In response to my recent Rant & Rave post (sorry readers), someone requested that I say something nice for a change. Here it is:
In the good news department, the Illinois State Police recently won an award from the Roadway Safety Foundation and the Federal Highway Administration for the ISP's Tazewell County Teen Initiative. (Press release; article) The Tazewell program was as follows:
The Tazewell County Teen Initiative was developed to address the number of teenage drivers that died between March 2005 and July 2006 on Tazewell County roadways. During that time, 15 teenagers lost their lives, sparking a cry for action. The Illinois State Police District 8, along with the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Tazewell County Sheriff and the Tazewell County Coroner, teamed up to form the multifaceted public awareness campaign targeted to schools, hospitals, emergency response teams, media and the private sector. Since the program was launched there have been no teen traffic fatalities in Tazewell County.
The ISP, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Secretary of State, in conjunction with other public agencies and the Ford Motor Company, are expanding the program statewide. (Press release) The program is called Operation Teen Safe Driving
and is being funded by a $150,000 IDOT grant.
Teen drivers account for a disproportionate share of auto accidents and fatalities. In addition to Operation Teen Safe Driving, the State has enacted new laws directed at teenage drivers. SB 172 (P.A. 95-310) extends the time for a learners permit from three months to nine months, extends curfews for teen drivers and doubles from six to 12 months the time during which a driver under 18 with a graduated drivers license may carry only one unrelated passenger under the age of 20, excluding siblings. HB 518 (P.A. 95-201) authorizes the Secretary of State of establish a website so parents can check the driving records of their children.
This expanded program appears to be a nice example of a public-private partnership for a good end. It is disturbing that a single downed jetliner with the loss of a couple hundred lives gets front page coverage while the over 40,000 annual fatalities on our highways are treated as some sort of inexorable fact of nature. It is great to see IDOT and the ISP attacking the auto accident problem and the complacency that surrounds that problem.
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22 comments:
I've seen a general trend in trying to provide more automobile and roadway safety. True, traffic deaths in IL are at 60-year historically low levels even as vehicle miles and hours of travel are on the upswing, but as the moderator points out, this still translates to over 1,000 deaths and tens of thousands of injuries each year in IL. It has been said that one death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic. Yet, each family grieving a death or loss of one of its breadwinners to incapacitating injury, feels the pain of these accidents in a way that no statistic can portray.
Roadway design and conditions, and vehicle design and state of mechanical repair, can account for abvout 30% of accidents by some studies. The other 70% is driver behavior. Programs such as the ISP/IDOT teen driving effort target the efforts where they can do the most good, especially among a high risk group within the greatest accident factor.
The previous efforts against intoxicated driving and vehicle safety features seem to have paid off. Some further opportunities for reduction and remediation of accidents are now with teen drivers and distracted driving(i.e. cell phones, etc.), elimination of roadside hazards, as well as improvements in response time and medical technology.
"In 2005, the fatal crash involvement rate per 100,000 population was
almost 3 times higher for male drivers than for females.
Males accounted for 70 percent of all traffic fatalities, 70 percent of all
pedestrian fatalities, and 87 percent of all pedalcyclist fatalities in 2005." National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
In fact, the safety record of teenage female drivers is better than their 30 year old male counterparts. I have both a teenage son and daughter, and am disappointed to see my daughter penalized for bad driving behavior of her with laws aimed at so-called "bad teenage drivers." I also want my son to be safe, so I am happy for educational programs and disagree with license restrictions. However, we ought to be more honest about where the problem lies. We'd certainly be hearing about it if the genders were reversed.
Valid point - does anyone have a breakdown on vmt and vht by sex? Exposure is everything when it comes to accidents, not rates per population. The more hours and miles you drive, the more likely you are to be in an accident, which might explain some of the difference. This does not excuse riskier behavior by males -speeding, DUI, etc. which almost certainly is a higher contributing factor with male accident rates, and that should be targeted in any crash reduction program.
That being said, I have seen some bizarre accident reports involving both males and females, including an intoxicated woman who drove half a mile into a farm field after blowing through a rural T-intersection before she realized where she was. Dumb behavior knows no sex, even if it is more often practiced by the male of the species.
According to a report on 2004 statistics based on the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), in 2004 25,000 males were killed , 80% (20,000) were drivers. 12,000 females were killed, about 55%
(6700) were drivers. Male driving results in a much higher rate of death than female driving does, 20,000 vs. 6700 if you just look at driver death as an indicator.
If you select an age where you might think the amount of time spent driving would be similar, say 35-44 years old, the rate of drivers killed per 100,000 licensed drivers is 39 men vs. 13 women. In the highest accident rate teen years 16 - 20, the women's rate is 38/100,000 but you don't see the male rates approach that low level until the 35-44 age bracket.
On the other hand, nonfatal injury accidents are more evenly split, nearly 50/50 for all years, and that does have the highest rate in the younger years with a steady decline as you rise in age. The same is true for property damage accidents. The rates for these types of accidents are much higher than fatal accidents.
The shocking fatal crashes grab our attention but they are more a male/speeding/drinking phenomena and not a "teenage driver" problem. Regular crashes that we normally don't even hear about are a larger problem that may be helped with education but also may be mostly helped by experience.
さあ、今夏も新たな出会いを経験してみませんか？当サイトは円助交際の逆、つまり女性が男性を円助する『逆円助交際』を提供します。逆円交際を未経験の方でも気軽に遊べる大人のマッチングシステムです。年齢上限・容姿・経験一切問いません。男性の方は無料で登録して頂けます。貴方も新たな出会いを経験してみませんか
みんなの精神年齢を測定できる、メンタル年齢チェッカーで秘められた年齢がズバリわかっちゃう！かわいいあの子も実は精神年齢オバサンということも…合コンや話のネタに一度チャレンジしてみよう
最近仕事ばかりで毎日退屈してます。そろそろ恋人欲しいです☆もう夏だし海とか行きたいな♪ k.c.0720@docomo.ne.jp 連絡待ってるよ☆
最近TVや雑誌で紹介されている家出掲示板では、全国各地のネットカフェ等を泊り歩いている家出娘のメッセージが多数書き込みされています。彼女たちはお金がないので掲示板で知り合った男性の家にでもすぐに泊まりに行くようです。あなたも書き込みに返事を返してみませんか
あなたの性格を、動物に例えて占っちゃいます。もしかしたらこんな動物かも！？動物占いをうまく使って、楽しい人間関係を築いてください
家出中の女性や泊まる所が無い女性達がネットカフェなどで、飲み放題のドリンクで空腹を満たす生活を送っています。当サイトはそんな女性達をサポートしたいという人たちと困っている女性たちの為のサイトです
セレブ女性との割り切りお付き合いで大金を稼いでみませんか？女性に癒しと快楽、男性に謝礼とお互い満たしあえる当サイト、セレブラブはあなたの登録をお待ちしております。
夏フェス一緒に行ってくれる人募集！！夏の思い出一緒につくろぉ☆ megumi-0830@docomo.ne.jp 連絡してね♪
あなたのゲーマー度を無料ゲーム感覚で測定します。１５個の質問に答えるだけの簡単測定で一度遊んでみませんか？ゲームが得意な人もそうでない人もぜひどうぞ。
Hな女性たちは素人ホストを自宅やホテルに呼び、ひとときの癒しを求めていらっしゃいます。当サイトでは男性ホスト様の人員が不足しており、一日3～4人の女性の相手をするホストもおられます。興味を持たれた方は当サイトにぜひお越しください
実は出会い系には…関係者用入り口があるのを知っていますか？広告主やスポンサー用に用意されたIDではサクラや業者が立ち入ることが出来ないようになっているのです。当サイトでは極秘に入手した関係者用URLが公開されています
男性はお金、女性は快楽を得る逆援助に興味はありませんか？お金を払っても性的欲求を満たしたいセレブ達との割り切り１日のお付き合いで当サイトでは大金を得ることができます。無料登録なのでアルバイト感覚でOK、詳しくはTOPページでどうぞ。
ホムペ完成記念！私の事みんなに知ってもらいたくて頑張りましたぁ。色々とご感想をお待ちしているので思った事を意見してください。メアドはほむぺにのせてありますぅ！★ fan.jna@docomo.ne.jp
夏休みで気軽に家出する女子○生が急増しています。しかし家出したはいいものの泊る所やお金が無い彼女たちは、掲示板などで泊めてくれる男性を探す子も多いようです。当掲示板にも夏休みに入ってから通常の3倍以上のメッセージが寄せられています
今最もアツイバイトは人妻とのセフレ契約です。当サイトではお金を払ってでもセフレがほしい人妻が集まり、男性会員様との逆援生活を待っています。当サイトで欲求不満の女性との出会いをしてみませんか
素人ホストでは、男性のテクニック次第で女性会員様から高額な謝礼がもらえます。欲求不満な人妻や、男性と出会いが無い女性達が当サイトで男性を求めていらっしゃいます。興味のある方はTOPページからどうぞ
少し魅惑な自分をネットだから公開してみました。普段言えない事など、思い切って告白しているプロフなので興味ある方はぜひ除いてみてください連絡待ってまぁす。 hinyaaaaa@docomo.ne.jp
Little doubt, the dude is completely just.
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