Researchers Estimate Safety Belts Have Saved 2,843 Lives in Texas in the Last Decade AUSTIN - The Texas Department of Transportation’s 10th annual Click It or Ticket spring campaign kicks off this week with good news—Texans are buckling up more than ever, and thousands have been “saved by the belt.” Before the Click It or Ticket campaign began in Texas in 2002, only 76.1 percent of the state’s population was buckling up. Thanks to a … [Read more...]
North Dakota bans texting while driving
On April 26, North Dakota became the 31st state to ban texting while driving. The law will go into effect August 1, and will carry a fine of $100 for those caught texting while driving. On his blog, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “North Dakota roads will be safer for everyone as a result, and I can't think of a more fitting outcome for Distracted Driving Awareness Month.” In Texas, texting while driving is banned for … [Read more...]
April 27, 2011 -
TxDOT kicks off new motorcycle safety campaign aimed at drivers
Against a backdrop of motorcycles, scooters, and their riders, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) kicked off a statewide Share the Road motorcycle safety and public awareness campaign (www.looklearnlive.org) on April 12 to urge motorists to look twice for motorcycles at intersections and when changing lanes, the two places where serious motorcycle collisions commonly occur. “Seeing them is saving them” is the theme of TxDOT's new … [Read more...]
April 21, 2011 -
Crash losses far exceed crime losses, but news coverage doesn’t reflect disparity
Losses resulting from vehicle crashes exceed those that are linked to crime by as much as two to three times every year in Texas, but you might not know that by looking at the news headlines from day to day. In fact, not only does the volume of online exposure fail to match up proportionally to the magnitude of both issues – it doesn’t even come close. During 2009, the number of murders reported in Texas was 1,327, less than half the crash … [Read more...]
April 14, 2011 -
CTS staff part of team examining distraction elements of vehicle warning systems
Making cars safer with advanced warning systems has the potential for causing other safety concerns for drivers. That dilemma is the basis for a new contract awarded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to TTI and other team members. “The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) is supporting efforts for automobile manufacturers and their suppliers to develop communications systems that allow vehicles to ‘talk’ … [Read more...]
April 7, 2011 -
2011 Traffic Safety Conference: We’re all in this together
In its third Traffic Safety Conference, the Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) focused on the need for collaboration between all areas of traffic safety professionals in order to further decrease Texas traffic fatalities. The fifteen-session conference covered topics from distracted driving to publicizing, promoting and advocating traffic safety, as well as opening session remarks from: Dennis Christiansen, Director, Texas A&M … [Read more...]
March 30, 2011 -
Impaired driving program assessment
Texas usually leads the country in the number of alcohol related traffic deaths, but in 2008 — with 40 percent of all traffic deaths alcohol related — the Lone Star State also had one of the highest rates in the country. It’s a sobering fact not lost on Research Scientist Melissa Walden of the Center for Transportation Safety (CTS). Each year since 2002, Walden prepares the “Texas Impaired Driving Program Self Assessment” for the … [Read more...]
March 14, 2011 -
Interlocks, checkpoints, other DWI issues attract interest of legislators
Numerous bills filed in the 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature are focused on a wide range of issues related to impaired driving. In response to requests from legislators and their staffs, researchers at the Center for Transportation Safety have prepared a series of briefing documents to provide better understanding of some of those issues, including: An examination of the scope of the impaired-driving problem in Texas including, how best … [Read more...]
March 14, 2011 -
CADES director appointed to TABC panel on servers
Dr. Maurice Dennis, a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Transportation Safety, has been asked to serve on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s alcohol server curriculum review committee. This group assists the TABC in revising and updating the curriculum used to train bartenders, wait staff and others involved in alcohol beverage service. Education of alcohol servers is very important as about one-half of all alcohol related … [Read more...]
February 22, 2011 -
By Popular Demand, Crash Reporting Changes Underway
If you want safer roads, you have to have accurate and effective accident reporting. That’s why traffic safety experts and researchers – and especially Texas law officers – are cheering a proposed new accident reporting form. The new form was the result of collaboration between the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) designed to make crash scene reporting easier and more … [Read more...]
February 2, 2011 -
