive as standard equipment on every vehicle in its product line, today announced the 2005 Subaru Outback earned the highest rating in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) crash tests. The new Subaru Outback received 5-stars in both the frontal and side-impact crash tests for both the driver and passenger seating positions. Full report and photo, here. ______________________________
______________________________
BALTIMORE -- When consumers want to know how to save money and fuel, they turn to the U.S. government's Fuel Economy Guide, which for three decades has been the go-to source for drivers wanting the best and most accurate information on fuel efficiency. When they want to know about the latest vehicle trends and motoring news, consumers turn on MotorWeek, television's original automotive magazine show. Beginning November 6, and running through the following week, MotorWeek (seen on PBS stations nationwide and cable's SPEED Channel) will cover the nuts and bolts of the 2005 edition of the Fuel Economy Guide to help viewers understand how they can get the most out of their vehicle before it ever leaves the showroom. To discover how you could save as much as $300-$500 yearly on fuel, click here. ______________________________
How short-sighted do General Motors Corp. officials look now? In 2002, the automaker said it was eliminating standard antilock brakes from many models. Consumers, the company argued, prefer a lower-priced vehicle over one with a safety feature that only comes into play in panic-stopping maneuvers. So GM posted prices of up to $600 for optional antilock brakes on Pontiacs and Chevrolets. It's true that research showed mixed results on the effectiveness of antilock technology. But now, some two years later, antilock electronics are providing the foundation for even more important safety features. And that makes me wonder if GM officials were seeing the whole picture. Since GM's decision, many foreign-based carmakers - you know, the ones stealing U.S. market share from Detroit's Big Three - have been adding antilock brakes and, just as important, other safety features that build on antilock electronics.... Read this full, important safety article, from the Detroit News ______________________________
...Engineers from German auto supplier Continental AG [have created an innovative accelerator called] a "force-feedback" pedal. It's part of what the company calls its "Active Passive Integration Approach" to safety. This clever system basically adds more communication links between safety systems that are already in place in some cars and trucks. It links adaptive cruise control and electronic stability control and adds other things like the force-feedback pedal. The goal is to help drivers avoid accidents and prevent injuries.... Read the full story, including details of other new safety devices, from the Detroit News ______________________________
And
this is equally applicable
in:
KAMLOOPS, British Columbia -- The Wildlife-Vehicle Accident Prevention Program (WVAPP) introduces its latest initiative in its campaign to educate the driving public about the dangers of wildlife-vehicle accidents and how they can be prevented. Billboards with a safety message have been located beside [relevant highways]. The message is: Pay attention to wildlife warning signs on the highway. Actively watch for wildlife, in the ditch, on the road shoulder, and in the right of way. Slow down to the posted speed. Collision avoidance and driver response time are improved at slower speeds. Full article, with further safety guidelines, here. ______________________________
A ban on hidden speed cameras, and on police lurking behind trees to catch unsuspecting motorists, is out of step with public opinion. The Land Transport Safety Authority's annual survey of public attitudes to road safety found 56 per cent of the 1640 participants - 1440 of whom were licensed to drive - supported hidden speed cameras. Just 28 per cent opposed using subterfuge to bring offenders to heel, and the other 16 per cent were neutral. Guidelines from police headquarters ban hidden or camouflaged cameras or laser speed detectors.... Most of those surveyed - 56 per cent - believed penalties for breaking road rules were about right, and 59 per cent felt speed cameras were operated fairly. Road policing operations manager Inspector John Kelly welcomed the findings, saying they confirmed public support for efforts to improve road safety, despite claims by "a vocal minority" that the real agenda was revenue-gathering.... The Land Transport Safety Authority is meanwhile claiming victory for its advertising campaigns, with just 7 per cent of those surveyed believing an accident was unlikely after drinking as long as the driver was careful. This was the same as last year, but well down from 13 per cent in 1995. Although 20 per cent admitted to driving while "slightly intoxicated" in the previous 12 months, this was down from 24 per cent last year and 32 per cent in 1996. A record 54 per cent said they had been stopped at police [alcohol] checkpoints at least once in the 12 months.... Full story, from the New Zealand Herald Full details of the road safety survey may be found on the LTSA website at: http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/publications/public-attitudes/2004.html
______________________________
Thousands more people die on the roads each year than are murdered but their deaths, though sometimes easily preventable, receive far less coverage. Wrexham (Wales) MP Ian Lucas -- a member of the Select committee -- has helped draw up a hard-hitting report on traffic law. The committee spoke to a wide range of witnesses, including experts in the field and top police officers, such as North Wales Police Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom. It is now making several recommendations to the Government to improve laws that could help cut down the carnage on [Britain's] roads.... Mr Lucas said: “Currently, when someone dies or is seriously hurt on the roads, courts often treat the offence more leniently than if they are assaulted or killed when the weapon used is not a car. This cannot be right. “This report calls for a new offence of causing death by negligent driving... It is unfair to victims that currently people are getting away with causing death when driving negligently. “No-one now believes that drink driving is acceptable. We must ensure that dangerous and negligent driving also become unacceptable.” Mr Lucas has also joined forces with actress Jenny Agutter in backing the Barnardo’s and Transport 2000 report: Stop, Look and Listen. This also calls for Government help to cut deaths on the roads. Miss Agutter launched the report at Westminster, where Mr Lucas met her to discuss its contents. He said: “It was a pleasure to talk to Jenny Agutter but there was a very serious point behind her visit.... “They want to see a greater focus on traffic calming and 20 mile an hour speed limits in areas where there are large numbers of child pedestrians. I support this fully.... Full story, from the Evening Leader ______________________________
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah chalked up a 7.1 per cent increase in road accidents between January and September this year, with 8,798 cases against 8,212 during the similar period last year. Kota Kinabalu topped the list with 2,468 cases against last year's 2,561. According to statistics released by the Sabah Road Safety Council, there were 186 facilities [DSA note: we presume this should read "fatalities"] (against last year's 191), with 228 deaths (227), 295 seriously injured and 664 minor injuries. Pedestrians recorded the most deaths with 60 cases, against 67 cases last year, followed by 37 drivers and 32 passengers. The other deaths recorded were motorcyclists (23) and pillion riders (7); van drivers (5) and passengers (8); lorry drivers (15) and passengers (8). Four 4WD drivers died during this period, as well as 11 of their passengers. And nine bicycle riders were killed. ______________________________
JEDDAH — Road accidents in the Western province have gone up by 20 percent during Ramadan, Brig. Saad Al-Ghamdi of Jeddah Traffic Department told Arab News. He said accident figures tend to peak just before iftar, when people are exhausted, hungry, and in a rush to get home as fast as they can. “I have no idea why people are behaving so differently in Ramadan even though they are supposed to respect the spirit of the holy month by being patient and tolerant. This happens every Ramadan despite our continued warnings. Motorists tend to speed more than usual and lose their concentration while driving,” he said.... His colleague, officer Nasir Al-Jihani, said the increased number of accidents has led the Traffic Department in cooperation with charity organizations to provide a very light iftar meal to motorists by traffic lights to calm them down.... Full story, from Arab News ______________________________
Shell Ghana Limited has over the past year had in place a Voluntary Code of Conduct for Safe Driving signed on to by the company's staff and contract road transporters. The code commits the signatories to 13 basic principles which Shell Ghana had drawn up to enhance road safety among its staff and contract road transporters. The strategy has worked for Shell Ghana. The road accident rate among its own staff and its contract transporters has dramatically dipped. The result, needless to say, has been a huge reduction in property and vehicular loss, time-loss due to injury and hospitalization, compensation payments and accident-induced trauma. A good thing, they say, must be shared for the good of humanity. In that vein, Shell Ghana is collaborating with the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) to [promote] the Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCoC) for Safe Driving.... Mr. Roy Kretzen, Chairman and Managing Director of Shell Ghana, said the key issue for safety on the roads was attitudinal change on the part of drivers in particular and other road users. It was a fact for example that 95 per cent of road accidents were predicated to road user error. The experience of Shell Ghana relative to the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Safe Driving, he said, was that those who signed up to abide by the code felt "a voluntary commitment of their own conscience to ensure their own safety."... Key facilitator at the launch was Mr. Mike Winnett, External Advisor for GRSPGhana. He was assisted by Mr. J. Amegashie, Local Advisor, GRSP-Ghana; Mr. K. Obeng of the NRSC and Mr. Jack Lewis, Executive Director of GRSP-Ghana. Full story, from allAfrica ______________________________
A Newfoundland appeals court has upheld the drunk-driving conviction of a man found intoxicated and behind the wheel of a parked truck. Jamie Mercer says that four years ago, he and a friend left a bar in Bay Roberts, got into the vehicle and started the engine to keep warm. Even though Mr. Mercer says he didn't intend to drive, when police saw the pair and gave him a breath-analysis test, he failed it. [Source: The Globe and Mail]
DSA Comment: Although some people decry this approach as being an unfair law -- given that a person was not actually driving at the time -- it has been introduced in various countries to stop not only the chance of such people falling to temptation and driving home anyhow, but also to take away the possibility of lies frequently being told in an attempt to evade conviction even when the person had every intention of driving as soon as the coast is clear: "No, honestly officer, I'm not going to drive I'm just keeping warm." Britain is one such country with a preventive law of this type, namely 'Being in Charge of a Motor Vehicle while Over the Prescribed Limit' -- Road Traffic Act 1988, s. 5(1)(b). ______________________________
Tang Tianhe, former deputy head of the Jilin traffic police team, was accused of issuing 22,156 driving licenses to people who did not sit the driving tests, the Huichun Municipal People’s Court heard, on Thursday. The driving licenses were issued in less than two years. Holders of the illegal driving licenses were responsible for the deaths of 11 people and serious injuries to 14 in 124 traffic accidents in Jilin City, the court heard.... The driving license scandal also involved 12 other people in Jilin City, including Zhao Encai, former head of the Jilin traffic police team, other traffic police officers and operators of driving schools. Full story, from Xinhuanet ______________________________
Athens motorists can violate the congested city’s designated bus lanes with relative impunity since, among other reasons revealed by Kathimerini reporters, officials are unwilling to keep the capital’s traffic camera network stocked with film.... Out of the 10 cameras now installed on Athens bus lanes, only two are digital. The rest have to be regularly restocked with film; one film can take 800 shots and lasts, on average, for three days. However, traffic police and public transport officials are at odds over who should pay for the film, as well as for development materials and photography paper. This results in the cameras being either left unstocked, or being refilled after long periods of inactivity.... Even the dummy cameras do not all work, as some have yet to be connected to the electricity network. [Source: Ekathimerini]
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November 30, 2004: 
November 30, 2004: 
November 30, 2004: 
November 30, 2004: 
November 30, 2004: 
Nov. 30,
2004: 
November 30, 2004: 
November 29, 2004: Youths
use Reality TV Games to Help Teach Road Safety 
November 29, 2004: 
November 29,
2004: 
November 29,
2004: 
November 27, 2004: 
November 26,
2004: 
November 26,
2004: 
* November 26,
2004: 
November 25,
2004: 
* and S.E.
ASIA November 23,
2004: Cambodian PM appeals to enhance ASEAN traffic safety
November 23,
2004: Road Accidents Cost RP $1.9B in the Philippines
(an ASEAN country -- see above)
November 23,
2004: Police clock
13-year-old boy racer at 147km/h (92mph)
November 22, 2004: 
November 22,
2004: 
November 22,
2004: 
November 22,
2004: 
November 22,
2004: 
November 22,
2004: 
November 22,
2004: International Highway Through Bulgaria Sparks Controversy
November 21,
2004: Thirty Speed Detectors in
Dhaka to Catch Fast Drivers
November 20, 2004: 
November 13, 2004: 
November 13, 2004: 
November 11, 2004: 
November 11, 2004: 
November 11, 2004: 
* November 8, 2004:
Mecca Pilgrims Among 33 Dead in Coach Crash in Egypt
November 7, 2004: Israeli International Basketball Player, Plus
her Sister and Cousin, Killed in a Crash
November 4, 2004: Russian Prosecutor Killed in a Rollover Crash
November 3, 2004: 
