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Sub-Topics
2005
Car Design Flaws
Road Rage
Also TryNewsPapers
- Cellphones More Dangerous Than Alcohol for Drivers (NewScientist.com)
Describes a study of drivers that concludes that use of a cellphone is more dangerous than having elevated blood alcohol levels. "Driving simulator experiments by researchers at the Transport Research Laboratory found drivers talking on mobile phones had 30 per cent slower reaction times than those who had been drinking, and 50 per cent slower times than sober participants." 3-02
Projects
- Best Safety Option for a Car - Electronic Stability Control (CNNMoney)
"Now two studies from Europe and Japan -- where consumers have more widely embraced the systems -- confirm what I've long believed: that stability control may be second only to seat belts in safeguarding drivers and passengers."
"Toyota found that electronic stability control reduced single-vehicle crashes in Japan by a remarkable 35 percent and head-on crashes by 30 percent." 10-03
- Car Safety Features (MSN)
Describes and evaluates safety features for newer cars. 11-05
- Highway Safety Information (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Move Over Laws (GAHighwaySafety.org)
"According to FBI statistics, traffic crashes claim the lives of more police personnel than any other cause of death in the line of duty, including shootings. The FBI says last year, forty-nine officers died in crashes across the country. Thirteen of those law enforcement officers were struck and killed by passing vehicles while they worked outside their patrol cars." 02-06
- Move Over Laws (NCSmartlink.org)
"The 'Move Over' Law requires motorists, when approaching a parked or standing emergency vehicle with its lights flashing on the shoulder of the highway, to move to a lane not nearest the emergency vehicle if possible, or reduce speed. Motorists should travel in that lane until clear of the emergency vehicle. Motorists on two-lane roads should slow down and use caution when passing a parked or standing emergency vehicle." 02-06
- Nation's Highways and Bridges on the Road to Privatization (MotherJones.com)
"Across the nation, there is now talk of privatizing everything from the New York Thruway to the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey turnpikes, as well as of inviting the private sector to build and operate highways and bridges from Alabama to Alaska. More than 20 states have enacted legislation allowing public-private partnerships, or P3s, to run highways. Robert Poole, the founder of the libertarian Reason Foundation and a longtime privatization advocate, estimates that some $25 billion in public-private highway deals are in the works—a remarkable figure given that as of 1991, the total cost of the interstate highway system was estimated at $128.9 billion." 12-06
- Police Chases and Safety (Christian Science Monitor)
"A hot pursuit may not always be the best way to catch a thief or any other suspect fleeing from the cops, they say, especially on roads filled with law-abiding citizens. The tragic aftermath of many pursuits has sounded an alarm about their safety - and necessity."
"Indeed, about 40 percent of all police chases end in crashes, and many of these result in injuries and sometimes death, according to statistics from the College of Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. This means that almost every day someone in this country dies as the result of a police-pursuit accident." 02-07
- Safe Cars - Rollover and Crash Tests (NHTSA.dot.gov)
Provides results of tests. 02-10
- Safest and Most Satisfying Cars (CBS News)
Lists cars ratest highest in user satisfaction and in safety. 3-05
- Side Impact Tests on Small Cars Not Conforting (CBS News)
"The Dodge Neon, Ford Focus and Volkswagen's New Beetle are among the small cars that got the lowest safety ratings in new side-impact crash tests performed by an independent, nonprofit organization."
"Eleven of the 13 cars tested got a 'poor,' the lowest of four ratings, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety."
"The Chevrolet Cobalt and the Toyota Corolla earned the second-highest rating of 'acceptable,' but only when they were tested with their optional side air bags. They earned 'poor' ratings without the air bags." 3-05
- Simulations for Better Driver Training (MSNBC News)
"A driving simulator similar to flight simulators used to train pilots can help people re-learn to drive after suffering a stroke."
"Nearly 75 percent of stroke patients trained on the simulator were able to pass an official driving test, compared with 42 percent of patients who completed standard training, Dr. Abiodun Akinwuntan of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and colleagues in Belgium report." 9-05
- Study: Low-Cost Changes on Urban Roads Can Reduce Accidents (USA Today)
"Making low-cost changes to busy roadways in cities, such as adding left-turn signals and extending the length of merger lanes, can reduce the number of crashes, according to a study by the insurance industry." 8-05
- Traffic Accident Statistics (U.S. Department of Transportation)
Provides statistics about traffic fatalities. 4-03
- Transportation - Department of Transportation
Provides information on policies and programs.
- Measure Your Reaction Time While Texting (New York Times)
"New studies show that drivers overestimate their ability to multitask behind the wheel. This game measures how your reaction time is affected by external distractions. Regardless of your results, experts say, you should not attempt to text when driving." 11-09
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