Showing posts with label road safety. Show all posts

Working Together for Safer Roads

Posted by Unknown in , , , on Wednesday, March 19, 2014

This month, we are very excited that the Roadway Safety Foundation -- a charitable group here in DC that is dedicated to promoting safe road design and educating the public about the importance of safety engineering -- has released a new edition of its popular Roadway Safety Guide. 


First published almost 15 years ago, the Guide is a community-oriented document intended for local leaders, active citizens, and any road users who may be concerned about the safety of the roads where they live and work, and who need assistance finding the right people and agencies to turn to for help. Written for non-engineers, it is both a readable introduction to key roadway safety concepts and crash countermeasures -- such as roundabouts and median barriers -- and a guide to working effectively with Departments of Transportation, police departments, highway authorities, etc. 

The AAA Foundation is proud to sponsor this valuable document, as it aligns closely with our mission of "saving lives through research and education." Roadway engineering and design is a topic that generally doesn't get the kind of public attention that driver behavior and vehicle safety issues do (such as distracted driving or high-profile auto recalls), but it plays a critical role in the overall traffic safety equation. Our research into crashes related to pavement edge drop-offs (when erosion, broken pavement, or other issue results in a 2-inch or greater difference between the roadway and its adjacent surface) shows, for example, that they are much more likely to cause fatalities or serious injuries than are other crash types on similar roadways.

With input from numerous stakeholders -- such as the Federal Highway Administration, 3M, AARP, and others -- and featuring case studies of exemplary community work across the country, the Guide also serves as an informative collection of expertise from a diverse group of government agencies, non-profits, corporations, advocates, schools, and others. To get started learning about how roadway safety is important to your community, check out the free online edition here. And, for more on our work in this area, such as our brochure on avoiding pavement edge drop-off crashes, visit traffic-payout.org.

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Road Safety and Drowsy Driving

Posted by Unknown in , , , , , , , , on Thursday, November 7, 2013

Each year, Drowsy Driving Prevention Week (DDPW, Nov. 3-10, 2013) focuses national attention on the significant threat posed by motorists who get behind the wheel while extremely tired. As we’ve discussed previously on this blog, our research shows that roughly one-in-six fatal crashes involves a drowsy driver. And, according to new survey data released this week from our latest Traffic Safety Culture Index, just about everybody thinks it’s unacceptable to drive when you’re having a tough time keeping your eyes open, but a substantial number of people do so anyway.

While we generally discuss drowsy driving within the context of our safety culture research, this week presents a valuable opportunity to highlight how this priority concern relates to another of our focus areas: road safety. Within the realm of traffic safety more broadly, “road safety” refers to the engineering and design features, maintenance, and operating conditions of the road network itself, including roadways and the roadside environment. Our research on pavement edge drop-offs, which examined how the design and construction of the road edge can influence certain types of crashes, is an example of this area of study.

But how can engineering considerations and road safety relate to drowsy driving? A common road safety principle is that a roadway should be forgivingof driver error. This means that the design of a road can help mitigate crash severity, or, even better, prevent crashes from happening in the first place. Installing rumble strips, for example, can prevent a drowsy driver from having a run-off-the-road crash, as the noise and vibration they cause are designed to jolt drivers back to attention. Similarly, median barriers – such as cable guardrail or jersey walls – can serve as a last line of defense for a drowsy driver by preventing or mitigating cross-over, head-on collisions.    

Our flagship effort to improve road safety across the country is the United States Road Assessment Program (usRAP), an operating program of the AAA Foundation. usRAP provides highway authorities a simple but robust way to make data-informed decisions for the safety of the motoring public. Using a video log of a roadway, for example, usRAP can analyze the engineering features of a given segment, assign a star safety rating (similar to the safety ratings commonly used for evaluating vehicles), and generate a safety investment plan to reduce the risks identified.

This week, in addition to commemorating DDPW, we were very pleased to celebrate the achievement of the Genesee County Road Commission in Michigan, which won a 2013 National Roadway Safety Award for utilizing the usRAP protocols to generate a county safety plan with an estimated benefit-cost ratio of 2.3. The Award was presented by the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation at a luncheon on Capitol Hill, with GCRC and usRAP staff in attendance.

While usRAP provides a valuable tool for the highway agencies nationwide that are responsible for building and maintaining safe roads, it is up to each of us as motorists to ensure that every time we get behind the wheel, we are prepared to use those safe roads safely. This requires being awake, alert, attentive, and sober – always. And at the AAA Foundation – which recently again received Charity Navigator’s coveted 4-Star rating – we’ll continue in our mission to provide the science and tools needed for drivers, highway authorities, and others to move Toward Zero Deaths on our roads.

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A Newsworthy Fate

Posted by Unknown in , , , on Tuesday, June 12, 2012

This entry is a guest posting by AAA Foundation research and education coordinator Bruce Hamilton, who shares his thoughts on the May 26 crash that killed recent Yale grad Marina Keegan on Cape Cod. Keegan and Hamilton both grew up in Wayland, Massachusetts.

By now, many people across the country have heard the name Marina Keegan. Her story as an aspiring journalist, killed in a traffic crash just one week after graduating from Yale and publishing her final piece in the Yale Daily News – in which she reminded her fellow students of their shared youth and limitless possibilities – has ignited the national media. Preliminary investigations have indicated that Marina’s boyfriend, who was driving, fell asleep at the wheel. Thankfully, he survived and escaped serious physical injury.

The Foundation has called drowsy driving one of the most significant and under-appreciated traffic safety concerns, and our research has estimated that roughly one-in-six fatal crashes involves a drowsy driver. Additionally, while nearly all (96%) drivers say they believe driving while drowsy is unacceptable, roughly one third (32%) admit having done so in the past month.

While crashes like Marina’s are of professional concern to me, this story actually caught my attention for a different reason. I didn’t come across the news of her death in the Washington Post, New York Times, or any of the other major outlets that covered it. Instead, I first read the story in the local newspaper serving Marina’s and my hometown of Wayland, MA. Before reading about Marina the playwright and journalist, I read about Marina the friend, sister, and daughter, and the girl who loved growing up next to my elementary school.

While I didn't know Marina personally, our town is small and I remember the family name. At dinner on the day I learned of her passing, I mentioned the story and the Wayland connection to some acquaintances. They'd heard about it, but they were unmoved. They reminded me that people die in car crashes all the time; that the national media will never report on most of them; that Marina's story was sad but not "special."

What a potent reminder of why I work in this field.

Traffic crashes leave empty chairs at dining room tables and moments of silence at graduations. Traffic injuries leave victims with lifelong challenges and obstacles, which, to be sure, they confront bravely, but which nobody deserves. Traffic crashes cause violent, preventable deaths.

Traffic crashes are newsworthy.

While I am pleased that Marina’s story has generated interest, I am concerned that some of the coverage has taken on an almost romantic tone while reflecting on fate and loss. The implication is that what is “newsworthy” is some imagined poetic connection between Marina’s youthful writings and untimely death, rather than the fact that her passing was violent and preventable. There has been little, if any, acknowledgment that “justice” for crash victims can come in the form of concerted efforts to prevent future fatalities, and that all of us have a responsibility to keep the roads safe for everybody. One article I read went so far as to say that the lesson learned from Marina’s story is that life and death are entirely beyond our control.

Implicit in the Foundation’s mission is the rejection of this very notion. We work every day to demonstrate that the causes and consequences of crashes can be studied and understood, and that the findings can be used to develop risk-management strategies with tangible, life-saving results. We can never “do enough” for those who have passed away, but until we finally confront the leading killer of young people, we will not be doing right by Marina and the 32,000 other Americans who will share her story this year.

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Putting Safety in the Front Seat

Posted by Unknown in , , , , , on Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Travelers looking to purchase commercial bus tickets for interstate travel now have a new tool at their disposal when selecting a carrier, thanks to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) free SaferBus iPhone app.

Launched today, the app allows bus customers to access FMCSA’s safety data in a user-friendly way. After entering the name of a given bus company, app users will get information about its safety performance over the previous two years. Icons representing unsafe driving, fatigued driving, driver fitness, controlled substances/alcohol, and vehicle maintenance pop up, along with alerts if a carrier has shown deficiencies in these areas.

In the worst cases, the icons will be replaced by bold red text indicating that a given bus company is forbidden to operate. Customers can also use the app to report safety complaints directly to FMCSA.

Marketed under the banner “Look Before You Book,” this new app provides a quick, practical way to factor in a company’s safety record when selecting among carriers. It also serves as an important reminder that price and convenience are not the only two things customers should look for when purchasing a bus ticket. As always, safety should be the top priority.

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