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Read the latest news and announcements from traffic safety interest groups and about traffic safety topics here.
The latest edition of GHSA’s “Directions in Highway Safety” Newsletter offers a glimpse at our work thus far in 2019, including an overview of our recent reports on speeding and pedestrian safety. Additional articles discuss GHSA and AAA’s recent forum on drug-impaired driving, gearing up for re-authorization, new safety research and campaigns, bolstering relationships with […]
Heatstroke is the leading cause of vehicular non-crash-related deaths for children under 14. In fact, each year, an average of 38 children have died from heatstroke since 1998. Sadly, these are the current statistics: – Child vehicular heatstroke fatalities in 2018 = 51 – Child vehicular heatstroke fatalities in 2017 = 43 Yet, this tragedy […]
A bill making its way through the Alabama legislature would make it illegal to drive in the left lane longer than 1.5 miles without completely passing another vehicle. The bill’s sponsor also hopes it will cut down on road rage, even dubbing it “The Anti Road Rage Act.” In Alabama, it’s already illegal to stay […]
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is dedicated to saving lives through research into the causes of traffic crashes and educating the public about ways to prevent crashes and reduce injuries based on research. One of the fundamental elements of any traffic safety research is quantifying traffic risks, which requires two types of data: 1) […]
Large trucks, automobiles and other vehicles share the nation’s highways and surface streets, accumulating more than 3 trillion vehicle-miles-traveled each year. Of these miles, drivers of large trucks accumulate more than 180 billion miles in order to move the nation’s freight and earn their living. To operate a large truck, drivers must hold a commercial […]
In recent years, the number of pedestrian fatalities in the United States has grown sharply. During the 10-year period from 2008 to 2017, the number of pedestrian fatalities increased by 35 percent (from 4,414 deaths in 2008 to 5,977 deaths in 2017); meanwhile, the combined number of all other traffic deaths declined by six percent. […]
Passenger vehicle driver handheld cell phone use decreased from 3.3 percent in 2016 to 2.9 percent in 2017 (Figure 1), a statistically significant decrease. The percentage of drivers speaking with visible headsets while driving decreased from 0.5 percent in 2016 to 0.4 percent in 2017 (Figure 1); this was not a statistically significant decrease. Drivers’ […]
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2016 witnessed the most pedestrian fatalities since 1990, accounting for approximately 16 percent of all roadway fatalities (5,987). In 2016, 72% of pedestrian fatalities occurred away from intersections (e.g., mid-block locations) and approximately 26% occurred at intersections. This full day workshop, through the Federal Highway Administration’s Every […]
Roadway departure (RD) is recognized as one of the eight emphasis areas in the Virginia 2017-2021 Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) currently uses counts of RD crashes to identify locations for RD safety improvement. However, identifying locations based on crash counts is subject to bias and inaccuracy, leading […]
The world is changing, connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology promises dramatic disruptions to transportation. Mobility for the elderly and the young may increase. A significant fraction of the 30,000 annual road deaths in the United States may vanish. By driving more efficiently, automated vehicles may reduce congestion, emissions, and fuel consumption. Land use and […]