The National Motorists Association and STOPandGO.org both agree: red light cameras are a detriment to safety and exist for purely political reasons. The NMA has taken the time to compile a list of five major studies that revealed traffic cameras actually increase, and not decrease, the number of accidents at intersections. This is an excellent resource for anyone researching traffic cameras.
According to a new study by the University of Utah, drivers on cell phones are clogging up traffic. Motorists on cell phones drive slower, pass less often, and take longer to complete their trips, according to the study released Wednesday by psychology professor Dave Strayer.
When you’re caught in a traffic jam, you probably don’t know why. Is there an accident ahead of you? In most of the cases, the answer is no. And all the electronic devices installed in your car can’t help you. You’re stuck for a while — until the traffic gradually improves. Now, European mathematicians have solved the traffic jam mystery. The mathematical model they’ve developed shows that traffic jams are mostly caused by a single driver who brakes too much when faced to an unexpected event. Of course, the driver behind him also slows down, and so does the next one, until the road is totally blocked. But read more…
The claim that drunken drivers kill 15,000 people each year is simply not true (“Pet bill of MADD still lacks support,” Nov. 26). The majority of these deaths consist of drunken drivers killing themselves. Many more of the “alcohol-related” fatalities reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration involve drunken pedestrians struck by sober drivers, and accidents in which a passenger is drunk but the driver is sober. “Alcohol-related” is not tantamount to “alcohol-caused.”
“The current system looks at accident records and tries to predict problems,” Johnson said. “The problem with this is that they wait three years for 20 accidents and then have to wait longer to do something about it. We aim to find low-cost ways to predict a dangerous location before we get 20 accidents.” By proactively identifying dangerous sites, corrective actions can be taken at earlier stages and, hopefully, future accidents can be avoided.
Civil engineers scout out accident hazards to make roads safer
Runaway trailers are a little-known but persistent cause of crashes, deaths and injuries across the United States. The government doesn’t keep nationwide statistics on accidents caused by trailer decouplings. But a Los Angeles Times review of news reports and court files identified about 540 such crashes since 2000. They resulted in at least 164 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
In the six years since New Jersey enacted legislation imposing more restrictions on young drivers, including a graduated licensing system, to address its leading cause of death of teenagers and young adults, the number of accidents involving 17- to 20-year-old drivers has declined. Still, 44 young drivers were killed last year in New Jersey crashes, according to the highway traffic safety division. And vehicle accidents remain the No. 1 killer of young people across the country, claiming thousands of lives each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
New Jersey Governor Appointed Group to Study Issues of Teenage Driving
Four years ago, New York State enacted stricter licensing rules. Since the law was instituted, the state has seen some of its deadly statistics fall. Statewide, 60 drivers ages 16 and 17 were involved in fatal car accidents in 2005. In 2002, the number of 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes was 82. In 2002, 192 drivers ages 18 to 20 were involved in fatal accidents; in 2005, the number was 140.
A study beginning next year will help determine whether the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will regulate digital billboards alongside interstates and and other federal-aid roads.
Two safety experts ticketed for speeding in Ann Arbor this year are urging a judge to dismiss the citations, arguing that the city’s speed limits are unsafe and illegal under state law. They did not argue that a statute allows a city to supersede state law in setting limits. But they did assert that “the only logical method for determining a safe speed limit on an urban roadway … under the jurisdiction of a local authority like the city of Ann Arbor is to allow that local authority to make individualized determinations based on the recommendations of its traffic engineers.”
