Seat Belt Patrols

Hey drivers, keep in mind that King County patrol officers are stepping up their seatbelt patrols. Not that it should take that for you to be buckling up, but if knowing that keeps you from serious injury or even death, we're ok with it.
BUCKLE UP!!!! CLICK IT OR TICKET!!!!

Texting While Driving

A recent survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 46% Of teens are admitting to texting while driving. There are countless ways to avoid doing this while you are driving.....can you think of some? Pull over.....stop......dont use your cell phone at all...

Here's another question you may want to ask yourself......Does an Ipod give the same distraction as texting? What's the risk vs reward with texting while driving.......THINK.......THINK!!!!!

photo courtesy of the NHTSA

Planning your route

When you plan a trip, does it make sense for you to think about where you will be driving? Does it reduce your risk of collision? How?
Some of the easiest things to do in driving tend to be the things that nobody does.....like leaving early.
On the next trip you take, plan your route to get to your destination 40 minutes early. Then compare that with a trip you've taken where you leave just enough time to get to your destination.
What are the differences with each drive? What was your stress level with each drive? Which drive involved more risk? So the next time before you drive, do that one thing that can save you much heartache.......THINK THINK THINK THINK THINK

TEENS and SEAT BELTS

Are seatbelts that big of an issue? Doesn't everyone know to buckle up before they drive? Consider these statistics given by the NHTSA(national highway traffic safety administration).

In 2006, 58% of people 16-20 years old who were involved in fatal crashes were not buckled up.

Before you watch the video, ask yourself some questions.......Do you buckle up everytime you drive? Do you think that seat belts really prevent injury? How about after watching the video. Could this mans seat belt have saved him some pain?

Video of Crash

Distracted Driving Study

A 100 car study performed by the National Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NVCCS), found that distractions are a common occurrence and distractions that require the driver to take their eyes off the road are potentially more dangerous that purely cognitive distractions. The results below show the odds of risk for these secondary distractions. The findings may surprise you.

* TYPE OF SECONDARY-------TASK ODDS RATIO

Reaching for a moving object---8.82
Insect in vehicle---6.37
Looking at external object---3.70
Reading---3.38
Applying makeup---3.13
Dialing hand-held device---2.79
Inserting/Retrieving CD---2.25
Eating---1.57
Reaching for non-moving object---1.38
Talking/Listening to hand-held device---1.29
Drinking from open container---1.03
Other personal hygiene---0.70
Adjusting Radio---0.50
Passenger in adjacent seat---0.50
Passenger in rear seat---0.39
Child in rear seat---0.33

So according to this table you can see that reaching for a moving object increases the risk of a collision by more than eight times that of regular driving. I bet if you try hard, you can find things that you do on this list.....how could you avoid doing these things? What steps could you take?

*NHTSA (2008, July) National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study report to congress. DOT HS 811 059 Washington, D.C. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Distracted Driving

The National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation has done a survey that shows staggering statistics for distracted driving. This survey showed that 80% of all traffic incidents and 65% of all near collisions involve some sort of distraction.

"A driver increases the risk of a crash by 2,300% if he/she is texting while driving." said Congresswoman Betsy Markey.

To view Rep. Markey's address to congress click here

What could you do to reduce your own distracted driving? What things are you currently doing that could be considered a distraction to your driving?

tmcnet.com-----youtube.com

Cell Phone Law signed by Gov. Gregoire

Governor Gregoire has signed a law making it a primary offense to talk on a cell phone, read or send text messages while driving......This law takes effect on June 10th.

Drivers with learner permits or intermediate licenses will be prohibited from using any cell phone. Exceptions will be made in the case of an emergency.

Let us know what you think about this law. Do you think it will improve the driving conditions? Or do you think that driving while talking on a phone or texting will still go under the radar?