Tag Archives: highway safety

These Simple Road Changes Can Save Lives

By Alex Perdikis

The year 2015 was a landmark year, but not in a good way.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), approximately 38,300 people were killed in on U.S. roads in 2015. Another 4.4 million were injured. That’s the largest one-year percentage increase in 50 years.

The reasons for the upsurge in traffic deaths include a better economy, lowered gas prices and lowered unemployment – all increasing the numbers of people on the roadways. Let’s look at what’s being done to stem the rising tide of deaths and injuries.

Improving Roads and Highways

In the 1990s, Sweden came up with a concept that proved to be a lifesaver: Roads with two wide lanes were redesigned and revamped into roads with three narrow lanes. The middle lane became a dedicated passing lane with allowed passing alternating between each side. Dedicated passing lanes made it easier for drivers to both pass and be aware of what other drivers were doing. In the first 10 years, an estimated 145 lives were saved.

The U.S. Transportation Research Board took note and recommended redesigning highways to the 2+1 road model, particularly on two-lane rural highways. An added plus is that the highways are already built. Increasing safety is simply a matter of reducing lane widths and adding a dedicated passing only lane. Lives saved!

Crosswalks and Intersections

When a pedestrian and car collide, the pedestrian always loses. Pedestrians usually have the right of way but does that matter when a two-ton machine hits a human body? Not really. Fortunately for pedestrians and drivers, crosswalk and intersection redesigns are becoming more common to make driving and walking safer.

Particularly useful in large cities, diagonal crosswalks are being developed to reduce pedestrian risk. In a diagonal crosswalk, traffic on all sides stops. Pedestrians walk from any direction, including diagonally, and safely arrive on the other side.

Another simple way to increase pedestrian safety is lengthening traffic light “walk” time. Additional time to cross the street gives elderly and disabled pedestrians the time they need. Longer waits may leave some drivers irritated, but isn’t saving lives worth a few extra seconds?

Slowing It Down

You don’t want to hear it, but lowering your driving speed is safer. Lowered speeds, particularly where pedestrians and traffic are both present, result in fewer injuries and fatalities. It may take a couple of extra minutes to get to work in the morning, but at least you’ll get there.

Safer Cars

Automakers are working hard to build safer vehicles. Many new cars have collision alarms, alert monitoring and backup cameras to name just a few innovative safety options. Many of these optional features will become standard in the near future, much as seatbelts and airbags did in the past.

The pursuit of safety doesn’t stop there, of course. Novel ideas such as Terreform’s “Soft Car” and Google’s self-driving vehicles incorporate safety, economy and energy efficiency. Clearly, technology is taking us toward a future where safety truly does come first.

Is This Kind of Driving More Dangerous Than DUI?

By Alex Perdikis

For many years, drunk driving was viewed as the paramount cause of unnecessary car crashes. There were advocacy groups such as SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) and MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) dedicated to preventing drunk driving, laws being made, and random police check sites.

That was then. Drunk driving is still a major problem, but there’s a new threat among us now: distracted driving. Today’s widespread use of mobile technology means that there is much more distracted driving happening than ever before. What’s more, it is believed that distracted drivers are actually as dangerous — or even more dangerous — than drivers who are under the influence of alcohol. Some studies say that texting while driving is eight times more dangerous than drinking and driving.

What “Distracted Driving” Means

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving is “any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving.” Changing the radio station, glancing down at something that fell onto the floor, letting your mind wander: any of these constitute distracted driving.

Using a phone and driving involves every aspect of distraction: using your hands, glancing away, and an unfocused mind. Texting and driving is the most dangerous activity of all, and the statistics are alarming. According to the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), approximately 660,000 American drivers are using cell phones or other electronic devices at any given daylight moment.

From Brushing Teeth to Texting

Erie Insurance did a survey in 2015 which showed that drivers do many dangerous things behind the wheel including brushing their teeth and changing clothes. Moreover, Erie’s survey found that one-third of drivers admit to texting while driving. This is of course only the number of drivers who admitted to texting.

In 2009, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute said that five seconds is the average time a person’s eyes are off the road while texting, which when traveling at 55 miles per hour is enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded. Five seconds may seem to be a very short amount of time, but combined with the speed of a car, it clearly covers a very large distance.

Advocates on the Forefront

There are a growing number of advocacy groups dedicated to focusing on distracted driving and how to keep the statistics from growing. Stop The Texts, Stop The Wrecks, a partnership of the NHTSA and the Ad Council, aims to “show drivers that no matter how safely they think they can engage in distracted driving, the behavior is always dangerous for every driver, all the time.”

The Distracted Driving Foundation wants mobile phone carriers and car manufacturers to put technology in phones and automobiles that block using a phone when drivers are moving. They believe that “for many, the temptation to read a text message or answer a call when it comes in is irresistible.” Texts should be blocked until the car is stopped and phone calls should be directed to a voice prompt informing the caller that the person is driving and to leave a message.

End Distracted Driving (EndDD) is a group that is sending people out into the workforce and to schools to give presentations and real life stories, much like MADD and SADD did in the past.

It is the hope of these groups that, as the dangers of distracted driving and its deadly consequences become better known, the number of distracted drivers will significantly decrease in the years to come.