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Hundreds of millions of cars on the roads have safety technologies – new and old – that help reduce the risk of crashes and deaths. But even the most advanced safety feature cannot replace a safe, focused driver in the car. The National Safety Council, in partnership with the University of Iowa Public Policy Center, is […]
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today issued a final rule to modernize numerous Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and clarify ambiguities in current occupant protection standards for vehicles equipped with automated driving systems that are designed without traditional manual driver controls. The rule amends several crashworthiness regulations to clarify safety standards for […]
2020 was a year of change in how Americans connect, work, and travel. Many of us are under stress—and understandably so. Unfortunately, the pandemic and the resulting economic dislocations and stay-at-home orders have been accompanied by a sharp increase in risky driving and fatal crashes. Most fatal crashes are linked to risky behavior. If you […]
It is Week 43 of the coronavirus pandemic, and total crash data is showing a decline in Alabama. The number of crashes is similar to pre-COVID-19 levels. The total number of speed-related crashes increased over the four-week period. View Graph This report comes amid reports from other states indicating that their drivers are taking advantage […]
Move Over laws vary by state but generally require motorists to move over a lane or slow down, or both, when approaching emergency response vehicles with flashing lights stopped on the roadside. U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data provide limited information on whether crashes involved violations of these state […]
Ten automakers have fulfilled a voluntary commitment to equip nearly all the new light vehicles they produce for the U.S. market with automatic emergency braking (AEB) — well ahead of the 2022-23 target. The 10 manufacturers put the technology on more than 95 percent of the vehicles they produced between Sept. 1, 2019, and Aug. […]
Marijuana use impairs cognitive abilities necessary for safe driving, including reaction time, road lane–tracking ability, and attention maintenance. In 2018, 45.3% of US residents aged 12 years or older reported having used marijuana in their lifetime; 10.1% were recent users.1 Although US high school seniors reporting driving after using marijuana (DAUM) decreased slightly from 14.6% in […]
Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 11,260 people were killed on U.S. roadways in the third quarter of 2020, a 13.1% increase compared to the same period in 2019. Looking at the first nine months of 2020, the data show that 28,190 people died in crashes, a 4.6% increase from the year before. Traffic […]
Front automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems have greater potential to save lives, but rear AEB is saving drivers the hassle and expense of many a fender bender, an updated analysis from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows. Rear AEB was the standout feature in HLDI’s annual compilation of its research on the impact of […]
Over the period from 2009 to 2018, pedestrian fatalities in the United States increased 53%, from 4,109 to 6,283, after decreasing for three decades. The proportion of all traffic fatalities that were pedestrians increased from 12% to 17% over the same time period. Between 2010 and 2017, the U.S. experienced the largest percentage increase in […]
