dwerner151@verizon.net
The involvement of alcohol and/or drugs continues to be a serious issue in fatal crashes, with more than two out of five fatalities (44%) being alcohol or drug-related. Continuing efforts are needed to improve the effectiveness of public awareness initiatives that are designed to educate the motoring public on the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. In June 2020, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that of the 36,560 traffic fatalities in 2018, an estimated 10,511 people (29%) were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. Because of concerns these findings have raised, the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee provided funding for the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research to update its earlier study on the involvement of alcohol and/or drugs in fatal and personal injury (F&PI) crashes on New York roadways.
dwerner151@verizon.net In August 2020, the CTIA, a representative of America’s wireless industry, reported that there were 442.5 million U.S. wireless subscriptions, up more than 20 million year-over-year. The CTIA further reported that in 2019 consumers exchanged 2.1 trillion text messages, up 52 billion from the prior year, and spent 3.1 trillion minutes talking on their cellphones, up nearly 30% from 2018. Implications of the increasing use of cellphones and messaging continue to be of serious concern to New York’s traffic safety community. To help address these concerns, the state’s Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee provided funding for the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research to update its earlier study on cellphones and distracted driving. Focusing on the five-year period from 2015 to 2019, this research note presents a variety of information on cellphone use, texting and distracted driving related to fatal and personal-injury crashes, tickets i
Drivers in their 70s (that includes me) are now less likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those in their prime working years, a new Insurance Institute f
dwerner151@verizon.net If you are a reader of these weekly articles on traffic law and traffic safety, you are aware that I never write about traffic accidents  I always refer to them as crashes or collisions. In fact, I have written full articles, the most recent one in May 2019, trying to get people and news media to drop the word “accident” and replace it with “crash” or “collision.” Official forms used by enforcement agencies and the Department of Motor Vehicles should revise these forms and replace the “A” word with one of the “C” words. The same should be said for New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, which uses the word “accident” throughout.
Last week’s article presented 20 questions on vehicle and traffic law (VTL) and traffic safety. Hopefully you took the test and kept your answers handy. This