Author: Maggie Palmer

  • November 13th, 2020

Stakeholders in the field of automated vehicles (AVs)—from developers to the general public—seek confidence in the safety of these machines. In summer 2019, the Uber Advanced Technologies Group approached the RAND Corporation for help in understanding (a) approaches for establishing that AVs are acceptably safe, and (b) which approaches appeal more and less broadly across […]

  • November 13th, 2020

Today’s cars come chock-full of advanced driver-assistance systems that help drivers avoid collisions and accidents. These systems have helped make modern cars safer than ever, but on the financial side have produced a mixed bag of savings and costs for drivers. Car insurance rates are where drivers can see the most difference, depending on how […]

  • November 10th, 2020

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has proven a formidable adversary worldwide, with tremendous impact on the United States. The transportation system is an essential element of our response to this pandemic but has also been significantly impacted across all modes, both passenger and goods movement. The term “pivot” has become popular to reflect that our typical […]

  • November 9th, 2020

It is Week 35 of the coronavirus pandemic, and total crash data is showing a decline in Alabama. The number of crashes has dropped to around 90% of its pre-COVID-19 levels. The number of fatal crashes decreased over the two-week period. View Graph  This report comes amid reports from other states indicating that their drivers […]

  • October 30th, 2020

For most people, the end of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday means gaining an extra hour of sleep, and maybe a reminder to change smoke detector batteries. However, we encourage you to add a new tradition to your safety essentials list when falling back and springing forward: Checking for vehicle safety recalls. Don’t put yourself, […]

  • October 27th, 2020

The Big Stories Safety Reminder Campaign Focused on Summer Safety The NTSB launched its #SafetyReminder social and digital media campaign in mid-May to remind the traveling public about the importance of staying focused on safety during the summer as we slowly resumed air, rail, road, and marine travel following unprecedented stay-at-home restrictions related to the […]

  • October 27th, 2020

A gap in knowledge exists regarding drug use among drivers and other road users (pedestrians, bicyclists) who are seriously or fatally injured in crashes in the United States. This study examines the prevalence of alcohol as well as selected over-the-counter, prescription, and illegal drugs in the blood of seriously or fatally injured drivers and other […]

  • October 27th, 2020

City planners and many pedestrians have wondered how to get electric scooters off the sidewalk, but two new studies from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety raise a different question: Just where should e-scooters be ridden? “We didn’t see many e-scooter crashes with motor vehicles, and that may be a result of riders sticking mostly to the […]

  • October 21st, 2020

Excessive drinking is prevalent over the Thanksgiving weekend due, in part,  to the cultural phenomena like “Blackout Wednesday”, which highlights, and even encourages, the heavy consumption of alcohol throughout this holiday. Impaired driving crashes spike during the Thanksgiving holiday season. From 2014 to 2018, 138 drivers involved in fatal crashes on Thanksgiving Eve were alcohol-impaired, and […]