Editors note: I suspect some readers will have a deja vu reaction to this story because a) drunken hit and runs are disgustingly commonplace and b) I am a supporter of Louis V. Lombardo and have used his material before. Once again, I urge you to visit his site,www.CareForCrashVictims.com . This is his email, verbatim. Today’s […]
Category: Motor vehicle crashes
Distracted Driving
A recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights survey results that reveal 69% of Americans between the ages of 18 to 64 had talked on a handheld cell phone while driving within the last 30 days. In addition, 30% admitted to texting or emailing […]
US teens driving less but fatalities have increased
Editors note: Peter Jacobsen sent this to me for the blog along with the observation that he thought the US and NZ were the only industrialized countries that permit 16 to 18 year old drivers. (Not sure if he meant 16 in one country and 18 in the other, but readers can comment whether he […]
Combining technologies helps us understand the risk
Researchers in Canada have combined two technologies – driving simulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain – to identify the parts of the brain involved in a variety of real-world driving maneuvers. Minimal brain activation was found during simple driving tasks such as turning right (in the US, turning left in Australia), consistent with the ‘automation’ […]
Seatbelts in the spotlight
A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examining self-reported seatbelt use in jurisdictions with primary versus secondary enforcement across the United States revealed that, whilst in general self-reported seatbelt use increased over the study period of 2002 to 2010, jurisdictions with primary enforcement laws had significantly higher seatbelt use than jurisdictions with […]
“Bring it on” in the 2nd United Nations Global Road Safety Week (6th -12th May 2013)
The 2nd United Nations (UN) Global Road Safety Week is to be held from 6th to 12th May 2013. This week marks the beginning of the third year of a 10-year-long international initiative, “the Decade of Action for Road Safety.” The focus of this week is to raise awareness about pedestrian safety. This week has […]
Children’s road safety TV adverts to be axed in UK
Rafael Consunji sent me the following clipping with this comment: “I am very sad for the children in the UK. To a man (and woman), everyone I met from the UK can recite the adverts that they saw as kids that encouraged them to be safer pedestrians.” I replied that I had no doubt that […]
Pedestrian airbags can save lives
I was fascinated to see this article regarding a pedestrian airbag in the new Volvo V40. We are all aware of the appalling road safety statistics for pedestrians – around 15% of Australia’s road toll each year is contributed by pedestrians, and two thirds of these fatalities are caused by impact with a vehicle. A […]
Grim dashboard video of crashes
This link to a fascinating and grim video was sent to me by Peter Jacobsen showing what motorists see of crashes using dashboard-mounted cameras. Many of the scenes are motorists crossing the centerline into the path of oncoming vehicles. Peter writes: “I’m a fan of Vision Zero, and that approach calls for installing raised center […]
Graphic safety message at car show
Rene Bruemmer contributed a powerful article to todays local paper, the Montreal Gazette, describing an exhibit at the International Auto Show. It is “the crumpled hulk of a 1982 Camaro in which two men died four months ago.” Apparently they “ran off a country road … driving fast on booze and worn out […]