The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that the number of overall traffic fatalities reported in 2008 hit their lowest level since 1961 and that fatalities in the first three months of 2009 continue to decrease. The fatality rate, which accounts for variables like fewer miles traveled, also reached the lowest level ever recorded.

The fatality data for 2008 placed the highway death count at 37,261, a drop of 9.7 percent from 2007. The fatality rate for 2008 was 1.27 persons per 100 million VMT, about 7 percent below the rate of 1.36 recorded for 2007.

Substantial declines occurred in virtually every major category, led by declines in passenger car occupant fatalities which dropped for the sixth year in a row, reaching the lowest level since DOT began keeping records. Light truck occupant fatalities fell for the third straight year. Alcohol-impaired fatalities also declined by more than 9 percent over 2007.

Continuing this trend, the January-March 2009 estimate of 7,689 deaths represents a nine percent decline from a year ago. It was the twelfth consecutive quarterly decline. The fatality rate for the first quarter of 2009 reached 1.12 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. Preliminary data collected by the Federal Highway Administration showed that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) during the first three months of 2009 declined by about 11.7 billion miles.

The 2008 annual statistics did report, however, that motorcycle deaths increased for the 11th straight year and now account for 14 percent of all highway fatalities.

“While the number of highway deaths in America has decreased, we still have a long way to go,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

He added that the country has made major strides in increasing seat belt use, curtailing impaired driving, making roads and highways safer, and maximizing vehicle safety, all of which play important roles in the declining death rate.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today said the number of people killed in traffic crashes is expected to reach a new record low in 2008, with early projections showing an almost 10 percent drop in highway traffic deaths in the first 10 months of this year.

The Secretary made the announcement today in Kansas City where she also outlined key safety benchmarks that have been achieved across all areas of transportation.

“Our focus on safety – from our highways, railways, seaways and airways – has led to one of the safest periods in our nation’s transportation history,” Secretary Peters said. “Every American can be more confident than ever they will arrive at their destination safe and sound.”

The Secretary said the new fatality data marks the first time the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is able to project fatality figures prior to the end of the calendar year. Using new electronic data gathering techniques, the Department is working to make projections in near real time to “give safety professionals the data they need to keep motorists safe,” she said.

Early estimates show that 31,110 people died on the nation’s roads from January through October, compared to 34,502 in 2007 during that same 10-month time period. In addition, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicles miles traveled for the first nine months of 2008 is 1.28, compared to 1.37 for 2007.

“For the second year in a row we are seeing historic lows in deaths on our nation’s roads,” Secretary Peters said. “While we are encouraged by these declines, our work is not nearly complete in making our safe transportation network even safer.”

Rae Tyson

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

More Americans are buckling up than ever before, with 83 percent of vehicle occupants using seatbelts during daylight hours, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced today. In 2007, 82 percent used seat belts. “More and more Americans are realizing that the mere seconds it takes to buckle up can mean the difference between life and death,” Secretary Peters said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that approximately 270 lives are saved for every one percent increase in belt use. Acting NHTSA Administrator David Kelly said a contributing factor for such historically high seat belt use is high-visibility law enforcement efforts, such as the Department’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign. “We are committed to supporting state and local law enforcement in their front-line efforts to encourage belt use,” Kelly said.

According to the report, 84 percent of passenger car occupants are buckling up. Even more people, 86 percent, are buckling up in vans and SUVs while pickup truck occupants buckled up 74 percent of the time. The report finds that safety belt use increased or remained level in every region of the country, with the highest use being reported in the West (93 percent), and the lowest in the Midwest and Northeast (79 percent). The South reported 81 percent.

The report reveals that states with primary belt laws are averaging about 13 percentage points higher for seat belt use (88 percent) than states with secondary laws (75 percent). In primary belt law states, officers can issue a citation for a seat-belt violation alone. In secondary law states, seat belt citations are allowed only after a stop for another violation.

The report also notes that belt use on expressways is now at an estimated 90 percent while belt use on lower-speed “surface” streets remains at 80 percent. Seat belt use and other data are collected annually by NHTSA as part of the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS). The latest survey, conducted in June of 2008, involved daylight observations of vehicle occupant behavior at more than 1800 sites nationwide.

To see the latest seat belt report, click on the link below: Click here to read report

By MARK WILLIAMS

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Rising prices at the gas pump appear to be having at least one positive effect: Traffic deaths around the country are plummeting, just as they did during the Arab oil embargo three decades ago. Researchers with the National Safety Council report a 9 percent drop in motor vehicle deaths overall through May compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of 18 percent in March and 14 percent in April.

Preliminary figures obtained by The Associated Press show that some states have reported declines of 20 percent or more. Thirty-one states have seen declines of at least 10 percent, and eight states have reported an increase, according to the council.No one can say definitively why road fatalities are falling, but it is happening as Americans cut back sharply on driving because of record-high gas prices.

Fewer people on the road means fewer fatalities, said Gus Williams, 52, of Albany, Ga., who frequently drives to northern Ohio. “That shows a good thing coming out of this crisis.” He has also noticed that many motorists are going slower. The federal government reported in April that miles traveled fell 1.8 percent in April compared with a year earlier, continuing a trend that began in November.Experts say a slumping economy and fuel prices have brought down the number of road fatalities in a hurry.

“When the economy is in the tank and fuel prices are high, you typically see a decline in miles driven and traffic deaths,” said John Ulczycki, the council’s executive director for transportation safety. States also cite other factors such as police stepping up their pursuit of speeders and drunken drivers, as well as better teen-licensing programs, safer vehicles and winter weather that kept many drivers at home. The Governors Highway Safety Association also says seat belt use is probably at record levels and will top 90 percent in several states when figures are released later this year.

But the last time road deaths fell this fast and this sharply was during the Arab oil embargo in 1973-1974, when fatalities tumbled 17 percent, from about 55,100 to 46,000; and as states raised the drinking age to 21 in 1982-83, when fatalities fell 11 percent, from roughly 49,300 to 44,000. Chuck Hurley, a former official with the National Safety Council and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said half of the decline in road deaths during the 1970s was attributed to high gas prices. The remainder was linked to the lowering of freeway speed limits to 55 mph. Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia has said Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit. “People aren’t driving as much. We’re definitely seeing a difference” in crashes, said Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety.

Source: Sacramento Bee

No more dogs behind the steering wheel.

Canines don’t have to be back-seat drivers, but they’d better stay away from the gas pedal under legislation passed this week by the California State Assembly. Lambasted by radio’s Rush Limbaugh and ridiculed as the “Paris Hilton Bill” in honor of the celebrity dog lover, the measure now goes to the state Senate.

But Assemblyman Bill Maze said his bill could be a matter of life or death. “It’s a safety measure,” he told the Sacramento Bee. Current law requires animals to be secured in the back of a pickup, but allows them to roam freely inside a vehicle.

Supporters hailed the bill as common sense while opponents complained that government shouldn’t dictate who can sit in their lap: period. “I think we can probably spend the government’s money on more significant issues,” said Vickie Cleary, an Antelope resident and dog lover.

Bill Hemby, chairman of PetPAC, a pet owners group, said cuddling animals while driving can be distracting and cause accidents. “I think it’s a dangerous thing, especially if you have a small dog that falls on your feet and you can’t hit the gas pedal or the brake,” he said.

A Modesto driver was injured last month when she crashed into a power pole after she was scratched by a cat on her lap, according to press reports. Patrons of Partner Park, a Sacramento off-leash dog facility, had mixed reactions to Maze’s Assembly Bill 2233. Kent Kim, 58, suggested that government should keep its nose out of people’s laps.

“I think we have plenty of laws,” Kim said. “I think government should let people take responsibility for themselves.” Kim said he discourages his dog from hopping onto his lap in the car, but it has happened from time to time without incident. Gina Santana, 31, said the legislation could benefit pets and their owners. “If they get in a car accident, that dog would fly out the window,” she said.

Steve Archer, a Sacramento retiree, said he has mixed emotions about the bill. Government tends to over-regulate, but it’s hard to defend a driver’s right to cuddle lap dogs.”I don’t feel like the guy in the next lane is really paying attention if he’s got a dog in his lap leaning out the window,” Archer said. Marci Landgraf, 37, said passage of the bill might encourage manufacturers to create more comfortable devices to secure animals in vehicles.

“I love dogs, I love being close to them,” added Sandy Ettinger of Aptos. “But when I’m in a car, pushing 3,000 pounds of metal at 60 miles an hour, I also like to keep my fellow motorists alive.” On the Assembly floor, Maze argued that accidents caused by driving while cuddling a canine, or other animal, can raise insurance rates.

Statistics were not readily available on the number of accidents caused by drivers distracted by holding animals on their laps. Eight percent of drivers surveyed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance in 2006 said they had held a pet while behind the wheel.

Maze also pointed to a recent American Automobile Association study that found pets and loose objects were common distractions and significant traffic hazards.

Violators of the proposed law would not be penalized with higher insurance rates, but they could be slapped with base fines of $35 that could rise to about $150 through penalty assessments, Maze said. Assemblyman Dave Jones voted in favor of the legislation. “Anybody with common sense has to know that they shouldn’t be driving with an animal on their lap,” he said. “But if there are some people who think it’s acceptable, I suppose the bill will send a clear signal.”

The bill, AB 2233, had no formal opposition, but Assemblyman Martin Garrick criticized the measure as “overreaching.” “I would hope an individual would act responsibly,” he said. “But if the dog is a small animal and it happens to be on your lap, I don’t see that as a major distraction.”