THROUGH BIFOCALS
By CLAUDETTE SANDECKI
Aug 01 2007
Organ donation makes sense
Regulations and enforcement are needed to protect motorcyclists from themselves.
So far this year, nine motorcyclists have been killed in traffic accidents on Vancouver Island alone. Five deaths involved extreme speed. Another involved alcohol, no helmet and a crash into a vehicle. The rest resulted from driver error and collisions with a vehicle.
“These facts tell us helmet, safety gear, sobriety, experience, defensive driving and abiding by posted speed limits are good habits,” says RCMP Island District Traffic Services Staff-Sgt. Ted Smith.
Callum Campbell of the Vancouver Island safety council’s motorcycle training department notes, “A lot of accidents occurring on the island are speed related. And people are riding beyond their capabilities.”
One inexperienced 18-year-old riding a powerful Kawasaki failed to negotiate a corner and slammed into a rock face. “These victims are often so young,” says Adele Tompkins of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Tompkins suggests it’s time the B.C. government start looking at limiting the size of motorcycle a new rider may operate. She recommends a bike no bigger than 400 cc. during the first year.
Depending upon the stature of the student, a typical learner’s bike can be any size from 250 cc. to 750 cc. The problem comes when the biker is licensed to ride alone, without a coach behind him to oversee his behaviour.
He (usually it’s a he) buys the biggest bike he can afford and, once on the open road, disregards posted speed limits and gives no thought to blind curves. Add motorists who fail to see him and turn left in front of him or come out from a side street as he passes, and another life is snuffed out.
Until everyone shows more respect for highway rules and the risks of disobeying them, we need to educate young riders and drivers, their families, and experienced motorists to the demand for and benefits of organ donation.
Maybe if a license to drive was paired with an application to donate their organs in the event of a fatal mishap, more two-wheel riders – and four-wheel motorists – would slow down, driving to highway conditions and personal abilities.
In B.C. alone, some 400 patients are waiting for organs such as livers, lungs and kidneys. Some wait as long as three to five years, and die before an organ becomes available. More than 400 are waiting for corneal transplants to restore some vision.
Though 85 percent of British Columbians approve of organ transplants, only 15 percent have registered to be a donor. Each year, more Canadians could benefit from organ transplant while the number of available organs has dropped in Canada... though it has gone up in every other country.
A healthy adult can get along quite well with only one kidney. And livers grow back to their original size after donating a portion.
Because 12 percent of would-be living donors hesitate to offer a kidney or a portion of liver because of the costs involved (time lost from work, travel expenses to the hospital), a year ago $300,000 was set aside for a pilot project to reimburse live donors over the next three years.
This B.C. project is the first of its kind in North America.The money comes from the B.C. Transplant Society, the Kidney Foundation of Canada, and Provincial Health Services Authority and reimburses each donor to a maximum of $5,500. That covers travel costs to the Vancouver transplant hospital, post-transplant accommodation for a week, meals, and lost income if the donor cannot collect employment insurance; reimbursement equals what employment insurance would otherwise pay the donor.
In 2006, the project’s first year, 80 potential donors accessed the fund and had their expenses covered while they were medically assessed to determine if their organs were a suitable match.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
New bumper stickers
Below is a proposal I would like to see become law, and probably so would lots of other people. Maybe it could be carried one step further, and have a colored rectangle such as: white for 25 years of driving with no insurance claims and no demerit points, green for...
What do you think? Why not leave a comment?
Do you want to be a better driver, a safer driver? Check out my defensive driver course here.
Bumper stickers could do more than tout a driver's political beliefs or sports affiliation, under bills proposed in the state Senate on Wednesday.
If the bills became law, stickers would warn others that the car contained a new driver, a DUI convict or a leadfoot.
The package of bills - sponsored by Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, and others - would also require that the local department of family and children services office be notified if someone were convicted of driving under the influence with a child in the car.
Senate Bill 485, whose lead sponsor is Sen. Nancy Schaefer, R-Turnerville, would require that anyone convicted of three or more speeding offenses within five years put a sticker or magnet on their car declaring them an habitual speeder, and keep it on until their probation period ended.
What do you think? Why not leave a comment?
Do you want to be a better driver, a safer driver? Check out my defensive driver course here.
Bumper stickers could do more than tout a driver's political beliefs or sports affiliation, under bills proposed in the state Senate on Wednesday.
If the bills became law, stickers would warn others that the car contained a new driver, a DUI convict or a leadfoot.
The package of bills - sponsored by Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, and others - would also require that the local department of family and children services office be notified if someone were convicted of driving under the influence with a child in the car.
Senate Bill 485, whose lead sponsor is Sen. Nancy Schaefer, R-Turnerville, would require that anyone convicted of three or more speeding offenses within five years put a sticker or magnet on their car declaring them an habitual speeder, and keep it on until their probation period ended.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Computer challenged?
I'm putting in a shameless plug here for the Newbie Club. Pretty much anything you want to know about computers you will find on this site, but unlike many sites on the internet, this one is written in plain language for the everyday (or new) computer user.
I use their services constantly, and I just can't say enough good things about them, including very reasonable prices. They also have a newsletter packed with valuable information about computing, all for no charge. Just click here to go to their website.
I use their services constantly, and I just can't say enough good things about them, including very reasonable prices. They also have a newsletter packed with valuable information about computing, all for no charge. Just click here to go to their website.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Vehicle Location Data
Vehicle location data improves operational efficiency, customer experience and ensures driver safety
Published: 27 June, 2007 Press Release issued: 27 June 2007
- Arqiva today announced a seven-year £3.5 million contract with Travel West Midlands (TWM), the leading bus operator in the West Midlands County and part of the National Express Group of companies.
The deal, which is an extension to the organisations’ existing managed service relationship dating back to 2002, will see the upgrade of all of TWM’s legacy radio equipment including the radio infrastructure, 1800 in-vehicle radio units and 200 hand-portable radios used by inspectors.
The replacement solution will provide TWM with a positional update from each of its vehicles every 30 seconds. This location information will be distributed across the 11 operational garages within the TWM area.
TWM will continue to benefit from Arqiva’s fully managed service approach, meaning that all ongoing maintenance and remote management of the company’s radio infrastructure is handled by Arqiva. TWM will be using the latest Keynet trunked radio solution and KM3000 mobile radios. Arqiva will ensure that existing communications are maintained during the switch to the new technology platform, meaning minimal disruption to the bus service.
As the largest urban bus network outside of London, TWM carries more than 10,000 messages an hour over its current radio network every day. The new communications technology will enable direct contact between the drivers and their base, which is essential in case of traffic congestion, breakdowns or other emergencies which could involve driver and passenger safety.
The vehicle location information will also allow improvements to be made to the operational efficiencies of TWM.
The decision to continue to utilise a private radio network is justified in times of emergencies or other incidents when it is crucial for TWM to be able to communicate with and efficiently manage its vehicle fleet. The choice of private network allows Arqiva to manage all radio communications on behalf of TWM ensuring it is constantly available.
Paul Williams, IT Director at Travel West Midlands, commented: “Working with Arqiva enables us to focus on our core business, keeping our buses on the road and on schedule and generally making travel simpler and safer for our customers.
The fully managed service ensures that all of our communications requirements are being looked after by Arqiva’s skilled technical resource and design engineers. We carry one million passengers every day and minimal disruption to our network is crucial at all times. Arqiva’s reliability, skill and pro-activeness are all key components in helping us achieve this.”
Arqiva is also working closely with Travel West Midlands to allow the radio bearer to be used to transfer real-time position data to a central location. The information is then distributed to passenger information points such as bus stops, giving details of the arrival time of the next bus.
Paul Williams continues: “The implementation of the new technology, with the ability to display Vehicle Location information, allows us to maximise operational savings and benefits. It also gives us the ability to provide up-to-the-minute information for our customers who are the prime beneficiaries of our efforts to deliver high-quality local bus services.”
“The contract with Travel West Midlands is a significant one for Arqiva and is testament to the strength of our managed-services proposition for the transport sector,” commented Alastair Davidson, Managing Director of Arqiva’s Public Safety division.
“Running an efficient, on-time service is paramount for companies such as Travel West Midlands and by outsourcing their communications requirements they are able to deliver on customer needs, without having to worry about their back-office infrastructure.”
Published: 27 June, 2007 Press Release issued: 27 June 2007
- Arqiva today announced a seven-year £3.5 million contract with Travel West Midlands (TWM), the leading bus operator in the West Midlands County and part of the National Express Group of companies.
The deal, which is an extension to the organisations’ existing managed service relationship dating back to 2002, will see the upgrade of all of TWM’s legacy radio equipment including the radio infrastructure, 1800 in-vehicle radio units and 200 hand-portable radios used by inspectors.
The replacement solution will provide TWM with a positional update from each of its vehicles every 30 seconds. This location information will be distributed across the 11 operational garages within the TWM area.
TWM will continue to benefit from Arqiva’s fully managed service approach, meaning that all ongoing maintenance and remote management of the company’s radio infrastructure is handled by Arqiva. TWM will be using the latest Keynet trunked radio solution and KM3000 mobile radios. Arqiva will ensure that existing communications are maintained during the switch to the new technology platform, meaning minimal disruption to the bus service.
As the largest urban bus network outside of London, TWM carries more than 10,000 messages an hour over its current radio network every day. The new communications technology will enable direct contact between the drivers and their base, which is essential in case of traffic congestion, breakdowns or other emergencies which could involve driver and passenger safety.
The vehicle location information will also allow improvements to be made to the operational efficiencies of TWM.
The decision to continue to utilise a private radio network is justified in times of emergencies or other incidents when it is crucial for TWM to be able to communicate with and efficiently manage its vehicle fleet. The choice of private network allows Arqiva to manage all radio communications on behalf of TWM ensuring it is constantly available.
Paul Williams, IT Director at Travel West Midlands, commented: “Working with Arqiva enables us to focus on our core business, keeping our buses on the road and on schedule and generally making travel simpler and safer for our customers.
The fully managed service ensures that all of our communications requirements are being looked after by Arqiva’s skilled technical resource and design engineers. We carry one million passengers every day and minimal disruption to our network is crucial at all times. Arqiva’s reliability, skill and pro-activeness are all key components in helping us achieve this.”
Arqiva is also working closely with Travel West Midlands to allow the radio bearer to be used to transfer real-time position data to a central location. The information is then distributed to passenger information points such as bus stops, giving details of the arrival time of the next bus.
Paul Williams continues: “The implementation of the new technology, with the ability to display Vehicle Location information, allows us to maximise operational savings and benefits. It also gives us the ability to provide up-to-the-minute information for our customers who are the prime beneficiaries of our efforts to deliver high-quality local bus services.”
“The contract with Travel West Midlands is a significant one for Arqiva and is testament to the strength of our managed-services proposition for the transport sector,” commented Alastair Davidson, Managing Director of Arqiva’s Public Safety division.
“Running an efficient, on-time service is paramount for companies such as Travel West Midlands and by outsourcing their communications requirements they are able to deliver on customer needs, without having to worry about their back-office infrastructure.”
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Drunk driving alert
TOKYO, June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced it will incorporate a message alert against drunk driving into its CARWINGS (HDD) navigation systems*1, as a part of a wider campaign to help prevent drunk-driving. Nissan will gradually incorporate this new feature into its navigation systems on board new vehicles being built from late June for the Japan market.
The updated CARWINGS navi systems will display the drunk driving alert each time the ignition is turned on to remind the driver of the hazards of drinking and driving.
As an automaker, Nissan is committed to raising public awareness and educating drivers to the dangers of drinking and driving.
The company is actively engaged in a wide range of educational initiatives such as the Hello Safety Campaign*2 in Japan as well as serving as the national sponsor, for the third consecutive year, of Mothers Against Drunk Driving's (MADD) Strides for Change charity walks in the U.S.
As the national sponsor -- and as part of its commitment to child passenger safety -- Nissan employees conduct safety seat demonstrations and provide walk participants with a quick reference guide on the proper way to install car safety seats for all children up to age 10.
To date, the Strides for Change walks, which are now featured in dozens of cities nationwide, have raised millions of dollars to stop drunk driving.
The message alert is a pre-emptive passive safety measure that represents a first-step for Nissan to incorporate this feature across our products. Looking forward, Nissan intends to widen its use of technology to address the hazards of drunk driving.
Message Alerts
The alert "Do not drive after drinking!" appears automatically for about five seconds on the navigation panel between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and 05:00 a.m. when the vehicle's ignition is turned on. In the daytime between 05:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., the display message reads, "Let's continue safe driving today."
On a global level, Nissan is committed to building safe vehicles equipped with advanced safety technologies. In Japan, the company's safety vision is to cut in half the number of traffic fatalities or serious injuries involving Nissan vehicles by 2015 compared with the level in 1995.
Nissan is taking a holistic approach towards safety that extends beyond the technology built into its vehicles. To achieve a "safe driving environment", Nissan has embarked on the Intelligent Transport System Project (ITS) in the Kanagawa Prefecture -- aimed at reducing road accidents via the analysis of traffic data collected from on-the-road vehicles and traffic beacons.
In addition, Nissan is engaged in various road safety campaigns targeted at both adults and children, and continues to collaborate with partners from the government and private sectors.
*1: First installed on the Skyline released in November 2006 and is available either as a standard feature on certain models or as manufacturer option. *2: The safety campaign is held three times a year in conjunction with the national traffic-safety campaigns held over the spring, autumn and summer school holidays.
The 35th campaign (June 12 - July 1) featured a "Parent-child prevention of drink-driving" program. At the 36th campaign (July 7-8), Nissan will distribute educational kits on traffic safety including ways to help prevent drink-driving, to kindergarten aged children nationwide.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
CONTACT: Tony Pearson of Nissan North America, Corporate Communications,+1-615-725-6928; or Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Communications CSR Department,Global Communications CSR and IR Division, +81-(0)3-5565-2141
Web site: http://www.nissannews.com/http://press.nissan-global.com/EN
The updated CARWINGS navi systems will display the drunk driving alert each time the ignition is turned on to remind the driver of the hazards of drinking and driving.
As an automaker, Nissan is committed to raising public awareness and educating drivers to the dangers of drinking and driving.
The company is actively engaged in a wide range of educational initiatives such as the Hello Safety Campaign*2 in Japan as well as serving as the national sponsor, for the third consecutive year, of Mothers Against Drunk Driving's (MADD) Strides for Change charity walks in the U.S.
As the national sponsor -- and as part of its commitment to child passenger safety -- Nissan employees conduct safety seat demonstrations and provide walk participants with a quick reference guide on the proper way to install car safety seats for all children up to age 10.
To date, the Strides for Change walks, which are now featured in dozens of cities nationwide, have raised millions of dollars to stop drunk driving.
The message alert is a pre-emptive passive safety measure that represents a first-step for Nissan to incorporate this feature across our products. Looking forward, Nissan intends to widen its use of technology to address the hazards of drunk driving.
Message Alerts
The alert "Do not drive after drinking!" appears automatically for about five seconds on the navigation panel between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and 05:00 a.m. when the vehicle's ignition is turned on. In the daytime between 05:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., the display message reads, "Let's continue safe driving today."
On a global level, Nissan is committed to building safe vehicles equipped with advanced safety technologies. In Japan, the company's safety vision is to cut in half the number of traffic fatalities or serious injuries involving Nissan vehicles by 2015 compared with the level in 1995.
Nissan is taking a holistic approach towards safety that extends beyond the technology built into its vehicles. To achieve a "safe driving environment", Nissan has embarked on the Intelligent Transport System Project (ITS) in the Kanagawa Prefecture -- aimed at reducing road accidents via the analysis of traffic data collected from on-the-road vehicles and traffic beacons.
In addition, Nissan is engaged in various road safety campaigns targeted at both adults and children, and continues to collaborate with partners from the government and private sectors.
*1: First installed on the Skyline released in November 2006 and is available either as a standard feature on certain models or as manufacturer option. *2: The safety campaign is held three times a year in conjunction with the national traffic-safety campaigns held over the spring, autumn and summer school holidays.
The 35th campaign (June 12 - July 1) featured a "Parent-child prevention of drink-driving" program. At the 36th campaign (July 7-8), Nissan will distribute educational kits on traffic safety including ways to help prevent drink-driving, to kindergarten aged children nationwide.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
CONTACT: Tony Pearson of Nissan North America, Corporate Communications,+1-615-725-6928; or Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Communications CSR Department,Global Communications CSR and IR Division, +81-(0)3-5565-2141
Web site: http://www.nissannews.com/http://press.nissan-global.com/EN
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Higher skill training
Higher skill training improves young driver safetyFriday, 29 June 2007, 5:16 pmPress Release: Automobile Association Media Release: June 29 2007 Research project confirms higher-level driving skills training improves young driver safety
The ground-breaking young driver study conducted by the University of Waikato and AA Driver Education Foundation has proved that training in higher cognitive skills - like visual search, hazard detection and risk management - can improve young drivers' performance behind the wheel.
Results of the young driver study were announced today at the Ministry of Transport, where delegates heard that even Dr Robert Isler - the senior lecturer in psychology who conducted the experiment - was surprised at just how much the youngsters he studied had improved.
SEARCH NZ JOBS Scoop VIDEO & AUDIO MORTGAGE Calculators Scoop MEDIA TRACKING Scoop NEWS by TOPIC "The results show that training in higher-level driving skills works!” says Dr Isler. “No-one has done anything like this before, that’s why it’s such a huge breakthrough for driver training with enormous implications on the way to best train young drivers.”
Teenage drivers are 19 times more likely to crash in their first six months driving solo, than in the months in which they were supervised. As a result, drivers aged under 25 account for 30% of road deaths and 30% of road injuries (2004 figures).
Students who only received training in higher-level skills developed a safer attitude to driving than those who received traditional car control, practical driver training,” he says.
"They were less likely to endorse following too closely, showed safer attitudes to overtaking, and were better able to correctly identify hazards.”
"Better still, those trained in higher cognitive skills showed as great an improvement in directional control of the car as those who had received practical training – which came as a surprise - you'd imagine directional control would benefit most from practical driver training."
“What we found is that the beneficial effects on driving of such cognitive skills training are so great that we know we can improve the safety of young drivers without even putting them behind the wheel – without exposing them to risk.”
The study, which was funded by the Accident Compensation Corporation, Tranzqual and the Road Safety Trust, featured 72 young drivers - half were the control group, and half attended a Taupo training camp last year.
Of those, one third received cognitive skills training and practical training; one third reversed the two; and one group received cognitive skills training only.
The double-blind study brought independent evaluators on site to examine the participants before, during and after each batch of training. Over a six month period all 72 participants then provided a follow-up fortnightly diary of driver behaviour, traffic infringements and the like.
In addition, eight students had black box data recorders fitted to their cars, recording speeds in excess of the open road limit; length, duration and route of each journey; and instances of excessive acceleration or braking.
Isler points out that the follow-up data is not as complete as he'd like. Self-assessment is potentially flawed, and the number of students driving with data recorders was not enough to provide statistically robust data.
“Some effects were the same as those obtained by practical training, but you can also decrease confidence with this type of cognitive skills training, which doesn’t happen in practical skills courses.”
Isler intends to make the most of his findings for future work, as this pilot study will provide the basis for a more extensive, large-scale study which Isler hopes to conduct next year. “150 young drivers would be involved with 75 on site. We’d have data recorders in every car, for up to two months in advance, to better evaluate before-and-after improvements and study how long those improvements last.”
“It doesn't take long for a young driver to learn the practical skills of driving - which may lead to over-confidence. It normally takes much longer to learn related cognitive skills, like hazard perception, risk management and self control.”
“This is because the brain's frontal lobe doesn't develop fully until 25, and young drivers are therefore more at risk from making inappropriate decisions when driving.”
Dr Isler hopes the frontal lobe project will drive development of evidence-based training interventions, based on best international practice, to help young drivers learn to keep themselves safe.
The ground-breaking young driver study conducted by the University of Waikato and AA Driver Education Foundation has proved that training in higher cognitive skills - like visual search, hazard detection and risk management - can improve young drivers' performance behind the wheel.
Results of the young driver study were announced today at the Ministry of Transport, where delegates heard that even Dr Robert Isler - the senior lecturer in psychology who conducted the experiment - was surprised at just how much the youngsters he studied had improved.
SEARCH NZ JOBS Scoop VIDEO & AUDIO MORTGAGE Calculators Scoop MEDIA TRACKING Scoop NEWS by TOPIC "The results show that training in higher-level driving skills works!” says Dr Isler. “No-one has done anything like this before, that’s why it’s such a huge breakthrough for driver training with enormous implications on the way to best train young drivers.”
Teenage drivers are 19 times more likely to crash in their first six months driving solo, than in the months in which they were supervised. As a result, drivers aged under 25 account for 30% of road deaths and 30% of road injuries (2004 figures).
Students who only received training in higher-level skills developed a safer attitude to driving than those who received traditional car control, practical driver training,” he says.
"They were less likely to endorse following too closely, showed safer attitudes to overtaking, and were better able to correctly identify hazards.”
"Better still, those trained in higher cognitive skills showed as great an improvement in directional control of the car as those who had received practical training – which came as a surprise - you'd imagine directional control would benefit most from practical driver training."
“What we found is that the beneficial effects on driving of such cognitive skills training are so great that we know we can improve the safety of young drivers without even putting them behind the wheel – without exposing them to risk.”
The study, which was funded by the Accident Compensation Corporation, Tranzqual and the Road Safety Trust, featured 72 young drivers - half were the control group, and half attended a Taupo training camp last year.
Of those, one third received cognitive skills training and practical training; one third reversed the two; and one group received cognitive skills training only.
The double-blind study brought independent evaluators on site to examine the participants before, during and after each batch of training. Over a six month period all 72 participants then provided a follow-up fortnightly diary of driver behaviour, traffic infringements and the like.
In addition, eight students had black box data recorders fitted to their cars, recording speeds in excess of the open road limit; length, duration and route of each journey; and instances of excessive acceleration or braking.
Isler points out that the follow-up data is not as complete as he'd like. Self-assessment is potentially flawed, and the number of students driving with data recorders was not enough to provide statistically robust data.
“Some effects were the same as those obtained by practical training, but you can also decrease confidence with this type of cognitive skills training, which doesn’t happen in practical skills courses.”
Isler intends to make the most of his findings for future work, as this pilot study will provide the basis for a more extensive, large-scale study which Isler hopes to conduct next year. “150 young drivers would be involved with 75 on site. We’d have data recorders in every car, for up to two months in advance, to better evaluate before-and-after improvements and study how long those improvements last.”
“It doesn't take long for a young driver to learn the practical skills of driving - which may lead to over-confidence. It normally takes much longer to learn related cognitive skills, like hazard perception, risk management and self control.”
“This is because the brain's frontal lobe doesn't develop fully until 25, and young drivers are therefore more at risk from making inappropriate decisions when driving.”
Dr Isler hopes the frontal lobe project will drive development of evidence-based training interventions, based on best international practice, to help young drivers learn to keep themselves safe.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Speed and household income
Poll: Washington Driver Speed Connected to Household IncomeJuly 2, 2007
Washington drivers who earn a household income of more than $75,000 are more likely than their counterparts to speed and talk on a cell phone, according to data from a poll conducted by PEMCO Insurance Northwest.
"The poll data indicates that there is a correlation between income and driving behavior," said PEMCO spokesman Jon Osterberg. "Wealthy drivers are taking more safety risks when driving compared to their counterparts."
The poll results revealed that drivers with higher incomes say not only do they speed, but they also think talking on a cell phone while driving should be legal regardless of whether or not a hands-free device is used.
Earlier this year, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a law that makes it illegal, as a secondary offense, for Washington drivers to talk on a cell phone without a hands-free device. The law will go into effect in 2008. Some proponents say the law does not go far enough to protect drivers.
The good news, however, is that drivers reported an eight percent decrease in the frequency with which they speed since 2005. The poll asked drivers how often they find themselves driving faster than the posted speed limit. In 2005, 20 percent of drivers reported speeding "often" compared to only 12 percent in 2007.
"While some drivers go faster than others, the general consensus was that people say they're less likely to speed compared to our results from 2005," Osterberg said.
Poll data revealed drivers who are more likely than their counterparts to speed are male, under 55 years old, have at least one child at home, and earn at least $75,000 in household income.
Data from the poll also showed drivers least likely to speed are females over the age of 55 who have no children and earn a household income of under $75,000.
"Interestingly, single drivers without children are least likely to speed," Osterberg said. "You might expect that drivers with children would take it easy on the roads and obey the speed limit, helping to ensure they'll be around to raise their kids."
Similar to the 2005 data, this year's poll revealed that about half of Washington drivers admitted to speeding. Of those who break the law, about three-quarters said they do so to keep up with the flow of traffic.
"We've seen changes in Washington state in the past two years that might contribute to drivers slowing down," Osterberg said. "Higher gas prices, growing roadway congestion, or increased drivers education and enforcement programs could all play a role."
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the faster one drives, the more fuel is used. To reach optimal fuel efficiency, drivers must maintain a speed of 55 miles per hour. Once acceleration exceeds 55 mph, fuel efficiency diminishes.
A growing population in and around Washington's urban areas means more cars and more drivers on the road. Based on increased traffic congestion, and coupled with high gas prices, drivers may be opting to -- or forced to -- slow down.
"Opportunity breeds temptation, and if drivers don't have either, they simply can't speed," Osterberg noted.
Since 2005, Washington has launched new initiatives to get drivers to slow down. In 2005, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission started a pilot program called Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT), which aims to increase awareness and reduce collisions between commuter cars and large commercial vehicles.
According to 2006 data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, speeding violations were reduced significantly at target intervention sites, between 23 percent and 46 percent.
To view the survey results, visit www.pemco.com/.
Washington drivers who earn a household income of more than $75,000 are more likely than their counterparts to speed and talk on a cell phone, according to data from a poll conducted by PEMCO Insurance Northwest.
"The poll data indicates that there is a correlation between income and driving behavior," said PEMCO spokesman Jon Osterberg. "Wealthy drivers are taking more safety risks when driving compared to their counterparts."
The poll results revealed that drivers with higher incomes say not only do they speed, but they also think talking on a cell phone while driving should be legal regardless of whether or not a hands-free device is used.
Earlier this year, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a law that makes it illegal, as a secondary offense, for Washington drivers to talk on a cell phone without a hands-free device. The law will go into effect in 2008. Some proponents say the law does not go far enough to protect drivers.
The good news, however, is that drivers reported an eight percent decrease in the frequency with which they speed since 2005. The poll asked drivers how often they find themselves driving faster than the posted speed limit. In 2005, 20 percent of drivers reported speeding "often" compared to only 12 percent in 2007.
"While some drivers go faster than others, the general consensus was that people say they're less likely to speed compared to our results from 2005," Osterberg said.
Poll data revealed drivers who are more likely than their counterparts to speed are male, under 55 years old, have at least one child at home, and earn at least $75,000 in household income.
Data from the poll also showed drivers least likely to speed are females over the age of 55 who have no children and earn a household income of under $75,000.
"Interestingly, single drivers without children are least likely to speed," Osterberg said. "You might expect that drivers with children would take it easy on the roads and obey the speed limit, helping to ensure they'll be around to raise their kids."
Similar to the 2005 data, this year's poll revealed that about half of Washington drivers admitted to speeding. Of those who break the law, about three-quarters said they do so to keep up with the flow of traffic.
"We've seen changes in Washington state in the past two years that might contribute to drivers slowing down," Osterberg said. "Higher gas prices, growing roadway congestion, or increased drivers education and enforcement programs could all play a role."
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the faster one drives, the more fuel is used. To reach optimal fuel efficiency, drivers must maintain a speed of 55 miles per hour. Once acceleration exceeds 55 mph, fuel efficiency diminishes.
A growing population in and around Washington's urban areas means more cars and more drivers on the road. Based on increased traffic congestion, and coupled with high gas prices, drivers may be opting to -- or forced to -- slow down.
"Opportunity breeds temptation, and if drivers don't have either, they simply can't speed," Osterberg noted.
Since 2005, Washington has launched new initiatives to get drivers to slow down. In 2005, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission started a pilot program called Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT), which aims to increase awareness and reduce collisions between commuter cars and large commercial vehicles.
According to 2006 data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, speeding violations were reduced significantly at target intervention sites, between 23 percent and 46 percent.
To view the survey results, visit www.pemco.com/.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Driver training myths
Driver's training: Put aside the myths
By ROBERT BRYAN Friday, June 22, 2007 11:25 PM EDT
Talk to a few veteran driver's training instructors from area high schools and you find that the you've probably bought into a number of myths. Myths like the one so dear to stand-up comics, the one showing the trainer nervous, humorless, dyspeptic, crawling to safety after his spell in the car.
The Plain Dealer talked to Roger Cook and Daren Porter of the Wabash High School staff and Dick Leming and Mark Coppler of the Metro staff. Veterans all, they appeared serious about the job but not altogether serious about themselves and their experiences. In other words, apparently normal, whole of mind and body.
Coppler and Leming, particularly, are frequently asked by the parents and sometimes by the student drivers, "Don't you get nervous? Do you take pills? How do you unwind?"
Cook occasionally unwinds by going for a walk or a bike ride; Porter has no special formula, but knows he's a bit keyed up at the end of a session. One day, coincidentally keeping a doctor's appointment right after getting out of the car, he found his blood pressure startlingly elevated.
But all four downplayed the idea theirs is a hazardous job.
Said Coppler, "I don't know that the kids make me nervous, but we have had some extremely nervous drivers, and I feel sorry for them."
All four indicated one of the manifestions of the nervous student driver is a tendency to have "tunnel vision" - so absorbed in task that they see nothing but what's immediately ahead.
Coppler and the others try to correct that problem posing little quizzes, "What did that last sign say? What's the speed limit here?"
Leming recalled a species of tunnel vision, a concentration on task that blocks out the big picture: Traveling south a few years ago on Wabash Street, approaching the light at Market, the girl driving showed no sign of slowing down, even as two elderly ladies stepped from the curb and started crossing against the light.
Leming braked the car and asked the driver, "Don't you see those ladies? The student responded, "I have the right of way. The light's green."
The godsend for driver's training cars, of course, is the brake at the disposal of the instructor.
The instructor has to know when to ride "covering the brake - so he can stop a bad move instantly, as when students are parallel parking or driving in heavy city traffic.
He has to know when to brake and when not to. Explained Cook, "You have to give the kid the chance to decide, to make a right or wrong decision."
Ten years ago, the state began allowing kids enrolled in a driver's education class to drive also with their parents. On the whole, that's been a benefit for the driver's trainers. State regulations require just six hours of driving in a driver's education class. That's not very much, and the more it can be supplemented by driving with parents, the better.
Generally speaking, anyway.
Said Porter, "They can pick up bad habits from parents that we have to break in just a few days."
Just as one or two students every year need to be shown where the key goes, and which is the brake and which the accelerator, one or two "know" too much. These are the know-it-alls.
Has he every had a student in his car knowing more than he from Day One about driving?
Coppler laughed slyly, "Not in my car, and you can quote me."
Just this summer Leming had an example of a lesson from home to be unlearned. On a highway marked 55, the student driver was breezing along at 60. Asked about it by Leming, the student passed along his father's wisdom - that it was permissible to do 5 above the speed limit.
"And I said, noooo..." Leming recalled.
And how about the notion that other drivers sharing the road with a carload of students generally are driving their Sunday-best? Courtesy and safety would surely guarantee that.
Pose that to a driver's trainer and you will get something between a guffaw and a sad chuckle: There are exceptions, of course, but many drivers, they said, exhibit the same bad behavior they normally do, and some are provoked into terrible behavior.
Said Cook, "Especially on highways, they pass on the double yellow lines, they pass on hills and on curves. We're doing 55 and they pass us like we're sitting still."
Porter took it from there, "Others will honk, stare, swerve at us, especially teenagers. They think it's funny. They think its funny to see their friends mess up."
The good guys sometime win in these encounters: Two or three years ago out on U.S. 24, Coppler's car full of students was being bugged by a car-full of teenagers.
"They would get very close behind us, pass and slow up, making vulgar gestures, and hanging out the window. I had my cell phone and called state police and within three minutes they were pulled over.
There's nothing good about having to endure such behavior, but the trainers can use it for educational purposes - partly as vivid examples of what not to do.
There's another thing to be said for bad, bad driving, as Coppler remarked: It's good practice for the students in driving well despite distractions. Out on their own, there will be times the radio will be blaring, two friends will be talking, a friend in another car will be passing and signally something. Sooner or later, the good drivers will learn to stay on task, Coppler said.
To end on a somber note:
All veteran driver's trainers have had the experience: They'll pick up a newspaper and see a familiar name, a former student from last month, last year or last decade arrested, say, for speeding, or reckless driving, or worse - injured in an accident apparently their fault. Or still worse, killed in such an accident.
Sometime during the brief time instructor and students have together, the instructor is likely to tell them, "I check that part of the paper. I don't want to see you guys' names there."
Leming and Coppler said their experience suggests that, in general, it is the better drivers during training whose names appear in the bad part of the paper. Is it cockiness?
Overconfidence? The students not quite so skilled , they said, seem to fare better, perhaps because they have to work on it.
Why do they do it year after year? For Coppler, Cook, Leming and Porter - it has become a part of the summer routine. The compensation is OK, they enjoy it, the kids are highly motivated.
And all four firmly believe school-oriented driver's training is important.
Said Leming, "I hope we don't price kids out of the opportunity to have driver's education."
By ROBERT BRYAN Friday, June 22, 2007 11:25 PM EDT
Talk to a few veteran driver's training instructors from area high schools and you find that the you've probably bought into a number of myths. Myths like the one so dear to stand-up comics, the one showing the trainer nervous, humorless, dyspeptic, crawling to safety after his spell in the car.
The Plain Dealer talked to Roger Cook and Daren Porter of the Wabash High School staff and Dick Leming and Mark Coppler of the Metro staff. Veterans all, they appeared serious about the job but not altogether serious about themselves and their experiences. In other words, apparently normal, whole of mind and body.
Coppler and Leming, particularly, are frequently asked by the parents and sometimes by the student drivers, "Don't you get nervous? Do you take pills? How do you unwind?"
Cook occasionally unwinds by going for a walk or a bike ride; Porter has no special formula, but knows he's a bit keyed up at the end of a session. One day, coincidentally keeping a doctor's appointment right after getting out of the car, he found his blood pressure startlingly elevated.
But all four downplayed the idea theirs is a hazardous job.
Said Coppler, "I don't know that the kids make me nervous, but we have had some extremely nervous drivers, and I feel sorry for them."
All four indicated one of the manifestions of the nervous student driver is a tendency to have "tunnel vision" - so absorbed in task that they see nothing but what's immediately ahead.
Coppler and the others try to correct that problem posing little quizzes, "What did that last sign say? What's the speed limit here?"
Leming recalled a species of tunnel vision, a concentration on task that blocks out the big picture: Traveling south a few years ago on Wabash Street, approaching the light at Market, the girl driving showed no sign of slowing down, even as two elderly ladies stepped from the curb and started crossing against the light.
Leming braked the car and asked the driver, "Don't you see those ladies? The student responded, "I have the right of way. The light's green."
The godsend for driver's training cars, of course, is the brake at the disposal of the instructor.
The instructor has to know when to ride "covering the brake - so he can stop a bad move instantly, as when students are parallel parking or driving in heavy city traffic.
He has to know when to brake and when not to. Explained Cook, "You have to give the kid the chance to decide, to make a right or wrong decision."
Ten years ago, the state began allowing kids enrolled in a driver's education class to drive also with their parents. On the whole, that's been a benefit for the driver's trainers. State regulations require just six hours of driving in a driver's education class. That's not very much, and the more it can be supplemented by driving with parents, the better.
Generally speaking, anyway.
Said Porter, "They can pick up bad habits from parents that we have to break in just a few days."
Just as one or two students every year need to be shown where the key goes, and which is the brake and which the accelerator, one or two "know" too much. These are the know-it-alls.
Has he every had a student in his car knowing more than he from Day One about driving?
Coppler laughed slyly, "Not in my car, and you can quote me."
Just this summer Leming had an example of a lesson from home to be unlearned. On a highway marked 55, the student driver was breezing along at 60. Asked about it by Leming, the student passed along his father's wisdom - that it was permissible to do 5 above the speed limit.
"And I said, noooo..." Leming recalled.
And how about the notion that other drivers sharing the road with a carload of students generally are driving their Sunday-best? Courtesy and safety would surely guarantee that.
Pose that to a driver's trainer and you will get something between a guffaw and a sad chuckle: There are exceptions, of course, but many drivers, they said, exhibit the same bad behavior they normally do, and some are provoked into terrible behavior.
Said Cook, "Especially on highways, they pass on the double yellow lines, they pass on hills and on curves. We're doing 55 and they pass us like we're sitting still."
Porter took it from there, "Others will honk, stare, swerve at us, especially teenagers. They think it's funny. They think its funny to see their friends mess up."
The good guys sometime win in these encounters: Two or three years ago out on U.S. 24, Coppler's car full of students was being bugged by a car-full of teenagers.
"They would get very close behind us, pass and slow up, making vulgar gestures, and hanging out the window. I had my cell phone and called state police and within three minutes they were pulled over.
There's nothing good about having to endure such behavior, but the trainers can use it for educational purposes - partly as vivid examples of what not to do.
There's another thing to be said for bad, bad driving, as Coppler remarked: It's good practice for the students in driving well despite distractions. Out on their own, there will be times the radio will be blaring, two friends will be talking, a friend in another car will be passing and signally something. Sooner or later, the good drivers will learn to stay on task, Coppler said.
To end on a somber note:
All veteran driver's trainers have had the experience: They'll pick up a newspaper and see a familiar name, a former student from last month, last year or last decade arrested, say, for speeding, or reckless driving, or worse - injured in an accident apparently their fault. Or still worse, killed in such an accident.
Sometime during the brief time instructor and students have together, the instructor is likely to tell them, "I check that part of the paper. I don't want to see you guys' names there."
Leming and Coppler said their experience suggests that, in general, it is the better drivers during training whose names appear in the bad part of the paper. Is it cockiness?
Overconfidence? The students not quite so skilled , they said, seem to fare better, perhaps because they have to work on it.
Why do they do it year after year? For Coppler, Cook, Leming and Porter - it has become a part of the summer routine. The compensation is OK, they enjoy it, the kids are highly motivated.
And all four firmly believe school-oriented driver's training is important.
Said Leming, "I hope we don't price kids out of the opportunity to have driver's education."
Monday, June 25, 2007
No ''routine'' traffic stops
by Bob Gillespie
I'm sure glad there are people who want to be police officers; I wouldn't (and couldn't) do the job no matter how much they paid me. Pulling over a motorist must be pretty scary; apparently attending domestic disputes is up at the top of the list also.
I'm sure police officers deal most often with the lower strata of society, ie criminals, bikers, druggies etc. So if we get pulled over for speeding or some driving infraction, lets not get huffy or play games. Actually, I believe if we treat them courteously and with respect it will be to our own benefit.
Hats off to these people who often have a thankless, and dangerous, occupation.
You will have less chance of being pulled over by the police, and much less chance of being involved in a collision, if you take a defensive driver education program.
A defensive driver course is not just for teenagers or beginning drivers - it's for anybody, I don't care how long you've been driving. If you're an experienced driver and you don't find any valuable defensive driving tips in my ebook "Learn To Drive And Survive" I will gladly refund your money - but I doubt that will happen. Avoiding one collision will pay for the course 100 times over.
Following is an excellent article about being pulled over by the police. If I'm ever pulled over I'm going to do exactly what he suggests; it certainly makes sense.
by Tommy McIntyre
There are too many horror stories about police officers being shot to death during a routine traffic stop.
First of all, any veteran police officer will tell you there is no such thing as a "routine" traffic stop. All traffic stops, including little old ladies, have a deadly potential.
"You never know who you are stopping," Venice Police Lt. Tom McNulty said. "We have a definite plan on the side of officer safety."
McNulty would not elaborate on the plan.
In the event a routine traffic stop does become deadly, the officer most likely did not do something right, something he or she had been trained to do, trained to watch for.
Maybe the officer took his eyes off the driver's hands; maybe he walked into the "dead zone."
The dead zone is defined in some police academies as any point forward of the driver. If the officer stands slightly behind the driver, it is more difficult for the driver to use a weapon.
Chances are, the officer knows quite a bit about you before you even stop the car.
"We call the tag in, make sure communications has a description of car and the location of the stop," McNulty said.
Felony stops
Felony stops are a different ball game.
"We already suspect he (or she) has committed a felony crime," McNulty said. "So, we know who we are dealing with, that the person could be dangerous."
Different tactics apply to felony stops.
Several back-up units suddenly appear from out of nowhere. Sometimes, depending on a number of variables, officers with drawn guns crouch behind open patrol car doors as shields.
Another officer, usually a supervisor, will order the driver out of the car with precise directions.
"Driver, with your right hand, remove the keys and throw them on the ground ... ," he might say. "With your left hand, open the door slowly and step out with your hands raised over your head."
What should you do?
If you are stopped for any reason, there are certain things you need to do to make things easier for yourself.
First, safely pull off to the side of the road. Do not get out of the car. Some police agencies consider a driver exiting the car and approaching the police vehicle as an aggressive move. Place both hands on top of the steering wheel.
Don't automatically reach for your wallet. Wait for the officer to ask you for your license and registration. When he does, make sure you move slowly.
If you are carrying a gun legally, make sure you tell the officer you have a concealed weapons permit and are carrying a gun. He may want to see the concealed weapons permit.
tmcintyre@
venicegondolier.com
By Tommy McIntyre
Staff Writer
I'm sure glad there are people who want to be police officers; I wouldn't (and couldn't) do the job no matter how much they paid me. Pulling over a motorist must be pretty scary; apparently attending domestic disputes is up at the top of the list also.
I'm sure police officers deal most often with the lower strata of society, ie criminals, bikers, druggies etc. So if we get pulled over for speeding or some driving infraction, lets not get huffy or play games. Actually, I believe if we treat them courteously and with respect it will be to our own benefit.
Hats off to these people who often have a thankless, and dangerous, occupation.
You will have less chance of being pulled over by the police, and much less chance of being involved in a collision, if you take a defensive driver education program.
A defensive driver course is not just for teenagers or beginning drivers - it's for anybody, I don't care how long you've been driving. If you're an experienced driver and you don't find any valuable defensive driving tips in my ebook "Learn To Drive And Survive" I will gladly refund your money - but I doubt that will happen. Avoiding one collision will pay for the course 100 times over.
Following is an excellent article about being pulled over by the police. If I'm ever pulled over I'm going to do exactly what he suggests; it certainly makes sense.
by Tommy McIntyre
There are too many horror stories about police officers being shot to death during a routine traffic stop.
First of all, any veteran police officer will tell you there is no such thing as a "routine" traffic stop. All traffic stops, including little old ladies, have a deadly potential.
"You never know who you are stopping," Venice Police Lt. Tom McNulty said. "We have a definite plan on the side of officer safety."
McNulty would not elaborate on the plan.
In the event a routine traffic stop does become deadly, the officer most likely did not do something right, something he or she had been trained to do, trained to watch for.
Maybe the officer took his eyes off the driver's hands; maybe he walked into the "dead zone."
The dead zone is defined in some police academies as any point forward of the driver. If the officer stands slightly behind the driver, it is more difficult for the driver to use a weapon.
Chances are, the officer knows quite a bit about you before you even stop the car.
"We call the tag in, make sure communications has a description of car and the location of the stop," McNulty said.
Felony stops
Felony stops are a different ball game.
"We already suspect he (or she) has committed a felony crime," McNulty said. "So, we know who we are dealing with, that the person could be dangerous."
Different tactics apply to felony stops.
Several back-up units suddenly appear from out of nowhere. Sometimes, depending on a number of variables, officers with drawn guns crouch behind open patrol car doors as shields.
Another officer, usually a supervisor, will order the driver out of the car with precise directions.
"Driver, with your right hand, remove the keys and throw them on the ground ... ," he might say. "With your left hand, open the door slowly and step out with your hands raised over your head."
What should you do?
If you are stopped for any reason, there are certain things you need to do to make things easier for yourself.
First, safely pull off to the side of the road. Do not get out of the car. Some police agencies consider a driver exiting the car and approaching the police vehicle as an aggressive move. Place both hands on top of the steering wheel.
Don't automatically reach for your wallet. Wait for the officer to ask you for your license and registration. When he does, make sure you move slowly.
If you are carrying a gun legally, make sure you tell the officer you have a concealed weapons permit and are carrying a gun. He may want to see the concealed weapons permit.
tmcintyre@
venicegondolier.com
By Tommy McIntyre
Staff Writer
Friday, June 22, 2007
Fraudulent licenses
Number of fraudulent driver's licenses on the rise
09:45 AM CDT on Thursday, June 21, 2007
By Rucks Russell / 11 News
Identity thieves are out to get your license. A privilege reserved for those who follow the law is under assault, some say, by criminals stealing your information to obtain a license.
The rising tide of traffic through Houston: a moving mass of metal and sometimes law-breakers gaining access to the roads by stealing someone else’s identity.
One victim, a man called Herman Fifer, has evidence that someone obtained a driver’s license in his name. Authorities confirm the suspect racked up thousands of dollars in traffic tickets, and the fines were mistakenly billed to Fifer.
“I’ve paid this since 2002 and am out quite a bit of money,” Fifer said.
Other victims like Robin Sporba actually know the alleged perpetrators.
“She was a friend,” Sporba said.
The realtor said her former employee used a bogus license to obtain a loan for a speedboat in her name.
“They were ready to deliver the speed boat until I found out, and the loan company had never spoken to me,” Sporba said.
The list of those taken advantage of seems unending in a state with an estimated 16 million licensed drivers.
It’s an enormous number, among the highest in the nation. But Department of Public Safety officials concede a percentage of these drivers obtained their licenses through fraud, and for now they have no clear way of determining precisely how many.
“It’s an ongoing battle,” DPS Trooper John Sampa said.
Sampa has been engaged in it for more than 10 years. But now a biometric identification system, or visual recall, is set to go online next year.
“I think it’s gonna have a big impact,” Sampa said.
Because currently, duplicate licenses can be obtained without the use of a picture ID, and DPS countertop computers cannot access a driver’s license photo. This makes it easier to fool an agent by presenting someone else’s Social Security card and information. But the new system makes every licensed driver’s photograph just the click of a mouse away.
“That way we will know who we’re giving an ID to,” Sampa said.
The multimillion dollar software could be up as early as January.
Until then Texas roads will remain the dominion of cars potentially concealing a crime.
Authorities admit the new software won’t eliminate fraud. Their best advice is that you guard your personal information always, and only carry with you what you absolutely need.
09:45 AM CDT on Thursday, June 21, 2007
By Rucks Russell / 11 News
Identity thieves are out to get your license. A privilege reserved for those who follow the law is under assault, some say, by criminals stealing your information to obtain a license.
The rising tide of traffic through Houston: a moving mass of metal and sometimes law-breakers gaining access to the roads by stealing someone else’s identity.
One victim, a man called Herman Fifer, has evidence that someone obtained a driver’s license in his name. Authorities confirm the suspect racked up thousands of dollars in traffic tickets, and the fines were mistakenly billed to Fifer.
“I’ve paid this since 2002 and am out quite a bit of money,” Fifer said.
Other victims like Robin Sporba actually know the alleged perpetrators.
“She was a friend,” Sporba said.
The realtor said her former employee used a bogus license to obtain a loan for a speedboat in her name.
“They were ready to deliver the speed boat until I found out, and the loan company had never spoken to me,” Sporba said.
The list of those taken advantage of seems unending in a state with an estimated 16 million licensed drivers.
It’s an enormous number, among the highest in the nation. But Department of Public Safety officials concede a percentage of these drivers obtained their licenses through fraud, and for now they have no clear way of determining precisely how many.
“It’s an ongoing battle,” DPS Trooper John Sampa said.
Sampa has been engaged in it for more than 10 years. But now a biometric identification system, or visual recall, is set to go online next year.
“I think it’s gonna have a big impact,” Sampa said.
Because currently, duplicate licenses can be obtained without the use of a picture ID, and DPS countertop computers cannot access a driver’s license photo. This makes it easier to fool an agent by presenting someone else’s Social Security card and information. But the new system makes every licensed driver’s photograph just the click of a mouse away.
“That way we will know who we’re giving an ID to,” Sampa said.
The multimillion dollar software could be up as early as January.
Until then Texas roads will remain the dominion of cars potentially concealing a crime.
Authorities admit the new software won’t eliminate fraud. Their best advice is that you guard your personal information always, and only carry with you what you absolutely need.
Monday, June 18, 2007
More on cell phones
By REBECCA LERNER STAFF WRITERrlerner@thnt.com
State lawmakers are considering a new law to crack down on motorists who drive while talking on hand-held phones, but statistics backing the measure are murky.
The state Department of Transportation, the State Police and the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety told the Home News Tribune they don't have any data linking cell-phone use to traffic accidents.
"Everybody's clamoring to ban cell phones, but we do need to make sure that the data correlates with what everybody's saying out there," said Pam Fisher, director of the division of Highway Traffic Safety. "It's a problem . . . And in this business, we need to make sure we're truly looking at the science behind this."
The bill would make it a primary offense to talk on a hand-held phone while driving, allowing police to pull over offending motorists for an infraction and write a $250 ticket, or $100 for text messaging. Using a hands-free device, however, would be legal.
By comparison, the current fine for reckless driving, a more severe form of careless driving, starts at $50 and caps out at $200 for a first offense.
Under the existing 2004 cell-phone ban, talking on the phone is a secondary offense, so police can't stop a driver without a more serious infraction.
In Edison, where police have been keeping track of cell-phone use as a cause of crashes for four years, authorities haven't found a significant correlation between cell-phone use and collisions, said police Lt. Joseph Shannon.
South Brunswick, too, has kept records and hasn't found a direct correlation, said police Detective Jim Ryan.
That could have something to do with the method of data collection, police said: Motorists aren't always honest with investigating officers, especially when they don't want to admit fault after a collision.
Yet larger studies also offer contradictory conclusions.
A study published in July 2005 in the British Medical Journal found that drivers who use mobile phones are four times more likely to be involved in a crash that requires hospital care. And the study, conducted in Australia, found that using hands-free devices didn't change the risk of crash.
A California study found cell phones were cited in 11 percent of distraction-related crashes, more than any other factor.
But an analysis of data from 16 states by the nonpartisan National Conference on State Legislatures found that cell-phone use correlated with less than 1 percent of car accidents, and a May 2001 study by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center put cell phones eighth among distractions that cause crashes.
"It should give pause to those who want to craft just very narrowly focused bills," said Joe Farren, spokesman for CTIA-The Wireless Association, a Washington, D.C.,-based advocacy organization for wireless telecommunications companies. "Driver distraction is a broad and varied issue. What about the folks who are caring for a child or pet? What about the folks who are reaching for a CD, combing their hair or putting on their makeup?"
Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, said he has "serious reservations" about the bill and would rather support an all-encompassing driver-distraction measure that "would free up the Legislature from having to routinely create new legislation to address the distraction du jour."
"I have a concern about legislation that targets cell phones or Blackberry texting. They are distractions, no doubt, but they are two of many distractions that confront drivers in their cars," Wisniewski said. "Why should the act of talking on a cell phone be subject to a much more serious penalty than reckless driving?"
A 2006 study published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute estimated that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention.
Similarly, a January 2007 survey by Nationwide Mutual Insurance found that 31 percent of respondents admitted they daydream while driving; 19 percent said they fixed their hair, text or instant message; 14 percent comfort or discipline children; and 8 percent drive with a pet in their lap. Some surveyed also confessed to reading books, watching movies, putting in contact lenses and even shaving while driving.
"We had an incident where a woman was eating a bagel (while driving), then she choked on the bagel and died," Ryan said. "Phone use, the radio station, text messaging, kids in the car — all are potentially distracting."
Advocates for the cell-phone bill, supported by state Senate President Richard Codey, said they stand behind it.
"Oftentimes, common sense is a good guide for legislation," said Assemblyman Bill Baroni, R-Mercer. "We want to do everything we can to make driving more safe. If we can encourage people to use hands-free devices, that's a smart thing for the state."
Both Baroni and Wisniewski spoke to the Home News Tribune while driving, using hands-free devices.
The bill is expected to come up for a vote in the Assembly later this month. If passed, it would then head over to the state Senate, which approved a slightly different version in February 2006, and finally to Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
State lawmakers are considering a new law to crack down on motorists who drive while talking on hand-held phones, but statistics backing the measure are murky.
The state Department of Transportation, the State Police and the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety told the Home News Tribune they don't have any data linking cell-phone use to traffic accidents.
"Everybody's clamoring to ban cell phones, but we do need to make sure that the data correlates with what everybody's saying out there," said Pam Fisher, director of the division of Highway Traffic Safety. "It's a problem . . . And in this business, we need to make sure we're truly looking at the science behind this."
The bill would make it a primary offense to talk on a hand-held phone while driving, allowing police to pull over offending motorists for an infraction and write a $250 ticket, or $100 for text messaging. Using a hands-free device, however, would be legal.
By comparison, the current fine for reckless driving, a more severe form of careless driving, starts at $50 and caps out at $200 for a first offense.
Under the existing 2004 cell-phone ban, talking on the phone is a secondary offense, so police can't stop a driver without a more serious infraction.
In Edison, where police have been keeping track of cell-phone use as a cause of crashes for four years, authorities haven't found a significant correlation between cell-phone use and collisions, said police Lt. Joseph Shannon.
South Brunswick, too, has kept records and hasn't found a direct correlation, said police Detective Jim Ryan.
That could have something to do with the method of data collection, police said: Motorists aren't always honest with investigating officers, especially when they don't want to admit fault after a collision.
Yet larger studies also offer contradictory conclusions.
A study published in July 2005 in the British Medical Journal found that drivers who use mobile phones are four times more likely to be involved in a crash that requires hospital care. And the study, conducted in Australia, found that using hands-free devices didn't change the risk of crash.
A California study found cell phones were cited in 11 percent of distraction-related crashes, more than any other factor.
But an analysis of data from 16 states by the nonpartisan National Conference on State Legislatures found that cell-phone use correlated with less than 1 percent of car accidents, and a May 2001 study by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center put cell phones eighth among distractions that cause crashes.
"It should give pause to those who want to craft just very narrowly focused bills," said Joe Farren, spokesman for CTIA-The Wireless Association, a Washington, D.C.,-based advocacy organization for wireless telecommunications companies. "Driver distraction is a broad and varied issue. What about the folks who are caring for a child or pet? What about the folks who are reaching for a CD, combing their hair or putting on their makeup?"
Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, said he has "serious reservations" about the bill and would rather support an all-encompassing driver-distraction measure that "would free up the Legislature from having to routinely create new legislation to address the distraction du jour."
"I have a concern about legislation that targets cell phones or Blackberry texting. They are distractions, no doubt, but they are two of many distractions that confront drivers in their cars," Wisniewski said. "Why should the act of talking on a cell phone be subject to a much more serious penalty than reckless driving?"
A 2006 study published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute estimated that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention.
Similarly, a January 2007 survey by Nationwide Mutual Insurance found that 31 percent of respondents admitted they daydream while driving; 19 percent said they fixed their hair, text or instant message; 14 percent comfort or discipline children; and 8 percent drive with a pet in their lap. Some surveyed also confessed to reading books, watching movies, putting in contact lenses and even shaving while driving.
"We had an incident where a woman was eating a bagel (while driving), then she choked on the bagel and died," Ryan said. "Phone use, the radio station, text messaging, kids in the car — all are potentially distracting."
Advocates for the cell-phone bill, supported by state Senate President Richard Codey, said they stand behind it.
"Oftentimes, common sense is a good guide for legislation," said Assemblyman Bill Baroni, R-Mercer. "We want to do everything we can to make driving more safe. If we can encourage people to use hands-free devices, that's a smart thing for the state."
Both Baroni and Wisniewski spoke to the Home News Tribune while driving, using hands-free devices.
The bill is expected to come up for a vote in the Assembly later this month. If passed, it would then head over to the state Senate, which approved a slightly different version in February 2006, and finally to Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Driver personality tests
Learners could face personality tests1.22, Sat Jun 9 2007
Learner drivers could soon be undergoing personality tests to see if they are more likely to take risks on the road.
Road safety charities are calling for the psychometric tests which they claim would allow instructors to spot those who were more likely to jump red lights or break speed limits.
Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said: "What one would want to do is - in addition to the multiple choice questions that there are in the theory test at the moment - we would give people a series of value judgements.
"It would be a way of picking up their underlying values rather than just the facts that they have at their disposal, which are a series of multiple choice questions."
The learners could then receive training from their examiners to modify their behaviour.
The idea has been welcomed by the Brake road safety charity.
A spokeswoman said: "One of the weaknesses of the driving tests is that it only tests your skills. Possibly somebody is a fantastic driver but they have the attitude to test those skills to the limit on the road.
"If there could be some way of measuring how much of a risk taker somebody is likely to be, including that in the test would do a lot for safety."
But the RAC Foundation said young learners should be taught about road safety at a much earlier age rather then at 17 or 18.
Executive director Edmund King took an opposing view, he said: "We accept we have to do more about young drivers who are most at risk on the roads.
"We are not opposed to new ideas but the concept of psychometric testing is not the solution and a bit of a gimmick, we would like to see prior training in education."
The proposal was criticised by Paul Smith, founder of organisation Safe Speed, who said road safety was a "complex matter of individual risk management"
.
He added: "We could write a million rules, obey them perfectly, and still fail to observe someone stepping into the road ahead."
The Driving Standards Agency is carrying out a review of driver testing and once this is complete the proposals will be put out to consultation.
Learner drivers could soon be undergoing personality tests to see if they are more likely to take risks on the road.
Road safety charities are calling for the psychometric tests which they claim would allow instructors to spot those who were more likely to jump red lights or break speed limits.
Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said: "What one would want to do is - in addition to the multiple choice questions that there are in the theory test at the moment - we would give people a series of value judgements.
"It would be a way of picking up their underlying values rather than just the facts that they have at their disposal, which are a series of multiple choice questions."
The learners could then receive training from their examiners to modify their behaviour.
The idea has been welcomed by the Brake road safety charity.
A spokeswoman said: "One of the weaknesses of the driving tests is that it only tests your skills. Possibly somebody is a fantastic driver but they have the attitude to test those skills to the limit on the road.
"If there could be some way of measuring how much of a risk taker somebody is likely to be, including that in the test would do a lot for safety."
But the RAC Foundation said young learners should be taught about road safety at a much earlier age rather then at 17 or 18.
Executive director Edmund King took an opposing view, he said: "We accept we have to do more about young drivers who are most at risk on the roads.
"We are not opposed to new ideas but the concept of psychometric testing is not the solution and a bit of a gimmick, we would like to see prior training in education."
The proposal was criticised by Paul Smith, founder of organisation Safe Speed, who said road safety was a "complex matter of individual risk management"
.
He added: "We could write a million rules, obey them perfectly, and still fail to observe someone stepping into the road ahead."
The Driving Standards Agency is carrying out a review of driver testing and once this is complete the proposals will be put out to consultation.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Bad-driver tip line
by Bob Gillespie
It seems that drivers ratting on each other has some downsides. Basically I like the idea, in an attempt to get the crazies off the road. But as the article below says, how do we know it's not the offender who is phoning in?
Even though few arrests seem to occur with this program, I think it serves a very useful purpose, which is to serve notice to those dangerous, aggresive drivers that they are being watched.
You can help to protect yourself from the dangerous drivers with a good defensive driver education program. You may be dismayed to hear this, and it might sound shocking, but a defensive driver course will benefit almost everyone, no matter how long they've been driving.
I can attest to that personally. I had been driving for about 20 years when I took a defensive driver course and a driving instructors course. I really didn't think they could teach me anything new, but I was totally amazed at the things I learned, and I realized I wasn't such a great driver after all. For the low investment of a driver training ebook you will become a better, safer driver.
Bad-driver tip lines gain in popularityWASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) --
Dangerous drivers on U.S. roads are being reported to the police by the thousands thanks to tip programs in 26 states.
The Governors Highway Safety Association said the programs include phone numbers, Web sites and addresses that can all be used to report the license numbers of drunken and reckless drivers.
USA Today said Monday that in Missouri 10,000 tips were phoned in per month. About one quarter of those report suspected drunken drivers.
Some experts, however, see a weakness in the fact the reports are often anonymous and don't offer much evidence.
"You want to get people who are behaving badly off the road," Martin Pietrucha of the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, told USA Today. "But how do you know the person calling in or ratting somebody out is not the person who is actually responsible?"
Other traffic experts noted that the tips often don't result in an arrest but rather a letter in the mail reminding the alleged scofflaw of the dangers of poor driving habits, the newspaper said.
It seems that drivers ratting on each other has some downsides. Basically I like the idea, in an attempt to get the crazies off the road. But as the article below says, how do we know it's not the offender who is phoning in?
Even though few arrests seem to occur with this program, I think it serves a very useful purpose, which is to serve notice to those dangerous, aggresive drivers that they are being watched.
You can help to protect yourself from the dangerous drivers with a good defensive driver education program. You may be dismayed to hear this, and it might sound shocking, but a defensive driver course will benefit almost everyone, no matter how long they've been driving.
I can attest to that personally. I had been driving for about 20 years when I took a defensive driver course and a driving instructors course. I really didn't think they could teach me anything new, but I was totally amazed at the things I learned, and I realized I wasn't such a great driver after all. For the low investment of a driver training ebook you will become a better, safer driver.
Bad-driver tip lines gain in popularityWASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) --
Dangerous drivers on U.S. roads are being reported to the police by the thousands thanks to tip programs in 26 states.
The Governors Highway Safety Association said the programs include phone numbers, Web sites and addresses that can all be used to report the license numbers of drunken and reckless drivers.
USA Today said Monday that in Missouri 10,000 tips were phoned in per month. About one quarter of those report suspected drunken drivers.
Some experts, however, see a weakness in the fact the reports are often anonymous and don't offer much evidence.
"You want to get people who are behaving badly off the road," Martin Pietrucha of the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, told USA Today. "But how do you know the person calling in or ratting somebody out is not the person who is actually responsible?"
Other traffic experts noted that the tips often don't result in an arrest but rather a letter in the mail reminding the alleged scofflaw of the dangers of poor driving habits, the newspaper said.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Electronics and road safety
Tiefensee: Electronic Systems improve road safety and help prevent congestion. Germany supports rescue system "eCall"
Berlin, Germany - On behalf of the Federal Government, Wolfgang Tiefensee, the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the rescue system eCall.
With this, Germany is supporting a Europe-wide introduction of this electronic emergency call system, which is designed to speed up rescue operations.
Sometimes it can take a long time for the rescue services to reach the site of an accident, especially at night or in remote areas. With eCall, a signal is transmitted automatically when an air bag is released, giving the exact position of the accident to the emergency response centre.
Satellites support the rescue services in locating the crashed vehicle.
Tiefensee: "In Germany we already have an exemplary rescue system. eCall will further improve the system with the help of sophisticated technology. If rescue services can reach the scene of an accident more quickly, this will save lives. I expect other member states to take a prompt decision to cooperate in eCall. If possible, by 2010, all passengers cars entering the market will be fitted with eCall as standard."
Within the framework of the EU Presidency, Federal Minister Tiefensee opened the conference on the EU's "eSafety Initiative".
Tiefensee: "Traffic will increase significantly in the years to come. We must adapt to this situation now. Safety on Europe's roads is a major concern of the European Union. I support the objective of halving the number of road fatalities by 2010 with the help of the eSafety initiative. In order to achieve this objective we must deploy the accomplishments of modern technology for road safety and traffic management."
Improving the broadcast of traffic information and introducing braking assistance systems, lane keeping assistance systems and lane guiding systems are some of the topics that will be discussed during the conference.
Under the auspices of the German Presidency the participants will elaborate conclusions for political decisions to be taken at EU level.
Tiefensee: "European enterprises are already leading in developing intelligent driver assistance systems. German companies alone invest 16 billion euros a year in improving our vehicles, mainly in safety measures. By now, electronic devices accounts for half of this amount. We must now pave the way for acceptance and a broad-based commercialization."
Berlin, Germany - On behalf of the Federal Government, Wolfgang Tiefensee, the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the rescue system eCall.
With this, Germany is supporting a Europe-wide introduction of this electronic emergency call system, which is designed to speed up rescue operations.
Sometimes it can take a long time for the rescue services to reach the site of an accident, especially at night or in remote areas. With eCall, a signal is transmitted automatically when an air bag is released, giving the exact position of the accident to the emergency response centre.
Satellites support the rescue services in locating the crashed vehicle.
Tiefensee: "In Germany we already have an exemplary rescue system. eCall will further improve the system with the help of sophisticated technology. If rescue services can reach the scene of an accident more quickly, this will save lives. I expect other member states to take a prompt decision to cooperate in eCall. If possible, by 2010, all passengers cars entering the market will be fitted with eCall as standard."
Within the framework of the EU Presidency, Federal Minister Tiefensee opened the conference on the EU's "eSafety Initiative".
Tiefensee: "Traffic will increase significantly in the years to come. We must adapt to this situation now. Safety on Europe's roads is a major concern of the European Union. I support the objective of halving the number of road fatalities by 2010 with the help of the eSafety initiative. In order to achieve this objective we must deploy the accomplishments of modern technology for road safety and traffic management."
Improving the broadcast of traffic information and introducing braking assistance systems, lane keeping assistance systems and lane guiding systems are some of the topics that will be discussed during the conference.
Under the auspices of the German Presidency the participants will elaborate conclusions for political decisions to be taken at EU level.
Tiefensee: "European enterprises are already leading in developing intelligent driver assistance systems. German companies alone invest 16 billion euros a year in improving our vehicles, mainly in safety measures. By now, electronic devices accounts for half of this amount. We must now pave the way for acceptance and a broad-based commercialization."
Monday, June 4, 2007
Running red lights
by Bob Gillespie
Running red lights is not that uncommon; I can't think of anything more dangerous than that, except playing Russian roulette. On second thoughts, I suppose perhaps they are equally dangerous.
Running yellow lights is not a very good idea either, ie going through a yellow when you should have stopped. What if the driver on the cross street jumped the green light? Considering that major intersections with traffic lights are about the most dangerous places on our roadways, it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to run the lights.
I know that sometimes a driver doesn't stop for a red light because he just doesn't see it, but you can be quite sure that in the majority of cases a driver doesn't feel like stopping.
The article below concerns 'red light cameras', and some people are against them because they feel that they violate our constitutional rights. Myself, I don't see it that way, and quite frankly, I love to see these people caught in the act. Some of the worst collisions are caused by people running red lights, and innocent people are killed or injured.
A very good driving habit is to scan left, center, and right before going through every intersection. This, and much, much more is discussed in depth in my defensive driver education program.
‘Photo red’ — Safety key feature of new Virginia law
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
A new law in Virginia allowing the use of cameras to catch motorists who run red lights treads the gray area between making our roadways safer and protecting the constitutional rights of travelers.
The bill, which gives localities the option of installing photo-monitoring systems to enforce traffic light signals, is being hailed by many on the state and local level.
“We see it all of the time,” Bluefield, Va., Police Chief Harry Cundiff, told the Daily Telegraph. “Route 460 is probably the worst — especially there at Leatherwood Lane. If you went out to Leatherwood at 460, and if you sit there for an hour, you will probably see about five people go through this red light at 55 to 60 mph. A good driver will slow down and expect the light to turn.
When you see a yellow light that doesn’t mean to speed up.”
Cundiff said officials hope the new photo-monitoring system will help prevent future accidents.
We, too, are hopeful the possibility of motorists being caught on camera will serve as a wake-up call to those who thoughtlessly — and dangerously — run red lights.
No matter the time of day, traffic conditions or any other reason a driver may give, there is no just cause for running a red light. Too many accidents and deaths occur each year due to such careless actions.
“Intersections are dangerous places for accidents, and you can’t have a police officer at every intersection,” Cundiff said. “If people will obey the law, they don’t have to worry about getting a ticket. It (the new law) gives the police officers more of a safety net to police those intersections without having someone there. I know it is drawing some controversy, but they have pretty well proven the photo is a good identity of the vehicle by the license plate.”
We agree with Cundiff. If motorists drive legally, they should have no problems with the new photo-monitoring system.
But, we also realize the use of cameras to monitor citizens’ actions brings to mind images of a Big Brother society.
We believe a government’s intervention in the lives of its people should only occur when there is reasonable and justifiable rationale to support such action. If cameras at red lights will reduce accidents and deaths, or deter reckless driving by motorists, then such monitoring has grounds.
However, we also encourage the Commonwealth to monitor the new law to ensure the constitutional rights of Virginians continue to be protected.
Running red lights is not that uncommon; I can't think of anything more dangerous than that, except playing Russian roulette. On second thoughts, I suppose perhaps they are equally dangerous.
Running yellow lights is not a very good idea either, ie going through a yellow when you should have stopped. What if the driver on the cross street jumped the green light? Considering that major intersections with traffic lights are about the most dangerous places on our roadways, it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to run the lights.
I know that sometimes a driver doesn't stop for a red light because he just doesn't see it, but you can be quite sure that in the majority of cases a driver doesn't feel like stopping.
The article below concerns 'red light cameras', and some people are against them because they feel that they violate our constitutional rights. Myself, I don't see it that way, and quite frankly, I love to see these people caught in the act. Some of the worst collisions are caused by people running red lights, and innocent people are killed or injured.
A very good driving habit is to scan left, center, and right before going through every intersection. This, and much, much more is discussed in depth in my defensive driver education program.
‘Photo red’ — Safety key feature of new Virginia law
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
A new law in Virginia allowing the use of cameras to catch motorists who run red lights treads the gray area between making our roadways safer and protecting the constitutional rights of travelers.
The bill, which gives localities the option of installing photo-monitoring systems to enforce traffic light signals, is being hailed by many on the state and local level.
“We see it all of the time,” Bluefield, Va., Police Chief Harry Cundiff, told the Daily Telegraph. “Route 460 is probably the worst — especially there at Leatherwood Lane. If you went out to Leatherwood at 460, and if you sit there for an hour, you will probably see about five people go through this red light at 55 to 60 mph. A good driver will slow down and expect the light to turn.
When you see a yellow light that doesn’t mean to speed up.”
Cundiff said officials hope the new photo-monitoring system will help prevent future accidents.
We, too, are hopeful the possibility of motorists being caught on camera will serve as a wake-up call to those who thoughtlessly — and dangerously — run red lights.
No matter the time of day, traffic conditions or any other reason a driver may give, there is no just cause for running a red light. Too many accidents and deaths occur each year due to such careless actions.
“Intersections are dangerous places for accidents, and you can’t have a police officer at every intersection,” Cundiff said. “If people will obey the law, they don’t have to worry about getting a ticket. It (the new law) gives the police officers more of a safety net to police those intersections without having someone there. I know it is drawing some controversy, but they have pretty well proven the photo is a good identity of the vehicle by the license plate.”
We agree with Cundiff. If motorists drive legally, they should have no problems with the new photo-monitoring system.
But, we also realize the use of cameras to monitor citizens’ actions brings to mind images of a Big Brother society.
We believe a government’s intervention in the lives of its people should only occur when there is reasonable and justifiable rationale to support such action. If cameras at red lights will reduce accidents and deaths, or deter reckless driving by motorists, then such monitoring has grounds.
However, we also encourage the Commonwealth to monitor the new law to ensure the constitutional rights of Virginians continue to be protected.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Drivers rat on each other
Drivers call *55 to tell of speeders, weavers
By Elisa CrouchST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH05/29/2007
It began as a number for roadside emergencies — a flat tire, a stalled car, a highway crash.
But Missouri's Star 55 number is being used more and more by drivers to rat on each other.
"We get calls for … speeding, parents who don't have kids belted into their safety seats, someone brandishing a gun in the back seat," said Lt. John Hotz of the Missouri Highway Patrol. "We get domestic disputes. We get reports of a person weaving in and out of traffic and not signaling."
And dispatchers gets reports of drivers who've had too much to drink.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, about a quarter of the approximately 10,000 calls made to Missouri's Star 55 (*55) line each month are about a drunk driver, according a report released this spring.
The suspect driver is usually swerving and showing judgment problems, according to the report. In most cases, callers describe the vehicle and provide a license plate number. Between one-fourth to half of those calls lead to an arrest, the report says.
One irresponsible driver can provoke Star 55 calls from several motorists, Hotz said, which is why the percentage isn't higher.
In 1988, the number began as statewide toll-free hot line that drivers could use to call for help.
A year later, state officials determined that the growing prevalence of cell phones would make Star 55 worth having, since drivers were dialing 911 for roadside assistance and many rural areas still lacked 911 service.
The state spends about $10,800 a year on the line. The calls go through Highway Patrol dispatchers, who route them to the nearest patrol headquarters or law enforcement agency. On average, it takes troopers 20 minutes after a call is made to find the bad driver.
Tim Murphy of Oakville said he wished he'd known about the number earlier this spring when a luxury sports car passed him at about 90 mph onto Interstate 55. The car was weaving through four lanes of morning rush-hour traffic and didn't use turn signals, Murphy said. Other motorists were forced to swerve.
"I gasped when I saw what the car was doing," Murphy said.
That week he programmed *55 into his cell phone. "If I'd known it, I definitely would have called it," he said.
More Star 55 calls are made during summer months than any time of the year, according to the federal report. Most calls are made on weekdays.
Illinois doesn't have a Star 55 line, but offers a Star 999 line in the Chicago area. State police encourage drivers in other parts of the state to call 911 when they need to report dangerous situations from the road.
Like Star 55 calls, 911 calls are automatically routed to the nearest state police or law enforcement headquarters.
Illinois doesn't track roadside 911 calls. But Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez, spokesman for the Illinois State Police, said drivers with cell phones are helping officers get drunk and erratic drivers off the road.
"We can't be everywhere at once," he said. "Having people call has been having an effect. It gets us the information a lot quicker."
By Elisa CrouchST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH05/29/2007
It began as a number for roadside emergencies — a flat tire, a stalled car, a highway crash.
But Missouri's Star 55 number is being used more and more by drivers to rat on each other.
"We get calls for … speeding, parents who don't have kids belted into their safety seats, someone brandishing a gun in the back seat," said Lt. John Hotz of the Missouri Highway Patrol. "We get domestic disputes. We get reports of a person weaving in and out of traffic and not signaling."
And dispatchers gets reports of drivers who've had too much to drink.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, about a quarter of the approximately 10,000 calls made to Missouri's Star 55 (*55) line each month are about a drunk driver, according a report released this spring.
The suspect driver is usually swerving and showing judgment problems, according to the report. In most cases, callers describe the vehicle and provide a license plate number. Between one-fourth to half of those calls lead to an arrest, the report says.
One irresponsible driver can provoke Star 55 calls from several motorists, Hotz said, which is why the percentage isn't higher.
In 1988, the number began as statewide toll-free hot line that drivers could use to call for help.
A year later, state officials determined that the growing prevalence of cell phones would make Star 55 worth having, since drivers were dialing 911 for roadside assistance and many rural areas still lacked 911 service.
The state spends about $10,800 a year on the line. The calls go through Highway Patrol dispatchers, who route them to the nearest patrol headquarters or law enforcement agency. On average, it takes troopers 20 minutes after a call is made to find the bad driver.
Tim Murphy of Oakville said he wished he'd known about the number earlier this spring when a luxury sports car passed him at about 90 mph onto Interstate 55. The car was weaving through four lanes of morning rush-hour traffic and didn't use turn signals, Murphy said. Other motorists were forced to swerve.
"I gasped when I saw what the car was doing," Murphy said.
That week he programmed *55 into his cell phone. "If I'd known it, I definitely would have called it," he said.
More Star 55 calls are made during summer months than any time of the year, according to the federal report. Most calls are made on weekdays.
Illinois doesn't have a Star 55 line, but offers a Star 999 line in the Chicago area. State police encourage drivers in other parts of the state to call 911 when they need to report dangerous situations from the road.
Like Star 55 calls, 911 calls are automatically routed to the nearest state police or law enforcement headquarters.
Illinois doesn't track roadside 911 calls. But Master Sgt. Luis Gutierrez, spokesman for the Illinois State Police, said drivers with cell phones are helping officers get drunk and erratic drivers off the road.
"We can't be everywhere at once," he said. "Having people call has been having an effect. It gets us the information a lot quicker."
Friday, May 25, 2007
No more blind spots?
by Bob Gillespie
This certainly is an amazing innovation described in the article below, but considering the cost, I think I'll just continue to take that brief glance over my shoulder to check the blind spot area. Some people say they have eliminated the blind spot by the way they set their mirrors.
I can't argue with them, it could be possible, although I'm not able to do it on my car. Why, you say? It's because I don't have those large, up to date convex mirrors on the sides of the car. Even then, there could still be a blind spot area. It's something a person would have to check out.
Here's a good way to check the right blind spot, if there is one. Find a quiet street with a solid row of parked cars and pull alongside of them, as if they were in the other lane of traffic. Now, check the rear view and side view mirrors. You should be able to see all the cars. If you can see all the vehicles except, let's say, half of a car, that's not good enough - what about motorcycles? Repeat the process for the other side of the car.
The above are some of the things I talk about in my defensive driver course, covering every aspect of safe, defensive driving.
New systems monitor blind spot
Digital cameras, radar sensors used in systems
Allan Lamb and Bob McHugh, Special to The province
This column takes an occasional look at new vehicle-safety technology -- how it works and interacts with users.
- - -
Audi calls it Side Assist and Volvo calls it BLIS. Both companies recently introduced us to a new active safety technology that warns a driver about vehicles approaching from what's commonly referred to as the "blind spot" off the rear quarter of a vehicle.
It's unlikely that this technology will end the "he came out of nowhere" explanation for a collision, but it could be beneficial to many drivers.
Currently it's only available on the Audi Q7 and the Volvo S80 in Canada, so it's still early days to judge "real world" effectiveness.
Audi charges $650 for the Side Assist option, but if it catches on as a popular industry-wide option, the price should come down dramatically. And these days that doesn't take too long, especially for optional electronic add-on features.
Although they perform a comparable task and function in a similar way from a driver perspective, the Audi and Volvo blind-spot check systems use quite different technologies.
Rear-bumper mounted radar sensors are used to monitor approaching vehicles (from an adjacent lane) in the Audi Side Assist system. A coloured light strip on the side-mirror housing illuminates when a speeding vehicle is detected within range and a secondary warning alarm sounds if the driver also activates the turn signal on that side.
The bumper sensors send information to a computer that can even identify a motorcycle approach within 50 metres of the rear of the vehicle. It's not active at speeds under 35 km/h and the driver can also choose to turn it off.
An interesting Audi design criteria was that the warning system must not make the driver look bad in the eyes of his or her passengers. The LED light strips on the outside mirrors are positioned so they are only visible from the driver's seat.
Volvo's Blind Spot Information System uses tiny digital cameras built-into the side door mirror assemblies. They take 25 pictures per second that are then fed to and analyzed by a computer.
The system can recognize a motorcycle as well as a car or a truck and even works at night.
There are, however, weather conditions (such as dense fog or blowing snow) in which BLIS may not function.
In such a case, it automatically notifies the driver. BLIS is active from a vehicle speed of 10 km/h and reacts to other vehicles approaching quickly from behind or in an adjacent lane.
Now you could argue that there's no such thing as a blind spot, if the driver has adjusted the side mirrors correctly in the first place.
Then again, you could also argue that the main benefit of a blind spot checking system is that it quickly alerts the driver to a potentially dangerous situation. Driver inattention to the task of driving is the initial cause of a high percentage of vehicle accidents.
In addition to drowsiness or eating on the go, today's driver can be distracted by a multitude of in-car electronic devices, such as a cellphone, an advanced audio system or a navigational system.
In a study released by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in April 2006, distractions (including drowsiness) were estimated to be a contributing factor in eight out of every 10 police-reported traffic crashes.
That's about four million vehicle crashes per year -- far from bliss.
Allan Lamb is the executive director of the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation and Bob McHugh is a freelance automotive journalist.
Monday, May 21, 2007
A "smart" solution to road safety
Technion
When Dr. Yotam Abramson, of the Technion in Haifa, carried out a survey of drivers to find out if they looked at stop signs at busy intersections, he was surprised to discover that only 17 out of 80 actually looked at the sign. The rest hardly seemed to notice it.
While some drivers will stop anyway, others do not. And that's the problem. Israel has a high death rate on the roads. Between 2002 and 2006, there were 1,867 fatal accidents on the country's roads (the number of people killed is between 10-20% more). About 480 of these accidents were at intersections, and the majority were at intersections without traffic lights, where the only form of control was a stop, or right of way sign. These were just the fatal accidents, the figures did not include serious or light injuries, or damage to property.
"In many cases, drivers don't see traffic signs, or they don't pay attention to them. They simply don't get the message that they should stop and look," Abramson told ISRAEL21c.
Now Abramson could have the solution. He and Prof. David Mahalal, also of the Technion, have developed a 'smart' road sign designed to reduce accidents by helping drivers make split-second decisions at intersections with no traffic lights.
The sign, which is the first of its kind in the world, sets off strong flashing lights if it detects that a driver entering the secondary road, which does not have the right of way, could be in the line of collision with a vehicle entering from the main street. The solution consists of two video cameras on a pole, one focused on the main street and one on the secondary one. These cameras send information to a computer that processes the video data. When it identifies a collision risk it activates the flashing lights on the stop sign to attract the driver's attention.
Sounds easy, but the technology is complicated because calculations must be accurate. "We don't want to activate the signs too often if there is no just cause because it will erode attention," explains Abramson. "If the lights flash all the time people will start to ignore it, the lights will become part of the background."
The lights are LED lights directed specifically at the driver. "The lights are very strong, but you only see that at their highest level if you are in the correct location," says Abramson.
The signs are now being tested at two dangerous intersections in Tel Aviv, chosen by the municipality because of the high number of accidents that occur there. Both locations have limited visibility, traffic moves quickly, and the driver does not know intuitively who has the right of way.
"I went to visit these sites and people living nearby told me there are is a crash at least once a week, sometimes severe. They told me that every day you hear the screech of tires," says Abramson.
In an initial trial, Abramson found that the use of flashing lights meant 56 out of 80 drivers looked at the sign, a vast improvement on the results without lights.
Abramson is passionate about road safety. The researcher, who has a BSc. and an MSc in computer science from Tel Aviv University, was following a conventional career in the high tech industry when he decided, at the age of 33, that he wanted to do something to try to improve safety on the roads. He gave up his job in 2002, and began studying for his PhD. on intelligent vehicles at the School of Mines in France. At the same time, he took a job for car manufacturer Renault, also working in the same field. Much of his work in this field was on accident prevention, and he studied new in-car technologies designed to alert drivers about potential accidents.
In 2005, Abramson returned to Israel and found a position at the Transportation Research Institute (TRI) of the Technion. His goal was to bring the intelligence he had gained in France back to Israel. Since there is no car manufacturing industry in Israel, the only possible solution was to include this intelligence in external systems like street signs.
That year Abramson and Mahalal won a two-year research tender from the Israel National Authority of Road Safety with cooperation from the Tel Aviv Municipality to develop the smart street sign. They began work in 2006 with two research students. Development of the device is now complete, and evaluation has begun.
For the first month, Abramson will not activate the signs, but will log all events that take place at the intersections. The signs will then be activated the following month and results compared. Once this trial is over, he plans another three-month trial to follow.
"This is a very important project," says Abramson. "There are other projects around the world where people are working on accident prevention but all of them demand that special equipment is installed in a car. That would mean equipping all the cars in a country to make the system work. This is expensive and time-consuming. Our solution is ready for deployment immediately. Nothing needs to be installed in the car, and we are not inventing any new signs.
"The most expensive part of our system is bringing the electricity to the site and we plan to develop a solar-powered version which will be much lower in price. The cost of the cameras and flashing lights is relatively cheap."
There has already been great international interest in the smart signs and Abramson was recently contacted by officials from the US Department of Transportation-sponsored effort called Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems who were interested to learn more about the project.
Abramson's work does not stop there. He and his students have already begun work on a smart sign solution for intersections with traffic lights. The goal here is not to introduce flashing lights, but to delay a green light on one street by one or two seconds if the system notes that someone has run a red light on the intersecting road. "No one will even know that something was activated, but an accident can be prevented," says Abramson, who adds that this technology would be accompanied by enforcement equipment so as not to encourage people to run the lights, knowing that the oncoming traffic would be stopped. Abramson is now in the process of raising funds for this project.
Another project he has up his sleeve is for automatic steering control. At present, car width lanes must be between 3.30 to 3.50 meters in order for the driver to navigate them safely and successfully. As more and more people purchase cars, however, road space is becoming tighter and tighter. "As the number of cars increase we are gradually running out of space on our roads, and we lack space to make them any bigger," says Abramson.
One solution would be to reduce the width of the lanes to between 1.80-2 meters so that more cars could use the existing space. Automatic steering control, which could be over-ridden in an emergency, would ensure that these new narrow lanes could still be driven safely. "This is a very futuristic project, but it's our job to think of things that people may need in 10 years time," says Abramson.
This is far ahead, however. In the meantime, Abramson has high hopes for his first smart sign, which if all goes well he hopes to one day commercialize. "We are very optimistic that the experiment will show that our sign reduces risk," he says. "We full expect it to be a life-saver."
When Dr. Yotam Abramson, of the Technion in Haifa, carried out a survey of drivers to find out if they looked at stop signs at busy intersections, he was surprised to discover that only 17 out of 80 actually looked at the sign. The rest hardly seemed to notice it.
While some drivers will stop anyway, others do not. And that's the problem. Israel has a high death rate on the roads. Between 2002 and 2006, there were 1,867 fatal accidents on the country's roads (the number of people killed is between 10-20% more). About 480 of these accidents were at intersections, and the majority were at intersections without traffic lights, where the only form of control was a stop, or right of way sign. These were just the fatal accidents, the figures did not include serious or light injuries, or damage to property.
"In many cases, drivers don't see traffic signs, or they don't pay attention to them. They simply don't get the message that they should stop and look," Abramson told ISRAEL21c.
Now Abramson could have the solution. He and Prof. David Mahalal, also of the Technion, have developed a 'smart' road sign designed to reduce accidents by helping drivers make split-second decisions at intersections with no traffic lights.
The sign, which is the first of its kind in the world, sets off strong flashing lights if it detects that a driver entering the secondary road, which does not have the right of way, could be in the line of collision with a vehicle entering from the main street. The solution consists of two video cameras on a pole, one focused on the main street and one on the secondary one. These cameras send information to a computer that processes the video data. When it identifies a collision risk it activates the flashing lights on the stop sign to attract the driver's attention.
Sounds easy, but the technology is complicated because calculations must be accurate. "We don't want to activate the signs too often if there is no just cause because it will erode attention," explains Abramson. "If the lights flash all the time people will start to ignore it, the lights will become part of the background."
The lights are LED lights directed specifically at the driver. "The lights are very strong, but you only see that at their highest level if you are in the correct location," says Abramson.
The signs are now being tested at two dangerous intersections in Tel Aviv, chosen by the municipality because of the high number of accidents that occur there. Both locations have limited visibility, traffic moves quickly, and the driver does not know intuitively who has the right of way.
"I went to visit these sites and people living nearby told me there are is a crash at least once a week, sometimes severe. They told me that every day you hear the screech of tires," says Abramson.
In an initial trial, Abramson found that the use of flashing lights meant 56 out of 80 drivers looked at the sign, a vast improvement on the results without lights.
Abramson is passionate about road safety. The researcher, who has a BSc. and an MSc in computer science from Tel Aviv University, was following a conventional career in the high tech industry when he decided, at the age of 33, that he wanted to do something to try to improve safety on the roads. He gave up his job in 2002, and began studying for his PhD. on intelligent vehicles at the School of Mines in France. At the same time, he took a job for car manufacturer Renault, also working in the same field. Much of his work in this field was on accident prevention, and he studied new in-car technologies designed to alert drivers about potential accidents.
In 2005, Abramson returned to Israel and found a position at the Transportation Research Institute (TRI) of the Technion. His goal was to bring the intelligence he had gained in France back to Israel. Since there is no car manufacturing industry in Israel, the only possible solution was to include this intelligence in external systems like street signs.
That year Abramson and Mahalal won a two-year research tender from the Israel National Authority of Road Safety with cooperation from the Tel Aviv Municipality to develop the smart street sign. They began work in 2006 with two research students. Development of the device is now complete, and evaluation has begun.
For the first month, Abramson will not activate the signs, but will log all events that take place at the intersections. The signs will then be activated the following month and results compared. Once this trial is over, he plans another three-month trial to follow.
"This is a very important project," says Abramson. "There are other projects around the world where people are working on accident prevention but all of them demand that special equipment is installed in a car. That would mean equipping all the cars in a country to make the system work. This is expensive and time-consuming. Our solution is ready for deployment immediately. Nothing needs to be installed in the car, and we are not inventing any new signs.
"The most expensive part of our system is bringing the electricity to the site and we plan to develop a solar-powered version which will be much lower in price. The cost of the cameras and flashing lights is relatively cheap."
There has already been great international interest in the smart signs and Abramson was recently contacted by officials from the US Department of Transportation-sponsored effort called Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems who were interested to learn more about the project.
Abramson's work does not stop there. He and his students have already begun work on a smart sign solution for intersections with traffic lights. The goal here is not to introduce flashing lights, but to delay a green light on one street by one or two seconds if the system notes that someone has run a red light on the intersecting road. "No one will even know that something was activated, but an accident can be prevented," says Abramson, who adds that this technology would be accompanied by enforcement equipment so as not to encourage people to run the lights, knowing that the oncoming traffic would be stopped. Abramson is now in the process of raising funds for this project.
Another project he has up his sleeve is for automatic steering control. At present, car width lanes must be between 3.30 to 3.50 meters in order for the driver to navigate them safely and successfully. As more and more people purchase cars, however, road space is becoming tighter and tighter. "As the number of cars increase we are gradually running out of space on our roads, and we lack space to make them any bigger," says Abramson.
One solution would be to reduce the width of the lanes to between 1.80-2 meters so that more cars could use the existing space. Automatic steering control, which could be over-ridden in an emergency, would ensure that these new narrow lanes could still be driven safely. "This is a very futuristic project, but it's our job to think of things that people may need in 10 years time," says Abramson.
This is far ahead, however. In the meantime, Abramson has high hopes for his first smart sign, which if all goes well he hopes to one day commercialize. "We are very optimistic that the experiment will show that our sign reduces risk," he says. "We full expect it to be a life-saver."
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Cell phones and driving
by Bob Gillespie
Everyone knows that talking on the phone while driving is a very hot topic these days, and (almost) everyone seems to agree that it's a poor idea. Meaning of course that it's too distracting for a driver, and is the main factor in a lot of collisions. I would love to know what the 'talking on the phone while driving' people think. I'm referring to the people who use their cell phones on a regular basis while driving.
So if any of you people are reading this, I invite you to submit a post on this blog so we can read about your point of view.
Also, people who are totally against cell phone use while driving are invited to post here also. I'm really stirring up a hornets nest here, aren't I? But this is a topic that just won't go away, and of course various jurisdictions are starting to ban cell phones while driving, or at least requiring hands-free driving.
For a different viewpoint on this subject I would like to quote Leon James, a professor of traffic psychology at the University of Hawaii, who says "multitasking itself is not necessarily distracting, and drivers need to train themselves to multitask without being distracted."
Well, as much as it may shock some people, I agree completely with professor James. I have been a driving instructor for more than 17 years, and I publish a defensive driver course in the form of an ebook, so you might not expect me to have this point of view.
I think multitasking is potentially dangerous unless a person learns safe glance behavior, waits until the traffic situation is not too demanding, and always relegates multitasking to a secondary role. When their full attention is needed for the driving task, then everything else should stop. Also, having very brief, important calls and using a hands-free device are excellent ideas, and so is not talking on the phone at major intersections with heavy traffic.
Think of police officers, tow truck drivers, bus drivers, and taxi drivers who have to multitask while driving. I think the difference is, they've learned how to do it safely. The same goes for driving instructors. While driving, I have had to look for street addresses, check a map, make notes sometimes, and so on, and have never had a mishap because of it.
After having said all that, I do think it's a good idea to just drive with all your attention on the traffic situation all the time. I think most people don't need to talk on the phone while driving. Speaking for myself, I don't do anything else except drive, not even listen to the radio; I do that at home. Besides, I usually don't like what they play on the radio.
In summing up, we really wouldn't need to be talking about banning cell phone use while driving if people could learn to do it in a safe manner. But that won't happen. Cell phone use will be banned before that happens. To the people reading this who do drive and talk in a safe manner, I congratulate you. And oh yes: thank you.
I think you will find the following article very interesting. Requiring drivers to use a headset while talking and driving is a step in the right direction, although I know a lot of people would like a total ban.
Text of Senate Bill 5037· Spreadsheet: State DOT summary of driver distractions (Excel format, 242 kb)
If Second Substitute Senate Bill 5037 passes this year, Washington would join a growing list of states that ban hand-held cell phone use in the car. In 2001, New York became the first state to enact such a law, which is intended to prevent dangerous distractions among a growing number of drivers who dial while driving.
California is the latest state to pass a hands-free cell phone law, in December. Washington's proposal, which passed the state Senate Thursday, is headed to the state House, where it has failed the past few years and where a companion bill failed to make it out of committee this year.
Under the Senate bill, drivers would be able to use only headsets or earpieces to talk on cell phones.
Two other measures, one that would prohibit text-messaging and the second, which would specifically ban teens from using hand-held devices, are under consideration.
In the first few months after New York's highly publicized law took effect, cell phone usage among drivers had dropped by 50 percent, according to a study. But a year later, drivers seemed to return to their old behaviors, with nearly as many drivers using cell phones as before the law passed, as media emphasis waned, said a 2003 report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The number of reported collisions in which cell phones contributed has gradually increased in New York since 2002, while the number of citations issued each year for cell-phone violations also has grown, according to statistics from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.
"You might also look at the increase in cell phone use -- are there more cell phones out there now than six or seven years ago?" said Paul Ertelt, the department's deputy director of communications.
In Washington, D.C., however, which banned hand-held phones in 2004, the number of drivers using hand-held phones is still 50 percent lower than before the law went into effect, the insurance institute reported.
Unlike New York's law, which is a primary offense, Washington's proposal would be a secondary violation, meaning police would need another reason first to stop someone. A citation would cost $101, although the infraction wouldn't stay on drivers' records.
"With any law, some people are going to abide by it and some people won't," said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Monica Hunter, who backs the legislation. "Time will only tell whether people will comply, and that will come from how many stops we make and how many tickets for cell phones come out of that."
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, thinks she has more support behind the bill this year than before. She noted a PEMCO insurance survey last year in which about 80 percent of respondents supported a hands-free law.
"Quite frankly, so many people drive with them, it has become an epidemic. I think we need to realize that we need to have both hands on the wheel," Eide said.
Last year, the Washington State Patrol began tracking collisions in which cell phones and hand-held devices were a factor so that state legislators and officials would have data to examine as they considered regulating cell phone use.
Between January and September 2006, cell phones contributed to 889 crashes, or less than 1 percent of the 101,499 crashes reported, according to the most recent Transportation Department data available. One of the cell-phone related crashes was fatal.
In comparison, about 5 percent of Washington drivers are on their cell phone at any given time, according to a Washington Traffic Safety Commission report in 2005 based on observations of drivers at locations around the state. In 2000, a similar study estimated the cell-phone rate at 2 percent.
Opponents of the legislation question why it singles out cell phones, when drivers also eat, put on makeup or tune the radio, which can be just as distracting and can result in a citation if the behavior leads to an accident. And some question whether the law will be effective, when studies suggest that conversations, and not the devices, are what divert a driver's focus.
"There is some research that says it's the intensity of the conversation that's going to make the biggest difference and there is some validity to it," said Steve Lind, deputy director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, who supports the bill. "But that doesn't also mean you can't be distracted by dialing and holding it up to your ear."
Rep. Judy Clibborn, the House Transportation Committee's chairwoman, said a companion bill introduced earlier this session did not have enough votes to pass out of committee.
"I think some people feel like why pick on cell phone usage when there are so many other things that people do that are distracting," the Mercer Island Democrat said.
House lawmakers are much more enthusiastic about two similar measures that originated in their chamber -- one that would ban teen drivers from using hand-held devices and another that would ban text-messaging while driving, she said.
Eide's bill would exempt emergency vehicles, tow truck operators responding to a disabled vehicle, people using their phone to call 911 and those using a ham radio.
P-I reporter Scott Gutierrez can be reached at 206-448-8334 or scottgutierrez@seattlepi.com.Soundoff (Read 112 comments)What do you think?
Everyone knows that talking on the phone while driving is a very hot topic these days, and (almost) everyone seems to agree that it's a poor idea. Meaning of course that it's too distracting for a driver, and is the main factor in a lot of collisions. I would love to know what the 'talking on the phone while driving' people think. I'm referring to the people who use their cell phones on a regular basis while driving.
So if any of you people are reading this, I invite you to submit a post on this blog so we can read about your point of view.
Also, people who are totally against cell phone use while driving are invited to post here also. I'm really stirring up a hornets nest here, aren't I? But this is a topic that just won't go away, and of course various jurisdictions are starting to ban cell phones while driving, or at least requiring hands-free driving.
For a different viewpoint on this subject I would like to quote Leon James, a professor of traffic psychology at the University of Hawaii, who says "multitasking itself is not necessarily distracting, and drivers need to train themselves to multitask without being distracted."
Well, as much as it may shock some people, I agree completely with professor James. I have been a driving instructor for more than 17 years, and I publish a defensive driver course in the form of an ebook, so you might not expect me to have this point of view.
I think multitasking is potentially dangerous unless a person learns safe glance behavior, waits until the traffic situation is not too demanding, and always relegates multitasking to a secondary role. When their full attention is needed for the driving task, then everything else should stop. Also, having very brief, important calls and using a hands-free device are excellent ideas, and so is not talking on the phone at major intersections with heavy traffic.
Think of police officers, tow truck drivers, bus drivers, and taxi drivers who have to multitask while driving. I think the difference is, they've learned how to do it safely. The same goes for driving instructors. While driving, I have had to look for street addresses, check a map, make notes sometimes, and so on, and have never had a mishap because of it.
After having said all that, I do think it's a good idea to just drive with all your attention on the traffic situation all the time. I think most people don't need to talk on the phone while driving. Speaking for myself, I don't do anything else except drive, not even listen to the radio; I do that at home. Besides, I usually don't like what they play on the radio.
In summing up, we really wouldn't need to be talking about banning cell phone use while driving if people could learn to do it in a safe manner. But that won't happen. Cell phone use will be banned before that happens. To the people reading this who do drive and talk in a safe manner, I congratulate you. And oh yes: thank you.
I think you will find the following article very interesting. Requiring drivers to use a headset while talking and driving is a step in the right direction, although I know a lot of people would like a total ban.
Text of Senate Bill 5037· Spreadsheet: State DOT summary of driver distractions (Excel format, 242 kb)
If Second Substitute Senate Bill 5037 passes this year, Washington would join a growing list of states that ban hand-held cell phone use in the car. In 2001, New York became the first state to enact such a law, which is intended to prevent dangerous distractions among a growing number of drivers who dial while driving.
California is the latest state to pass a hands-free cell phone law, in December. Washington's proposal, which passed the state Senate Thursday, is headed to the state House, where it has failed the past few years and where a companion bill failed to make it out of committee this year.
Under the Senate bill, drivers would be able to use only headsets or earpieces to talk on cell phones.
Two other measures, one that would prohibit text-messaging and the second, which would specifically ban teens from using hand-held devices, are under consideration.
In the first few months after New York's highly publicized law took effect, cell phone usage among drivers had dropped by 50 percent, according to a study. But a year later, drivers seemed to return to their old behaviors, with nearly as many drivers using cell phones as before the law passed, as media emphasis waned, said a 2003 report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The number of reported collisions in which cell phones contributed has gradually increased in New York since 2002, while the number of citations issued each year for cell-phone violations also has grown, according to statistics from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.
"You might also look at the increase in cell phone use -- are there more cell phones out there now than six or seven years ago?" said Paul Ertelt, the department's deputy director of communications.
In Washington, D.C., however, which banned hand-held phones in 2004, the number of drivers using hand-held phones is still 50 percent lower than before the law went into effect, the insurance institute reported.
Unlike New York's law, which is a primary offense, Washington's proposal would be a secondary violation, meaning police would need another reason first to stop someone. A citation would cost $101, although the infraction wouldn't stay on drivers' records.
"With any law, some people are going to abide by it and some people won't," said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Monica Hunter, who backs the legislation. "Time will only tell whether people will comply, and that will come from how many stops we make and how many tickets for cell phones come out of that."
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, thinks she has more support behind the bill this year than before. She noted a PEMCO insurance survey last year in which about 80 percent of respondents supported a hands-free law.
"Quite frankly, so many people drive with them, it has become an epidemic. I think we need to realize that we need to have both hands on the wheel," Eide said.
Last year, the Washington State Patrol began tracking collisions in which cell phones and hand-held devices were a factor so that state legislators and officials would have data to examine as they considered regulating cell phone use.
Between January and September 2006, cell phones contributed to 889 crashes, or less than 1 percent of the 101,499 crashes reported, according to the most recent Transportation Department data available. One of the cell-phone related crashes was fatal.
In comparison, about 5 percent of Washington drivers are on their cell phone at any given time, according to a Washington Traffic Safety Commission report in 2005 based on observations of drivers at locations around the state. In 2000, a similar study estimated the cell-phone rate at 2 percent.
Opponents of the legislation question why it singles out cell phones, when drivers also eat, put on makeup or tune the radio, which can be just as distracting and can result in a citation if the behavior leads to an accident. And some question whether the law will be effective, when studies suggest that conversations, and not the devices, are what divert a driver's focus.
"There is some research that says it's the intensity of the conversation that's going to make the biggest difference and there is some validity to it," said Steve Lind, deputy director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, who supports the bill. "But that doesn't also mean you can't be distracted by dialing and holding it up to your ear."
Rep. Judy Clibborn, the House Transportation Committee's chairwoman, said a companion bill introduced earlier this session did not have enough votes to pass out of committee.
"I think some people feel like why pick on cell phone usage when there are so many other things that people do that are distracting," the Mercer Island Democrat said.
House lawmakers are much more enthusiastic about two similar measures that originated in their chamber -- one that would ban teen drivers from using hand-held devices and another that would ban text-messaging while driving, she said.
Eide's bill would exempt emergency vehicles, tow truck operators responding to a disabled vehicle, people using their phone to call 911 and those using a ham radio.
P-I reporter Scott Gutierrez can be reached at 206-448-8334 or scottgutierrez@seattlepi.com.Soundoff (Read 112 comments)What do you think?
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Event data recorders
Just the facts, ma'am
By Bruce Landsberg
Bruce Landsberg has served as executive director of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation since 1992.
Jack Webb, who played the matter-of-fact Los Angeles cop in the long-gone Dragnet television series, routinely used to growl his line, "Just the facts, ma'am" to witnesses, solving some heinous crime quickly within the show's 30-minute running time. Wouldn't it be nice if safety matters could be so simply disassembled?
It's a well-known fact that human behavior changes, usually for the better, when people know they are being watched. There's nothing like a speed trap to help drivers suddenly remember the speed limit. Cameras and a variety of devices are watching us almost everywhere: automatic teller machines, banks, retail stores, gambling establishments, airports, subways, busy intersections, and soon, the cabins of airliners.
The data-recording evolution permeates our lives. Suppose there was a way to get just the facts? As general aviation cockpits go to glass and data are easily produced and recorded, flight data recorders may soon be coming to light GA aircraft. Would it cut down on the buzzing incidents or improper aerobatics if pilots knew that their activities were subject to review in the event of an accident?
Red light cameras have been around for about a decade and they are a topic of debate, especially regarding accident reduction, not revenue production — on that, there is no doubt. The U.S. Department of Transportation studied multiple cities and hundreds of intersections.
The DOT found that the cameras reduce side-impact crashes (T-bones) but increase rear-end crashes as drivers slam on their brakes to avoid getting a ticket. However, those crashes tend to be less serious than the typical T-bone accident, and the net annual savings in injuries is on the order of about $39,000 per intersection. The typical answer is, "More studies are planned."
Flight data recorders (FDRs) and cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) have been around for decades on airliners and larger business jets to determine what went wrong after an accident. They measure flight path, aircraft attitude, flight control positions, altitude, engine output, cockpit and air traffic control conversation, and dozens of other variables. The concept has been taken even further to include the analysis of routine flight data to predict problems before they become accidents.
It's difficult to buy a new car these days that does not have an event data recorder, and this is indicative of how such a recorder might appear in our aircraft. You might check the vehicle owner's manual — that's the one nobody reads. A notice will likely advise you of the presence of the device and explain how it will be used. It tracks, among other things, speed, braking, steering, engine parameters, and seat-belt usage and air-bag status — very similar to an FDR.
On some vehicles there is even a GPS-based location tracker that allows a central location to provide directions or, in the event of an accident, to summon help. Divorce lawyers and parents of teen drivers will love the tracking feature, if they can get the data.
Black box information
The data are used for maintenance diagnostics, accident reconstruction, and in court, settling product liability lawsuits. Several states have passed laws that say the data belong to the owner unless a court orders the data to be made available. Insurance companies are prohibited from speculative snooping as a condition of doing business with them, until after an accident, and then only with the court's blessing.
Since 1990, General Motors has equipped more than 7 million vehicles with monitoring capability. When the AOPA Air Safety Foundation was conducting research on technologically advanced aircraft two years ago we came across the following examples:
Data from a black box caused jurors to question the prosecution's argument that a driver was speeding recklessly before a fatal head-on crash with another vehicle. The driver was found not guilty after his truck's black box showed 60 mph at impact — not above 90 mph, as a witness had claimed.
A police officer won a major settlement for severe injuries he suffered when a hearse struck his squad car. The hearse driver claimed that a medical condition caused him to black out before he hit the police car. But the hearse's black box showed that the driver accelerated to 63 mph, about 20 mph faster than the posted speed limit, seconds before he approached the intersection. He then slammed on the brakes one second before impact. These are hardly the actions of an unconscious driver. The black box's information was an unbiased witness to the crash.
The family of a former pro football player killed in a car accident filed a $30 million civil suit claiming the vehicle's air bag deployed after the car hit a pothole, causing him to hit a tree. Data from the black box showed that the air bag deployed on impact, as designed, and that excessive speed was a factor pre-pothole. The family lost the case.
I've written before about some of the more creative interpretations of pilot-in-command responsibility that often result in large settlements to plaintiffs at the expense of manufacturers.
In the vast majority of cases pilots create the problem, according to the NTSB, but its findings are not admissible in court. That encourages dueling experts and massive expense to revisit the issue. It seems to me that access to unbiased facts would be useful to both sides in getting to the truth, which is, of course, what we're all looking for. It's not about the money — much.
One aircraft manufacturer's liability insurance premium on newly built aircraft has increased significantly in the past few years because of lawsuits claiming defective equipment after accidents. The builder says that FDRs are a distinct possibility to reduce liability from speculative lawsuits and to improve the product. My sense is that it will only be a matter of time before this equipment is standard on some new aircraft.
Cirrus and Alakai Technologies Corporation recently announced that on the SR20 and SR22 it will provide engine and flight data monitoring, recording, and analysis systems. A few of the benefits listed by the company were: "Adherence to aircraft operating manual limitations, flight reconstruction and visualization for accident/incident investigations, enhanced maintenance records, with G-loading, flap overspeed, redline, and other warnings and fuel management reports."
Other positives
There are additional positives to FDRs outside of the wonderful world of law. A number of flight training institutions have specified or installed small digital cameras and FDRs on new aircraft to allow comprehensive reviews of training sessions on what actually occurred in the cockpit or simulator. There's nothing like seeing video or a flight path of a training scenario to guide instructors and students.
"I was right on the localizer."
"Really?"
"Yup — nailed it!"
"Were we in the same cockpit? If the approach had been to the parallel runway it would have been marginally adequate."
"OK, smart guy, let's look at the tapes."
ASF has been evaluating one of the GPS-powered units and, although the novelty still hasn't worn off, it seems to have some practical benefits in teaching.
Olympic athletes, skiers, golfers, and swimmers all use real-time monitoring to improve performance and to settle differences. Even that bastion of sports conservatism, the NFL, is now using instant replays when coaches challenge the ref's eyesight. It's making a difference in the outcome of games and, more important, real-time monitoring doesn't depend upon wishful thinking, a bad angle, or inattention.
Maintenance woes
Claims for maintenance and warranty service may be more fairly adjudicated with data from the devices. For example, suppose a cylinder goes bad and needs to be replaced. If a download of historical engine data shows that the pilot operated the engine well within tolerance, the manufacturer should replace the cylinder. Or, perhaps the data show that the engine was routinely run too hot and the valves are burned — sorry, owner, but you really do need to pay attention to those minor details on leaning.
FDRs rightly emerge as a two-edge sword, however, and in those cases when an aircraft or piece of equipment is shown to be defective, the manufacturer should settle the claim fairly, regardless of whether the defect resulted in an accident, and then quickly resolve the technical problem for the rest of the fleet.
In a statistically valid survey last year AOPA asked pilots what they thought about product liability and its effect upon the GA industry. Ninety-four percent of the respondents felt that frivolous lawsuits drove up the cost of aviation and they had some strong negative feelings regarding plaintiffs, their attorneys, and insurance underwriters. Defining frivolous, of course, depends on your perspective.
However, when asked if they agreed with the statement "A flight data recorder to help determine the cause of accidents would be a welcome addition to the aircraft I fly," 56 percent disagreed with that statement and only 22 percent thought that FDRs would be a good idea. It seems that we'd like to have it both ways.
Despite clear pilot ambivalence on surrendering yet another bit of privacy, the advent of new production aircraft equipped with relatively low-cost FDRs may improve safety and bring some better science to the courtroom, where product-liability and tort-reform advocates have been unsuccessful.
This has a chilling effect on new product development, insurance costs go up for everyone, pilots occasionally get tagged for something that really was a design or construction error, and plaintiffs are free to concoct a variety of hypothetical cases against manufacturers.
In my opinion, not AOPA's, huge amounts of time, money, and energy are spent improperly trying to shift the blame onto undeserving parties on both sides. It's time we had just the facts, ma'am, and made safety decisions based upon them. Instant replay works well in cars, sports, and criminal prosecution. Should we have FDRs and CVRs in our cockpits? What do you think?
Bruce Landsberg is the executive director of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation.
By Bruce Landsberg
Bruce Landsberg has served as executive director of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation since 1992.
Jack Webb, who played the matter-of-fact Los Angeles cop in the long-gone Dragnet television series, routinely used to growl his line, "Just the facts, ma'am" to witnesses, solving some heinous crime quickly within the show's 30-minute running time. Wouldn't it be nice if safety matters could be so simply disassembled?
It's a well-known fact that human behavior changes, usually for the better, when people know they are being watched. There's nothing like a speed trap to help drivers suddenly remember the speed limit. Cameras and a variety of devices are watching us almost everywhere: automatic teller machines, banks, retail stores, gambling establishments, airports, subways, busy intersections, and soon, the cabins of airliners.
The data-recording evolution permeates our lives. Suppose there was a way to get just the facts? As general aviation cockpits go to glass and data are easily produced and recorded, flight data recorders may soon be coming to light GA aircraft. Would it cut down on the buzzing incidents or improper aerobatics if pilots knew that their activities were subject to review in the event of an accident?
Red light cameras have been around for about a decade and they are a topic of debate, especially regarding accident reduction, not revenue production — on that, there is no doubt. The U.S. Department of Transportation studied multiple cities and hundreds of intersections.
The DOT found that the cameras reduce side-impact crashes (T-bones) but increase rear-end crashes as drivers slam on their brakes to avoid getting a ticket. However, those crashes tend to be less serious than the typical T-bone accident, and the net annual savings in injuries is on the order of about $39,000 per intersection. The typical answer is, "More studies are planned."
Flight data recorders (FDRs) and cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) have been around for decades on airliners and larger business jets to determine what went wrong after an accident. They measure flight path, aircraft attitude, flight control positions, altitude, engine output, cockpit and air traffic control conversation, and dozens of other variables. The concept has been taken even further to include the analysis of routine flight data to predict problems before they become accidents.
It's difficult to buy a new car these days that does not have an event data recorder, and this is indicative of how such a recorder might appear in our aircraft. You might check the vehicle owner's manual — that's the one nobody reads. A notice will likely advise you of the presence of the device and explain how it will be used. It tracks, among other things, speed, braking, steering, engine parameters, and seat-belt usage and air-bag status — very similar to an FDR.
On some vehicles there is even a GPS-based location tracker that allows a central location to provide directions or, in the event of an accident, to summon help. Divorce lawyers and parents of teen drivers will love the tracking feature, if they can get the data.
Black box information
The data are used for maintenance diagnostics, accident reconstruction, and in court, settling product liability lawsuits. Several states have passed laws that say the data belong to the owner unless a court orders the data to be made available. Insurance companies are prohibited from speculative snooping as a condition of doing business with them, until after an accident, and then only with the court's blessing.
Since 1990, General Motors has equipped more than 7 million vehicles with monitoring capability. When the AOPA Air Safety Foundation was conducting research on technologically advanced aircraft two years ago we came across the following examples:
Data from a black box caused jurors to question the prosecution's argument that a driver was speeding recklessly before a fatal head-on crash with another vehicle. The driver was found not guilty after his truck's black box showed 60 mph at impact — not above 90 mph, as a witness had claimed.
A police officer won a major settlement for severe injuries he suffered when a hearse struck his squad car. The hearse driver claimed that a medical condition caused him to black out before he hit the police car. But the hearse's black box showed that the driver accelerated to 63 mph, about 20 mph faster than the posted speed limit, seconds before he approached the intersection. He then slammed on the brakes one second before impact. These are hardly the actions of an unconscious driver. The black box's information was an unbiased witness to the crash.
The family of a former pro football player killed in a car accident filed a $30 million civil suit claiming the vehicle's air bag deployed after the car hit a pothole, causing him to hit a tree. Data from the black box showed that the air bag deployed on impact, as designed, and that excessive speed was a factor pre-pothole. The family lost the case.
I've written before about some of the more creative interpretations of pilot-in-command responsibility that often result in large settlements to plaintiffs at the expense of manufacturers.
In the vast majority of cases pilots create the problem, according to the NTSB, but its findings are not admissible in court. That encourages dueling experts and massive expense to revisit the issue. It seems to me that access to unbiased facts would be useful to both sides in getting to the truth, which is, of course, what we're all looking for. It's not about the money — much.
One aircraft manufacturer's liability insurance premium on newly built aircraft has increased significantly in the past few years because of lawsuits claiming defective equipment after accidents. The builder says that FDRs are a distinct possibility to reduce liability from speculative lawsuits and to improve the product. My sense is that it will only be a matter of time before this equipment is standard on some new aircraft.
Cirrus and Alakai Technologies Corporation recently announced that on the SR20 and SR22 it will provide engine and flight data monitoring, recording, and analysis systems. A few of the benefits listed by the company were: "Adherence to aircraft operating manual limitations, flight reconstruction and visualization for accident/incident investigations, enhanced maintenance records, with G-loading, flap overspeed, redline, and other warnings and fuel management reports."
Other positives
There are additional positives to FDRs outside of the wonderful world of law. A number of flight training institutions have specified or installed small digital cameras and FDRs on new aircraft to allow comprehensive reviews of training sessions on what actually occurred in the cockpit or simulator. There's nothing like seeing video or a flight path of a training scenario to guide instructors and students.
"I was right on the localizer."
"Really?"
"Yup — nailed it!"
"Were we in the same cockpit? If the approach had been to the parallel runway it would have been marginally adequate."
"OK, smart guy, let's look at the tapes."
ASF has been evaluating one of the GPS-powered units and, although the novelty still hasn't worn off, it seems to have some practical benefits in teaching.
Olympic athletes, skiers, golfers, and swimmers all use real-time monitoring to improve performance and to settle differences. Even that bastion of sports conservatism, the NFL, is now using instant replays when coaches challenge the ref's eyesight. It's making a difference in the outcome of games and, more important, real-time monitoring doesn't depend upon wishful thinking, a bad angle, or inattention.
Maintenance woes
Claims for maintenance and warranty service may be more fairly adjudicated with data from the devices. For example, suppose a cylinder goes bad and needs to be replaced. If a download of historical engine data shows that the pilot operated the engine well within tolerance, the manufacturer should replace the cylinder. Or, perhaps the data show that the engine was routinely run too hot and the valves are burned — sorry, owner, but you really do need to pay attention to those minor details on leaning.
FDRs rightly emerge as a two-edge sword, however, and in those cases when an aircraft or piece of equipment is shown to be defective, the manufacturer should settle the claim fairly, regardless of whether the defect resulted in an accident, and then quickly resolve the technical problem for the rest of the fleet.
In a statistically valid survey last year AOPA asked pilots what they thought about product liability and its effect upon the GA industry. Ninety-four percent of the respondents felt that frivolous lawsuits drove up the cost of aviation and they had some strong negative feelings regarding plaintiffs, their attorneys, and insurance underwriters. Defining frivolous, of course, depends on your perspective.
However, when asked if they agreed with the statement "A flight data recorder to help determine the cause of accidents would be a welcome addition to the aircraft I fly," 56 percent disagreed with that statement and only 22 percent thought that FDRs would be a good idea. It seems that we'd like to have it both ways.
Despite clear pilot ambivalence on surrendering yet another bit of privacy, the advent of new production aircraft equipped with relatively low-cost FDRs may improve safety and bring some better science to the courtroom, where product-liability and tort-reform advocates have been unsuccessful.
This has a chilling effect on new product development, insurance costs go up for everyone, pilots occasionally get tagged for something that really was a design or construction error, and plaintiffs are free to concoct a variety of hypothetical cases against manufacturers.
In my opinion, not AOPA's, huge amounts of time, money, and energy are spent improperly trying to shift the blame onto undeserving parties on both sides. It's time we had just the facts, ma'am, and made safety decisions based upon them. Instant replay works well in cars, sports, and criminal prosecution. Should we have FDRs and CVRs in our cockpits? What do you think?
Bruce Landsberg is the executive director of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Safer vehicles
by Bob Gillespie
The following post is not a car commercial, although it may look like one. I'm posting it in the interest of road safety, and to give readers a balanced view of the latest happenings in the world of traffic safety.
The structural features on these vehicles help to channel energy away from the passengers in the event of a crash, and is quite innovative. Congratulations to Ford and Volvo for making our roadways safer!
Of course we should all do everything in our power to improve our driving, and to become safe, defensive drivers. Even if you have been driving for years you can still benefit a great deal by taking a defensive driver education program.
2008 FORD TAURUS, MERCURY SABLE earn top safety picks
(WebWire) 5/14/2007 11:37:31 AM Related Topics
• Automotive # 2008 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable earn “Top Safety Pick” ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for achieving the highest ratings in frontal offset, side and rear impact crash protection.
# Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable are the world’s only large family cars to earn both the IIHS Top Safety Pick rating and the U.S. government’s highest available five-star ratings in all crash test categories.
# Ford and Volvo engineers worked together to create this innovative vehicle structure featuring crush zones so that energy is transferred around the passenger compartment.
# Class-leading affordability and safety combine to make Taurus and Sable two of the best choices for safety-conscious consumers looking for full-size family cars.
DEARBORN, Mich.– The 2008 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable will arrive in showrooms this summer bearing Top Safety Pick ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the government’s highest available five-star ratings in all crash test categories.
The IIHS’ "Top Safety Pick" rating can only be earned by vehicles that achieve the best-available safety performance in frontal, side and rear collisions and offer electronic stability control. In addition to being the only large family cars to merit IIHS’ Top Safety Pick rating, these sedans stand alone for also earning five-star driver and passenger crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“It’s a true testament to the safety engineering of these vehicles that they achieved top crash test ratings from both IIHS and NHTSA,” said Sue Cischke, senior vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company. “Ford and Volvo worked together to leverage our technical and intellectual resources to create this outstanding vehicle architecture, and now it’s better than ever. These cars offer it all: safety, power, spaciousness, comfort and great features, all at a great value."
The Insurance Institute also gave both vehicles its highest rear impact rating for offering effective protection against neck injuries, as well as its highest front and side impact ratings for withstanding intrusion into the occupant compartment.
The structure of the Taurus and Sable is engineered with crush zones designed to direct excess energy around the passenger compartment into a high-strength safety cage. An innovative cross-car beam “SPACETM Architecture” under the front seats reinforces the structure between the B-pillars, which helps direct energy away from passengers.
Both vehicles offer an industry first two-row Safety Canopy™ side air bag system that provides additional protection not only in side impact collisions, but also deploys in rollover accidents. Side-impact protection comes from a combination of air bag technology and structural features that help safeguard occupants from intrusion by channeling crash energy away from the passenger compartment.
An advanced air bag controller uses front passenger classification sensing to determine if the seat is occupied, and if so, whether the passenger is a larger or smaller person. Air bag deployment is tailored – or altogether suppressed – to help provide an appropriate level of protection. The lower anchors and tethers for children, or LATCH system, provide mounting points for compatible child seats in the second row.
Both cars are available with AdvanceTrac® electronic stability control and all-wheel drive to provide drivers with a confident ride and smooth handling in all weather conditions. All Ford, Lincoln and Mercury retail cars and trucks will have standard electronic stability control by the end of 2009. ESC currently is standard on all Ford sport utility and crossover vehicles.
Ford Motor Company and its global brands have built more than 4 million vehicles globally with electronic stability control systems. More than one million of those vehicles feature Ford’s industry exclusive AdvanceTrac® with Roll Stability Control, the world’s only system with two gyroscopic sensors to actively measure and help control both yaw and roll movements.
“We believe our electronic stability control systems enhance vehicle safety by helping the driver prevent many accidents from occurring in the first place,” Cischke said. “Making families safer is a key part of our pledge to drive safety innovation.”
AdvanceTrac® with Roll Stability Control is standard equipment on most 2007 model year Ford Motor Company SUVs and crossovers. ESC will be standard on the 2008 model year Taurus X. The 2008 Ford Taurus starts at $23,245 (MSRP); Mercury Sable, starts at $23,540.
The following post is not a car commercial, although it may look like one. I'm posting it in the interest of road safety, and to give readers a balanced view of the latest happenings in the world of traffic safety.
The structural features on these vehicles help to channel energy away from the passengers in the event of a crash, and is quite innovative. Congratulations to Ford and Volvo for making our roadways safer!
Of course we should all do everything in our power to improve our driving, and to become safe, defensive drivers. Even if you have been driving for years you can still benefit a great deal by taking a defensive driver education program.
2008 FORD TAURUS, MERCURY SABLE earn top safety picks
(WebWire) 5/14/2007 11:37:31 AM Related Topics
• Automotive # 2008 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable earn “Top Safety Pick” ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for achieving the highest ratings in frontal offset, side and rear impact crash protection.
# Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable are the world’s only large family cars to earn both the IIHS Top Safety Pick rating and the U.S. government’s highest available five-star ratings in all crash test categories.
# Ford and Volvo engineers worked together to create this innovative vehicle structure featuring crush zones so that energy is transferred around the passenger compartment.
# Class-leading affordability and safety combine to make Taurus and Sable two of the best choices for safety-conscious consumers looking for full-size family cars.
DEARBORN, Mich.– The 2008 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable will arrive in showrooms this summer bearing Top Safety Pick ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the government’s highest available five-star ratings in all crash test categories.
The IIHS’ "Top Safety Pick" rating can only be earned by vehicles that achieve the best-available safety performance in frontal, side and rear collisions and offer electronic stability control. In addition to being the only large family cars to merit IIHS’ Top Safety Pick rating, these sedans stand alone for also earning five-star driver and passenger crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“It’s a true testament to the safety engineering of these vehicles that they achieved top crash test ratings from both IIHS and NHTSA,” said Sue Cischke, senior vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company. “Ford and Volvo worked together to leverage our technical and intellectual resources to create this outstanding vehicle architecture, and now it’s better than ever. These cars offer it all: safety, power, spaciousness, comfort and great features, all at a great value."
The Insurance Institute also gave both vehicles its highest rear impact rating for offering effective protection against neck injuries, as well as its highest front and side impact ratings for withstanding intrusion into the occupant compartment.
The structure of the Taurus and Sable is engineered with crush zones designed to direct excess energy around the passenger compartment into a high-strength safety cage. An innovative cross-car beam “SPACETM Architecture” under the front seats reinforces the structure between the B-pillars, which helps direct energy away from passengers.
Both vehicles offer an industry first two-row Safety Canopy™ side air bag system that provides additional protection not only in side impact collisions, but also deploys in rollover accidents. Side-impact protection comes from a combination of air bag technology and structural features that help safeguard occupants from intrusion by channeling crash energy away from the passenger compartment.
An advanced air bag controller uses front passenger classification sensing to determine if the seat is occupied, and if so, whether the passenger is a larger or smaller person. Air bag deployment is tailored – or altogether suppressed – to help provide an appropriate level of protection. The lower anchors and tethers for children, or LATCH system, provide mounting points for compatible child seats in the second row.
Both cars are available with AdvanceTrac® electronic stability control and all-wheel drive to provide drivers with a confident ride and smooth handling in all weather conditions. All Ford, Lincoln and Mercury retail cars and trucks will have standard electronic stability control by the end of 2009. ESC currently is standard on all Ford sport utility and crossover vehicles.
Ford Motor Company and its global brands have built more than 4 million vehicles globally with electronic stability control systems. More than one million of those vehicles feature Ford’s industry exclusive AdvanceTrac® with Roll Stability Control, the world’s only system with two gyroscopic sensors to actively measure and help control both yaw and roll movements.
“We believe our electronic stability control systems enhance vehicle safety by helping the driver prevent many accidents from occurring in the first place,” Cischke said. “Making families safer is a key part of our pledge to drive safety innovation.”
AdvanceTrac® with Roll Stability Control is standard equipment on most 2007 model year Ford Motor Company SUVs and crossovers. ESC will be standard on the 2008 model year Taurus X. The 2008 Ford Taurus starts at $23,245 (MSRP); Mercury Sable, starts at $23,540.
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