23 MN Pedestrians Already Killed in 2012...

Last year, 857 Minnesota pedestrians were killed or injured, up by nearly 50 from the year before. In 35 percent of those cases, drivers failed to yield to pedestrians.

Already the deadliest of the last five years --

23 MN pedestrians have been killed so far in 2012



The Pedestrian Death Toll this Time Last Year

14

This Is Not A Movie

As reported in the Star Tribune by Kelly Smith:

Cléo Thiberge seemed to do everything right.

Before crossing Hamline Avenue in St. Paul, the 19-year-old waited. She watched traffic. And when the walk sign blinked on, she stepped off the curb.

That's when a vehicle rounding the corner struck the exchange student from France. She died on Sept. 2, a day after a couple was struck and killed in Ramsey.

"We owe it to ourselves, because we are all pedestrians, to talk about it and focus on it," said Gordy Pehrson of the Department of Public Safety. "There needs to be more awareness and enforcement."

Across the metro, police are ratcheting up crosswalk crackdowns, cities are installing more neon yellow crossing signs and engineers are shifting street design to consider pedestrians as well as motorists. The state is this month also launching its first pedestrian safety campaign in nearly 15 years
"I don't think people really understand what they're supposed to do" near a crosswalk, said Minnetonka Police Chief Mark Raquet. "... Common sense would tell you if you see someone in the curb, you should stop -- if you're paying attention."
Concerns over inattentive drivers have spurred police metro-wide to step up crosswalk patrols.

Last month, Robbinsdale police cited 80 drivers over two days in a first-ever crosswalk sting. Edina boosted their crosswalk enforcement in July, starting a new annual crosswalk campaign around such popular areas as Southdale Center. In Minneapolis, the city has increased crosswalk times and is experimenting with a new pedestrian-friendly signal pattern in Uptown, giving pedestrians a four-second head start to enter the crosswalk so drivers can see them before turning. Complete Article

From the Minnesota Safety Council

The Minnesota Crosswalk Law: Key Elements

• Where traffic control signals are not in place or in operation, a driver must stop for a pedestrian crossing within a marked crosswalk or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk. A vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk can proceed once the pedestrian has completely crossed the lane in front of the stopped vehicle.
• A pedestrian must not enter a crosswalk if a vehicle is approaching. There is no defined distance that a pedestrian must abide by before entering the crosswalk, but common sense should prevail. The law states: "No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield."
• When a vehicle is stopped at an intersection to allow pedestrians to cross the roadway, drivers of other vehicles approaching from the rear must not pass the other vehicle.
• It's unlawful for the driver of a motor vehicle to proceed through a group of school children crossing a street or highway, or past a member of a school safety patrol or adult crossing guard who is directing children across the roadway and who is holding an official signal in the stop position.
• Failure to obey the law is a misdemeanor. A second violation within one year is a gross misdemeanor.

Teen Girls Cell Phone Usage While Driving Twice That of Teen Boys, but the boys...

Inside Line says: Forget Baby on Board.

An entrepreneur needs to make some yellow

Distracted Teen on Board window signs to warn other drivers.

Edmunds Inside Line
By Rene Wisely
3/28/12

AURORA, Illinois — Big Brother caught little sister using her phone too much while driving.

A new in-car video study released this week by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reveals that teen girls are twice as likely as teen boys to use cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. While electronic devices were the most commonly observed distracted-driving activity for new teen drivers of both genders, video captured many other distractions as well.

Females were more likely to be observed reaching for an object in the vehicle (nearly 50 percent more likely than males) and eating or drinking (nearly 25 percent more likely) while driving.


Males, on the other hand, were roughly twice as likely to turn around in their seats while driving, and were also more likely to communicate with people outside of the vehicle.



As evidenced by the AAA study, the subject of distracted driving, particularly distractions involving the use of mobile devices, is commanding increasing attention across the country.

In her opening remarks yesterday at the Attentive Driving Forum: Countermeasures to Distraction in Washington, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman noted: "Our nation is at a deadly intersection of mobility and connectivity."

Hersman lauded an unprecedented move yesterday by the town of Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina, which passed a complete ban on cellphone use — including hands-free — while driving.

Coincidentally, AAA's study, called Distracted Driving Among Newly Licensed Teen Drivers, is based on data and analysis of video clips collected as part of a three-part study of 50 North Carolina families with novice teen drivers by researchers at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center.

The first part looked at how parents supervise their teens during the learner's stage of a graduated driver's license, and the second examined how teen behaviors and driving conditions shift during the transition to unsupervised driving. For the third part, 7,858 clips from the first six months of unsupervised driving were re-analyzed to investigate distraction specifically.

Age makes drivers cocky as well, the study revealed. Those who use electronic devices, adjust controls and groom themselves while behind the wheel were more prevalent among the older teens in the study group, suggesting rapid changes in these behaviors as teens get more comfortable with driving.



The study also revealed that parents' presence in the car curtailed the distractions, yet when multiple teens rode as passengers, horseplay and loud conversation abounded. Drivers were six times as likely to have a serious incident when there was loud conversation in the vehicle, and were more than twice as likely to have a high g-force event — including swerving, hard braking or rapid acceleration — when there was horseplay.

Additionally, distracted drivers were three times as likely to take their eyes off the road when using electronic devices and were two-and-a-half times more likely to look away when engaged in other behaviors. On average, teen drivers using electronic devices took their eyes off the road for a full second longer.

"This new study provides the best view we've had about how and when teens engage in distracted driving behaviors believed to contribute to making car crashes the leading cause of death for teenagers," said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger.

Just the Facts:

• A new in-car video study of teen driver distractions released this week by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reveals that teen girls are twice as likely as teen boys to use cell phones and other electronic devices while driving.
• Females were more likely to be observed reaching for an object in the vehicle (nearly 50 percent more likely than males) and eating or drinking (nearly 25 percent more likely).
• Conversely, males were roughly twice as likely to turn around in their seats while driving, and were also more likely to communicate with people outside of the vehicle.

22 Percent Decline in Traffic Deaths from Prohibited Cell Phone Use...NUFF SAID

An analysis of states with laws prohibiting the use of hand-held cell phones by motorists shows a 22-percent decline in overall traffic deaths, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).

School Transportation News
By: Ryan Gray
3/6/2012
In addition to the drop in overall traffic deaths, researchers of the study also found that fatalities of motorists who used hand-held cell phones decreased by 47 percent. The study was performed by the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTrec) at the University of California at Berkley and reviewed traffic crash records two years before and two years after state laws went into effect.

“These results suggest that the law banning hand-held cell phone use while driving had a positive impact on reducing traffic fatalities and injuries,” said Dr. David Ragland, director of SafeTREC.

One reason for fewer crashes may be due to increased law enforcement. The California Department of Motor Vehicles said there were 460,487 hand-held cell phone convictions in 2011, a 22-percent increase from 2010 and a 52-percent jump from 2009. The cost of a ticket in California for a first offense is at least $159 and $279 for subsequent offenses.

Cell phone usage while driving is top of the mind with California drivers, which they see as carrying a significant traffic safety threat. The same OTS statewide opinion survey reported that 62 percent of respondents stated that texting and talking are the biggest safety concerns on California roadways. Eighty-four percent claimed cell phone conversations or texting while driving constitute the most serious distractions while driving.

Meanwhile, another OTS opinion poll commissioned with federal funds and performed last summer showed that four in 10 California drivers said they talked less with either hand-held or hands-free phones since the state's ban was enacted in 2008. The report contradicts a study performed by the Highway Loss Data Institute in January 2010 that there had been no significant changes in crashes.

One month later, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety published results from a telephone survey that found that 44 percent of drivers in states with bans reported they don't use either hand-held or hands-free cell phones while driving. In comparison, IIHS found that 30 percent said they continue to operate both types of phones while behind the wheel in states that do not have bans.

Insurance Risk Managers Favor Cellphone Ban

John Toay, president, SC Risk Mgt. Consulting and president, LPM Enterprises Inc., says, “As a former police-accident investigator I handled more cases caused by inattention than I can count.”

Property/Casualty 360
By: Caroline McDonald
1/2/2012

Even though the National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendation that all cellphone use be banned in automobiles has been nixed by theU.S.transportation secretary, the suggestion is applauded by some corporate and public-entity risk managers.

The mid-December recommendation by the NTSB calls for all 50 states and theDistrict of Columbia “to ban the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices (other than those designed to support the driving task) for all drivers.”

The safety recommendation also urges use of high-visibility enforcement to support the bans and implementation of targeted communication campaigns to inform motorists of the new law and the heightened enforcement.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, however, announced on Dec. 22 he won't back the proposal and supports hands-free driving.

Risk managers say they are in favor of a total ban of cell phone usage while behind the wheel.

Lori Seidenberg, vice president, enterprise risk management, and insurance risk manager with Centerline Capital Group inNew York Cityand a director of the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. notes, “As a risk manager, I support the implementation of a total ban on cell phone usage. Using cell phones while driving is a hazard for both the passengers in the car you are in and the cars around you.”

While some states allow hands-free usage while driving, Seidenberg says, “This, too, is hazardous, as you still need to look at your phone or PDA to answer or dial the call.”

She adds, “I can see a corporation's perspective, that they want travelling employees to be as efficient as possible” and that an employee driving a long distance might multitask by participating in conference calls or answering emails.

But she says corporations have to weigh the risks and decide which is more important: “employee productivity or a risk of injury or death by distracted driving?” Continue Reading

Cell Phone Ban While Driving: Mixed Opinions

The National Safety Council says drivers

on the phone see only 50 percent

of the traffic information around them.

NewsObserver
By: Bruce Siceloff
12/27/2011

Sure, it would be hard to push through the legislature. It would be harder still to enforce on the highway.

But Lewis Lokitz of Cary is cheering a push by the National Transportation Safety Board for a sweeping, 50-state ban on phoning at the wheel.

"It may be unpopular, but it is the right, moral, and life-saving thing to do,"Lokitz said by email, responding to a recent Road Worrier column. "I don't understand how anyone could object. Especially if you have children."

He could be thinking of Erin Lindsay-Calkins and her 5-year-old son, Nicholas. Witnesses said Erin appeared to be holding a phone to her ear on Dec. 22, 2009, when she crashed through the flashing barrier gate at a railroad crossing in Orange County. She drove into the path of a fast-moving train. Both were killed. Nicholas' baby sister, Aven, survived.

Safety researchers cite other grim examples of phone-impaired drivers who behave as if they've been struck blind. They run red lights and blunder into disasters they should have seen coming, without even tapping their brakes. The National Safety Council says drivers on the phone see only 50 percent of the traffic information around them.

After a multitasking real-estate agent rear-ended Mike Stanford a few years ago, both drivers stopped their cars. Stanford walked back to speak to her, but she was still on the phone.

"She was holding her finger up and saying, 'Just a minute, just a minute,' " said Stanford, who lives in Charlotte. "She was completing her call." Continue Reading

Hang Up and Drive (Editorial)

Distracted drivers are a menace, and they're not getting the message. But we don't need a broader law; we need more enforcement of laws already on the books.
Chicago Tribune
Editorials
12/23/2011

The National Transportation Safety Board wants all 50 states to ban cellphone use by drivers. No texting, no tweeting, no talking — not even on a hands-free phone.

It's a standard that goes beyond anything on the books in any state. The board has no authority to impose it. The data on accidents involving cellphones is inconclusive, the government is not our nanny, and eating a chili dog while driving is dangerous, too.

A nationwide ban will not happen.

That doesn't mean the NTSB isn't onto something. If you're not frightened by what's going on around you during your daily commute, you're not paying attention. Drivers are texting while flying down the expressways, sending emails in stop-and-go traffic on Lake Shore Drive, carrying on animated conversations while changing lanes with one hand on the phone and the other holding a Starbucks.

All of that is already illegal in Chicago and beyond. Have you noticed fewer people doing it? Neither have we.

A second agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says distracted driving was a factor in more than 3,000 fatal accidents in 2010. It doesn't say how many involved texting, how many involved talking on the phone or how many involved reaching behind the seat to retrieve the toddler's fallen pacifier.

But one of those accidents provided the NTSB with a horrific anecdote to support last week's call for a comprehensive ban. A 19-year-old driver sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes before his pickup truck plowed into a tractor trailer near Gray Summit, Mo. The chain-reaction collision also involved two school buses. The teen driver and a student on one of the buses died, and 38 others were injured.

But a nationwide ban wouldn't have prevented that tragedy. Missouri already prohibits drivers under 21 from texting while driving. Thirty-five states prohibit texting by all drivers; 30 ban cellphone use by novice drivers; and 10 have outlawed the use of even hands-free phones. Hundreds of local governments have their own laws covering behind-the-wheel cellphone use. And we would argue that all of those prohibitions (and a lot more) are covered under broader distracted driving laws in force in most states, including Illinois. (Think about that, you in the gray car, with the eye makeup implements in both hands, gazing at yourself in the rearview mirror, while drifting lane to lane on Columbus Drive, in Grant Park.)

Still, a traffic safety commission survey found that 1 in 10 drivers — and half of those ages 21 to 24 — said they'd texted or emailed while behind the wheel. At any given moment, 1 in 100 drivers is texting, tweeting, emailing or web-surfing, a rate that's up 50 percent over the previous year. Most of them said they don't think it's dangerous.

While states have been busy passing laws to limit distractions, Americans have been acquiring all sorts of new gadgets that promote multitasking in the car. GPS systems; MP3 players; smartphones that enable users to play games, pay bills, order dinner or watch a movie while barreling down the Eisenhower. But the distractions aren't all high-tech. The worst local example we can think of involved a driver who struck and killed a motorcyclist while painting her nails.

Distracted drivers are a menace, and they're not getting the message. But we don't need a broader law; we need more enforcement of laws already on the books.

What if police pounced on behind-the-wheel texting with the same zeal applied to parking meter violations? What if those hated red-light cameras could bust you for talking on your handheld phone? If the risk of killing yourself or others isn't deterrent enough, maybe a ticket or three will get your attention.

It's time we all started taking these dangers seriously. Keep your hands (thumbs and all) on the wheel.

The Last Text: AT&T Don't Text While Driving...A Moving Documentary

Watch AT&T's new 10-minute documentary titled "The Last Text," featuring stories of real individuals whose lives have been adversely affected by texting behind the wheel.

AT&T created this documentary as part of its "It Can Wait" campaign because we want consumers be safe while using our technology. We are grateful and humbled by the bravery of the people who agreed to be on camera for the documentary. We would have no story to tell without them. Don't text while driving documentary

2010 Highway Deaths fell to 32,885 however Pedestrian Deaths Rose

Before getting all yippee about the reduction in traffic deaths, 32,885 is the equivalent of the entire population of Brainerd, MN and Stillwater, MN. Pedestrians remained a target in 2010 with 4,280 reported deaths and 70,000 injured.

NHTSA 21-11
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Contact: Karen Aldana
Tel: 202-366-9550

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced updated 2010 fatality and injury data showing that highway deaths fell to 32,885 for the year, the lowest level since 1949. The record-breaking decline in traffic fatalities occurred even as American drivers traveled nearly 46 billion more miles during the year, an increase of 1.6 percent over the 2009 level.

"While we have more work to do to continue to protect American motorists, these numbers show we're making historic progress when it comes to improving safety on our nation's roadways," said Secretary LaHood. "Thanks to the tireless work of our safety agencies and partner organizations over the past few decades, to save lives and reduce injuries, we're saving lives, reducing injuries, and building the foundation for what we hope will be even greater success in the future."

The updated information released by the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today indicates 2010 also saw the lowest fatality rate ever recorded, with 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2010, down from 1.15 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2009. Other key statistics include:

• Fatalities declined in most categories in 2010, including for occupants of passenger cars and light trucks (including SUVs, minivans and pickups).
• Deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers dropped 4.9 percent in 2010, taking 10,228 lives compared to 10,759 in 2009.
• Fatalities rose among pedestrians, motorcycle riders, and large truck occupants.

New Measures of Fatalities Related to Distracted Driving

NHTSA also unveiled a new measure of fatalities related to distracted driving today, called "distraction-affected crashes." Introduced for 2010 as part of a broader effort by the agency to refine its data collection to get better information about the role of distraction in crashes, the new measure is designed to focus more narrowly on crashes in which a driver was most likely to have been distracted. While NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) previously recorded a broad range of potential distractions, such as careless driving and cell phone present in the vehicle, the new measure focuses on distractions that are most likely to affect crash involvement, such as distraction by dialing a cellular phone or texting and distraction by an outside person/event. New data released today by NHTSA using its refined methodology show an estimated 3,092 fatalities in distraction-affected crashes in 2010.

The NHTSA effort to refine distraction data is similar to a step taken with alcohol information in FARS data for 2006. Prior to 2006, FARS reported "alcohol-related crashes," which was defined as crashes in which a driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist had a blood alcohol level of .01 or higher. In an effort to focus on crashes in which alcohol was most likely to be a causative factor, NHTSA introduced the new measure, "alcohol-impaired driving crashes," with a more narrow definition including only those crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider had a blood alcohol level of .08 or above, the legal limit in every state.

"Even as we celebrate the incredible gains we're making in reducing traffic fatalities, we recognize our responsibility to improve our understanding of the dangers that continue to threaten drivers and passengers," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. "That's why, under the leadership of Secretary LaHood, NHTSA is working to refine the way we collect data on distracted driving and laying the groundwork for additional research to capture real-world information on this risky behavior."

While the explicit change in methodology means the new measure cannot be compared to the 5,474 "distraction-related" fatalities reported in 2009, other NHTSA data offer some indication that driver distraction continues to be a significant problem. The agency's nationwide observational survey of drivers in traffic remains unchanged between 2009 and 2010, with 5 percent of drivers seen talking on handheld phones. In addition, given ongoing challenges in capturing the scope of the problem — including individuals' reluctance to admit behavior, lack of witnesses, and in some cases the death of the driver — NHTSA believes the actual number of crashes that involve distracted driving could be higher.

National Attitude Survey on Distracted Driving

A new national NHTSA survey offers additional insights into how drivers behave when it comes to texting and cell phone use while behind the wheel and their perceptions of the safety risks of distracted driving. Survey respondents indicated they answer calls on most trips; they acknowledge few driving situations when they would not use the phone or text; and yet they feel unsafe when riding in vehicles in which the driver is texting and they support bans on texting and cell phone use. These findings provide further evidence that distracted driving is a complex problem that is both hard to measure and difficult to address given conflicting public attitudes and behaviors. View the new telephone distraction survey

"The findings from our new attitude survey help us understand why some people continue to make bad decisions about driving distracted—but what's clear from all of the information we have is that driver distraction continues to be a major problem," said Administrator Strickland. "We need to maintain our focus on this issue through education, laws, enforcement, and vehicle design to help keep drivers' attention on the road."

Among the findings, more than three-quarters of drivers report that they are willing to answer calls on all, most, or some trips. Drivers also report that they rarely consider traffic situations when deciding when to use their phone. View the new electronic device survey

While most drivers said they are willing to answer a call and many will send a text while driving, almost all of these same drivers reported that they would feel very unsafe as a passenger if their driver was sending or receiving text messages. Over one-third report that they would feel very unsafe if their driver was using a handheld phone. Link to Report

Hand-Held Cell Phone Usage Banned for Interstate Truckers and Buses

FMCSA 35-11
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Contact: Candice Tolliver Burns
Tel: 202-366-9999

WASHINGTON - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a final rule specifically prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while operating their vehicles. The joint rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is the latest action by the U.S. Department of Transportation to end distracted driving.

"When drivers of large trucks, buses and hazardous materials take their eyes off the road for even a few seconds, the outcome can be deadly," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "I hope that this rule will save lives by helping commercial drivers stay laser-focused on safety at all times while behind the wheel."

The final rule prohibits commercial drivers from using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a commercial truck or bus. Drivers who violate the restriction will face federal civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense and disqualification from operating a commercial motor vehicle for multiple offenses. Additionally, states will suspend a driver's commercial driver's license (CDL) after two or more serious traffic violations. Commercial truck and bus companies that allow their drivers to use hand-held cell phones while driving will face a maximum penalty of $11,000. Approximately four million commercial drivers would be affected by this final rule.

"This final rule represents a giant leap for safety," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "It's just too dangerous for drivers to use a hand-held cell phone while operating a commercial vehicle. Drivers must keep their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and head in the game when operating on our roads. Lives are at stake." While driver distraction studies have produced mixed results, FMCSA research shows that using a hand-held cell phone while driving requires a commercial driver to take several risky steps beyond what is required for using a hands-free mobile phone, including searching and reaching for the phone. Commercial drivers reaching for an object, such as a cell phone, are three times more likely to be involved in a crash or other safety-critical event. Dialing a hand-held cell phone makes it six times more likely that commercial drivers will be involved in a crash or other safety-critical event. Complete Press Release

Distracted Driving is the #1 Killer of American Teens

New National Survey Shows Eighty-Two Percent

of Young Adults Say They Have Read a

Standard Text Message While Driving

Washington, D.C., October 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Eighty-two percent of young adult drivers (16-24) have read a standard text message while driving, according to a national survey conducted by the Ad Council. In an effort to educate young drivers about the dangers of texting while driving, the State Attorneys General and Consumer Protection agencies, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council are launching a new public service advertising campaign (PSA) nationwide. The campaign includes TV, radio, outdoor and digital PSAs. Additionally, to extend the campaign messages online, new Facebook, Twitter and YouTube social media channels go live today.

NHTSA reports that distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens. Sixteen percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) reports that a texting driver is twenty-three times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver.

Every 15 1/2 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies as result of a vehicle crash

American Highways, Streets and Roadways

Should Not be Confused

with the Jungles of Vietnam

58,148 Americans killed during the Vietnam War

33,808 deaths in U.S. from vehicle "accidents" in 2009

Come on America, PAY ATTENTION

Every 5.7 seconds: a vehicle crash is reported to the police.

Every 15 1/2 minutes: someone dies from a vehicle crash

Every 5 minutes: pedestrian or bicyclist injured in traffic crash

The highest price we pay for car crashes is in the loss of human lives, however society also bears the brunt of the many costs associated with motor vehicle accidents.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in 2010 that the cost of medical care and productivity losses associated with motor vehicle crash injuries was over $99 billion, or nearly $500, for each licensed driver in the United States. In addition, every 10 seconds an American is treated in an emergency department for crash-related injuries, based on data from 2005.

A 2008 report by the Automobile Association of America states that according to the Federal Highway Administration, the per-person cost of traffic fatalities in 2005 dollars is $3.2 million and $68,170 for injuries. AAA estimates the cost of traffic crashes to be $166.7 billion. Costs include medical, emergency services, police services, property damage, lost productivity, and quality of life. Read AAA executive summary (PDF).

In 2010, an estimated 32,788 people died in motor vehicle crashes, down 3 percent from 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 2009, 33,808 people died in motor vehicle crashes and an additional 2,217,000 people were injured.

Who Pays?

Private insurers pay approximately 50% of all motor vehicle crash costs. Individual crash victims pay about 26%, while third parties such as uninvolved motorists delayed in traffic, charities and health care providers pay about 14%. Federal revenues account for 6%, while state and local municipalities pick up about 3%. Overall, those not directly involved in crashes pay for nearly three-quarters of all crash costs, primarily through insurance premiums, taxes and travel delay (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

Crash Type and Driver Behavior

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports in 2009 there were 5,505,000 police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes, down 5.3% from 5,811,000 in 2008. Of total crashes, 1,517,000 caused injuries and 3,957,000 caused property damage only.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates about 10 million or more crashes go unreported each year.
• Alcohol-Related Crashes: In 2009, 10,839 people died in alcohol-impaired crashes, down 7.4% from 11,711 in 2008. In 2009, alcohol-impaired crash fatalities accounted for 32% of all crash deaths. There is an alcohol-impaired traffic fatality every 48 minutes in the U.S.
• Drunk Driving and Speeding: In 2009, 43% of intoxicated drivers (with a blood-alcohol content at or above 0.08%) involved in fatal crashes were speeding, compared with 17% of sober drivers involved in fatal crashes.
• Speeding: In 2009, 10,591 lives were lost due to speed-related accidents.
• Speed-related crashes cost Americans $40.4 billion each year.
• In 2009, 39% of 15- to 20-year-old male drivers who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash.
  
• Red Light Running: More than 900 people a year die and nearly 2,000 are injured as a result of vehicles running red lights. About half of those deaths are pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles who are hit by red light runners.
• Fatigue: A study released in November 2010 conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety using NHTSA data for 1999-2008 found that 16.5%, or about 1 in 6 fatal crashes, involved a drowsy driver.
• Distracted Driving: A September 2010 study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that in 2010 5,474 people were killed and 448,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted driving. The percentage of people killed in such crashes rose from 10% of all motor vehicle crash fatalities in 2005 to 16% in 2009. Of those people killed, 995 involved reports of a cellphone as a distraction, or 18% of all distracted driving crash fatalities.
• Cellphone Use: In September 2009 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis released the results of their National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which found that in 2008, 6% of drivers used hand-held cellphones, the same percentage as in 2007. Hand-held cellphone use was highest among 16 to 24 year olds (8% in 2008, down from 9% in 2007) and lowest among drivers 70 and older (1% in both 2007 and 2008).
• Non-Use of Seatbelts=$20 billion.

Hat tip to RMIIA (Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association for the layout)

Reaction Times While Texting Double That When You PAY ATTENTION

Texas Transportation Institute
By Chris Sasser
October 5, 2011


Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute have determined that a driver’s reaction time is doubled when distracted by reading or sending a text message. The study reveals how the texting impairment is even greater than many experts believed, and demonstrates how texting drivers are less able to react to sudden roadway hazards.

The study – the first published work in the U.S. to examine texting while driving in an actual driving environment – consisted of three major steps. First, participants typed a story of their choice (usually a simple fairy tale) and also read and answered questions related to another story, both on their smart phone in a laboratory setting. Each participant then navigated a test-track course involving both an open section and a section lined by construction barrels. Drivers first drove the course without texting, then repeated both lab tasks separately while driving through the course again. Throughout the test-track exercise, each participant’s reaction time to a periodic flashing light was recorded.

Reaction times with no texting activity were typically between one and two seconds. Reaction times while texting, however, were at least three to four seconds. Worse yet, drivers were more than 11 times more likely to miss the flashing light altogether when they were texting. The researchers say that the study findings extend to other driving distractions that involve reading or writing, such as checking e-mail or Facebook.

The study, sponsored by the Southwest Region University Transportation Center, was managed by Christine Yager, an associate transportation researcher in TTI’s Center for Transportation Safety. 42 drivers between the ages of 16 and 54 participated in the research.

The total distance covered by each driver in the study was slightly less than 11 miles. In the interest of safety for both participants and the research staff, researchers minimized the complexity of the driving task, using a straight-line course that contained no hills, traffic or potential conflicts other than the construction zone barrels. Consequently, the driving demands that participants encountered were considerably lower than those they would encounter under real-world conditions.

“It is frightening,” the researchers wrote, “to think of how much more poorly our participants may have performed if the driving conditions were more consistent with routine driving.”

Full Report and Video

Distracted Drivers Caused 16% of All Traffic Deaths...Get Off the Damn Phone

People I Do Not Want to Experience

While They Are On a Cell Phone

Annoying and So Self Centered

I Will Floss 5 Times a Day and take my chances

Tonsillectomy...not a Vasectomy

Til Death Do Us Part...NOT!

The Washington Post
By Ashley Halsey III
October 4, 2011

You know them when you see them behind the wheel of that car on the highway that can’t seem to stay between the white lines.

You used to think: Can that driver really be drunk at 10 a.m.?

Now you think something else, and you’re probably right.

Thirty-five percent of drivers said they’ve read or sent a text message while driving in the last month, according to a new survey. Sixty-seven percent said they talked on a cellphone while driving in the past month, and almost a third said they do it regularly.

But virtually everyone agrees that dealing with text messaging and cellphones while driving is a serious threat to their safety, according to the same survey, conducted on behalf of the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety.

It isn’t the first survey to shed light on the contradiction between what Americans do and what they think is right, but the percentages are particularly striking. Ninety-five percent of drivers consider text messaging as a serious threat, while 88 percent feel the same way about cellphone use.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration says that 5,474 people were killed and an estimated 448,000 were injured in 2009 in accidents that involved distracted driving. NHTSA said that accounted for about 16 percent of all traffic deaths. Continue Reading

95 percent of drivers believe texting while driving is dangerous, yet 35% still text

How dare those who text and drive place my

family and friends in harm's way.

Washington, DC

For the fourth consecutive year, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety's annual Traffic Safety Culture Index shows drivers know that cell phone use and texting while driving are dangerous, yet they continue to do it anyway.

Specifically, data from the 2011 survey found that 95 percent of drivers view texting or emailing by other drivers as a serious threat to their own personal safety, however, 35 percent of those same drivers also admitted to having read or sent a text message or email in the previous month.

According to the survey, 88% percent of drivers feel talking on a phone is a threat to safety, yet two-thirds admitted to having talked on a cell phone while driving in the past 30 days.

More Do as I say, Not as I Do

Kudos to Nevada: Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving

Studies also show that driving while talking

on the phone causes the same impairment as someone

who is legally intoxicated....

RGJ.com
By Jaclyn O'Malley
September 26, 2011

While local cops say the upcoming cellphone ban that begins Jan. 1 will save lives and prevent serious injuries caused by distracted driving, they also worry that the state-imposed cramp in many drivers' style could lead to more accidents if they try to sneak calls on their laps or do email checks on handheld phones hidden on passenger seats.

But Sgt. Jim Stegmaier of the Reno police traffic unit said he is hoping the $50 price tag for first offenders, which rises to $250 for the third -- especially in this economy -- will keep motorists from discreetly trying to use their handheld phones.

"Without a doubt, cellphone usage is the No. 1 biggest factor in distracted driving. It's crazy," Stegmaier said. "It's impossible not to see motorists with their phones up to their ears or texting when they're driving down the street.

"We've seen vehicles leave their lane of travel multiple times just driving a block, which is of high concern for us," he said.

"It's going to be a hard habit to break for most people, especially the younger generation who has been texting and talking on their cellphones before they got a driver's license," Allen said. "Law enforcement also has a fear factor that drivers will try to become more stealthy in trying to read their emails or creating texts. They may try to keep their phones out of our sights by keeping them on their laps or on the center console in an effort to sneak a text. This could make the distraction more severe."

Nevada became the 34th state to ban cellphone use while driving because distracted driving deaths across the country were on the rise, said Nevada Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meg Ragonese. Continue Reading

Cell Phone and Texting Laws By State

Automakers Dramatize Risks of Distracted Driving...while installing distracting gadgets

The next wave of challanges facing the professional

transportation drivers.

Tucson Sentinel
By Myron Levin
Spetember 22, 2011

Saying it is "passionate" about the safety of young drivers, Ford Motor Co. is sponsoring clinics at U.S. high schools to urge teens to heed traffic laws and avoid distractions behind the wheel. The auto giant, as part of its "Driving Skills for Life" program, also recently awarded $25,000 to students who created the best music video about the hazards of distracted driving.

Likewise, BMW has launched 'Don't Text and Drive,' a series of ads to dramatize the risks of distracted driving. And the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry trade group, is teaming with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in a similar campaign.

Through efforts like these, automakers are positioning themselves as leaders in the fight against distracted driving, which federal authorities estimate caused 5,474 deaths in 2009, including 995 from using cellphones.

But even as they tell drivers to act responsibly and pay attention to the road, the companies are seeking to pump up sales by packing their new models with cutting-edge infotainmentsystems that encourage multi-tasking behind the wheel.

Ford's SYNC system, for example, enables drivers to use voice commands and touch screens to make and receive calls, listen to their text messages, and choose from a menu of replies.



BMW's ConnectedDrive provides calling, e-mail and text read-backs, and displays headlines of the messages on a screen.

General Motors strutted its stuffwith a Super Bowl ad of a young Chevy Cruze owner whose face lights up as he drives away and plays back the Facebook message: "Best first date ever…''

Auto executives are counting heavily on arresting, high-tech features to boost sales, especially to younger buyers.David Mondragon, president of Ford Canada, put it bluntly: "The biggest turnoff to a twentysomething consumer is to put their life on hold when they sit in a car," he said in a speech to the Canadian Marketing Assn., according to an account in The Globe and Mail.

Dear Twentysomething Consumer...

This is Your Life On Hold or Sadly,

Some 6 Year Old's Life on Hold

"And what does it mean to put their life on hold? To get disconnected when they get in the car, to have a system that will not allow you to sit there and e-mail, read your BlackBerry, talk on the phone. So you have to have a seamless transition from your home to your transportation device, to your workspace. Or to your play space." (Mondragon, through a spokeswoman, declined to be interviewed.)

Safety officials are worried about the trend. "I'm not in the business of helping people Tweet better," groused David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, in a speech at a national conference in June.

Critics say that in highlighting distracted driving, automakers are hoping to inoculate themselves against tough scrutiny of their built-in systems. "The best defense is a good offense," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington, D.C. "One has to watch what auto companies do, versus what they say. While they say distracted driving is unsafe, they are making hundreds of millions of dollars by selling distracted driving technology." Continue Reading

Vigilant Transport's Recommended

Distraction Free Dashboard

52 Percent of Drivers Feel Less Safe than One Year Ago...Driver Distractions

The leading reason cited by American

drivers was distracted driving, with

88 percent of motorists rating drivers

who text and email as a very serious

threat to their safety.



Edmunds Auto Observer

By Auto Observer Staff
September 19, 2011

More than half of drivers said driving feels less safe now than it did five years ago, according to a survey for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: 2010 Traffic Safety Culture Index. The 52 percent of drivers who said driving feels less safe was an increase of 17 percent over the number of drivers who said so just a year earlier. The reason: concerns about increasing driver distractions, according to Jim Foley, a researcher at Toyota Motor Corp.’s Technical Center in Ann Arbor, MI.

Foley said analysis of driver distraction is a chief priority for Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center, which just announced it will spend $50 million for new safety research projects. One aspect of the research will expand study of the so-called “human-machine interface,” or HMI, and how designs for interacting with onboard systems can affect distraction. Early conclusions from CRSC studies, Foley said, indicate that talking and listening to engage various functions is markedly less distracting than controls that require visual attention. One related study indicated that 78 percent of crashes were related to inattention from the driver.

The study showed that the majority of drivers (62 percent) feel that talking on a cell phone is a very serious threat to safety, but they do not always behave accordingly or believe that others share these views. In fact, nearly 70 percent of those surveyed admitted to talking on their phones and 24 percent said they read or sent text messages or emails while driving in the previous month.

When You Confuse the Two...