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Monthly Archive for: ‘July, 2012’

Motorcycle helmet laws are crucial to injury prevention, advocates say Comments Off

Traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death for motorcyclists killed in collisions, according to accident statistics, and motorcycle helmet law advocates say legislation requiring cyclists to wear helmets is crucial in order to reduce the frequency of these sorts of injuries in the event of an accident. If the motorcyclist’s brain is damaged in an impact with his or her inner skull, advocates say, the bruising may never be fully recovered from, even if the accident victim survives the collision.

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Doctors, Motorcyclists Express Importance of Helmet Safety

Posted on: 07-30-2012
Posted in: Motorcycle Accident, Safety

Montana city council passes distracted driving law on first reading Comments Off

A local ordinance banning the use of handheld electronic devices while operating a moving motor vehicle was approved by unanimous vote on first reading by the Columbia Falls City, Montana city council. The new ordinance would classify texting while driving as a civil, not criminal, offense, punishable by a fine between $100 and $300, and the offense would not mar a motorists driver’s license. According to traffic collision data compiled by the Montana Highway Patrol, more than 250 accidents, five of them resulting in at least one death, involved a driver distracted by a handheld electronic device.

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Cell phone ban passes first reading

Posted on: 07-30-2012
Posted in: car safety, distracted driving

Council debates texting ban; motorists test distracted driving skills Comments Off

Motorists in Sioux City have been given the opportunity to put their own distracted driving abilities to the test using electronic driving simulation software. This program, intended to warn drivers of the dangers inherent in texting and driving. Sioux City’s local government is currently considering an ordinance prohibiting text messaging while driving, legislation that took on an extra significances after a recent automobile collision allegedly involving a texting driver, killed a city council member.

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Distracted Driving Simulator Put To The Test

Posted on: 07-30-2012
Posted in: car technology, distracted driving

Tennessee DOT installs traffic signs at fatal accident site Comments Off

Eight traffic signs have been installed at the intersection of Bridge Burners Boulevard and U.S. 11E, the site of two fatal crashes in the last year and a half, as part of an ongoing highway improvement project in western Greene County overseen by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The intersection will now feature four traffic signs facing traffic approaching from both directions.

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TDOT’s Safety Steps Begin At Deadly Site

Posted on: 07-30-2012
Posted in: car safety, News

Child heat stroke prevention devices too unreliable, study shows Comments Off

Product testing conducted at the request of the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that recently introduced safety devices marketed as a means to prevent children from suffering potentially lethal heat strokes when left unattended in parked cars are ineffective and inconsistent. Based on the results of a study carried out by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which found that devices designed to warn parents and other adult guardians of the presence of a child in the backseat of a car do not work reliably, federal safety experts have advised against relying exclusively on these devices because they may provide a false and possibly fatal sense of security in their failure to detect an endangered child.

Since 1998, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, approximately 38 children have died from heat stroke after being left inside a parked car for a total of 527 deaths. For children younger than 14 years of age, hyperthermia is the leading non-collision cause of vehicle related deaths. In the majority (51 percent) of cases, the parent or guardian responsible for the child’s wellbeing reported forgetting that the child was left inside the car, while the child victims in 30 percent of cases entered the car without their parent or guardian’s knowledge and were discovered after it was too late. In another 17 percent of cases, the parent or guardian left the child in the car intentionally because they reported being unaware that the child’s life would be endangered over a short period of time on even a mildly warm day, a message federal agencies and safety advocates are continually working to spread in the summer months. In cases of parental forgetfulness, the most commonly mentioned contributing factors were the distractions of work or slight variations in their standard daily routines.

After product effectiveness testing, researchers concluded that the new line of products designed to detect the presence of a child left in the back seat could not be recommended as a reliable deterrent to this child safety risk. None of the three devices tested, according to the statement issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, worked consistently enough to be trusted with children’s lives. Cell phones can interfere with the devices’ functionality, for example, as can liquids or the positioning of a child in his or her safety restraint.

Parents who want to use these devices are advised to incorporate them into a larger overall safety plan instead of relying entirely on the device alone to detect an endangered child.

Posted on: 07-30-2012
Posted in: car technology, child safety

Motorists find texting and driving skills test ‘impossible’ to pass Comments Off

In order to provide a real life demonstration of the dangers inherent in texting while driving, a Belgian traffic safety advocacy organization convinced several young drivers that, in order to obtain a driver’s license, they would have to pass a texting and driving proficiency test. The drivers were required to drive through an obstacle course while attempting to send text messages dictated by the test administrator. Drivers had close calls and accidents while attempting to send the messages, often running over cones that represent road obstacles such as pedestrians. One driver attempting to take the test said he would quit driving altogether if he was required to take the test because it was impossible to pass.

Posted on: 07-30-2012
Posted in: distracted driving, Teen Safety

Pedestrian accidents up, some blame ‘distracted walking’ Comments Off

According to an Associated Press report, incidents in which pedestrians bump into each other, fall into ditches and other hazards, or wander into traffic while their attention is distracted by a handheld electronic device has increased fourfold in recent years. The lawmakers in many states have considered and rejected legislation that would prohibit pedestrians from operating handheld electronic devices while walking, but advertisements warning of the dangers of distracted walking are becoming more common. One recent case in which a man walked into a black bear while sending a text message illustrates just how distracted some pedestrians have by handheld communication devices.

In 2010, according to accident statistics, the number of pedestrians involved in fatal accidents increased by more than 4 percent in comparison to previous years, and many safety experts suggest that distracted walking has contributed to this increase. Legislatures in states where bills against distracted walking have been discussed have not voted to enact these laws, in part because of a lack of evidence that laws prohibiting distracted driving have proven effective in reducing the problem.

According to one traffic safety study, bans against talking on cellphones while driving may increase the frequency of drivers sending text messages behind the wheel instead, but Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has pointed to another study indicating a 38 to 68 percent decrease in overall cellphone use in states where distracted driving laws are enforced.

Posted on: 07-30-2012
Posted in: accident injury, Pedestrian Accident

Construction accident results in $250,000 fine for UK company Comments Off

A Littlehampton, West Sussex construction site accident that nearly resulted in the death of a worker cost Landmark Groundworks more than $250,000 American dollars in fines and expenses after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, the United Kingdom’s workplace safety administration. The construction worker, a 48 year old man, was unable to work for almost one year due to the multiple injuries to his pelvis, leg and arm he suffered after falling more than 12 feet during a home renovation project. The motion range of his left arm is still significantly limited.

The injured worker was helping to build a basement edition on the home when four improperly installed concrete floor planks weighing more than 4,000 pounds each gave way while he and another worker were standing on them. The other worker moved out of the way when the flooring collapsed, but the injured man was unable to do so. In the subsequent investigation, the Health and Safety Executive inspectors determined that the construction company by not following design proposals submitted by structural engineers and checking the weight bearing capabilities of the flooring beams before allowing the construction project to commence, had not complied with the safety guidelines established to prevent this sort of accident from occurring.

As a result, the company was found guilty of violating the Health and Safety at Work etc Act of 1974 and fined £110,000 (equivalent to more than $170,000 in U.S. currency). Landmark Groundworks was also ordered to pay £50,000 (equivalent to more than $78,000) in other costs. According to statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive, about 3,000 construction workers suffered severe injuries on the jobsite in the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2011, and 50 were killed in fatal workplace accidents.

Posted on: 07-27-2012
Posted in: accident injury, construction accident

Smart phones may soon protect pedestrians, General Motors says Comments Off

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, 4,280 pedestrians and 618 bicyclists were killed in fatal collisions with motor vehicles in 2010, but the research and development department at General Motors is currently working on technology that may reduce the risk pedestrians and cyclists face when sharing the road with automobiles, as long as they’re carrying their smart phones.

Unlike recent pedestrian safety technology developed by Volvo — which recently announced plans to equip new automobiles with a pedestrian detection system and even an exterior air bag designed to protect pedestrians struck by the vehicle – GM’s new technology would use wireless internet connectivity to warn drivers approaching pedestrians of an impending collision.

With this technology, which GM researchers estimate may be available as early as 2017, smart phones and other Wi-Fi enabled devices carried by pedestrians would be able to communicate with nearby cars using the Wi-Fi Direct peer-to-peer wireless connection. Driver assistance systems using a sensor based object detection feature, similar to systems currently available in newer model vehicles, would be equipped with integrated with Wi-Fi Direct capabilities that could identify pedestrians and cyclists carrying smartphones equipped with a Wi-Fi Direct software app, also in development. Wi-Fi Direct, according to data provided by the Wi-Fi Alliance, is capable of transmitting reliably within a 200 yard radius and allows for connection times as fast as one second.

General Motors will be testing the device alongside many competing vehicle safety technologies in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s upcoming vehicle to vehicle pilot program launching in Ann Arbor, Michigan next month.

Wireless vehicle to vehicle connectivity could have other applications besides passenger safety, GM researchers say, including transferring music files and contact information between vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently testing the effectiveness of hands-free communication devices in reducing driver distraction, but the United States Transportation Secretary earlier this year suggested that states adopt legislation banning all forms of cellphone use behind the wheel with or with out a hands free adaptor. In February, the Transportation Department issued a set of guidelines for implementing built in communication systems in new vehicle models, which the department is urging automakers and wireless device manufacturers to adopt voluntarily. These guidelines include requiring the car to be in park before allowing drivers to access social networking or GPS navigation features and limiting any activity requiring input from the driver while the car is in motion to two seconds.

Posted on: 07-27-2012
Posted in: car technology, Pedestrian Accident

Safety experts urge parents to follow federal car seat guidelines Comments Off

Children often try and convince their parents to swap the convertible car safety seat for the booster seat before they are ready, safety experts say. Parents should make the decision based on the child’s height and weight, however, not their pleading. When a child reaches age 4 and weighs around 40 pounds it is time to make the transition. Experts recommend that a child use a booster seat until age 8 or they reach 4 feet 9 inches in height. Laws vary on mandatory use so parents are advised to check their state law before making the transition.

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Car Seat Basics Part Three: Beyond the Booster

Posted on: 07-27-2012
Posted in: car safety, child safety
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