READING - Cell Phones & Driving, a Research Update

AAA FTS logoA growing body of research suggests that using a mobile telephone while driving increases a driver’s risk of being involved in a crash. Studies that have analyzed the cell phone records of crash-involved drivers have reported that using a cell phone while driving is associated with roughly a quadrupling of crash risk.

PROGRAMS - Save Your Money and the Environment

Go GreenIt's time to get that old, inefficient vehicle off the road and trade up to a new, fuel efficient vehicle to reduce your carbon footprint and your contribution to air pollution. If you are in the market for a new car, the right choice can mean significant rebates on the purchase of specific fuel efficient vehicles, both hybrid and non-hybrid. In order to shop wisely, plan ahead and visit the links in this article for more information.

Q&A - Impaired Driving

Q&A ImageMy comment is about drinking and driving.

My husband made an interesting statement a while ago that really stuck with me. He said he felt the reason we still have so many people drinking and driving is because we allow them to make a judgement on whether or not they are impaired after they have had a drink.

RESEARCH - Effectiveness of Behavioral Highway Safety Countermeasures

NCHRP LogoA significant part of highway safety program activities is devoted to behavioral countermeasures. These include the entire driver control system—from training and licensing to laws and enforcement and sometimes culminating in fines and sanctions. Given the enormous cost of crashes and the importance of driver behavior in highway loss reduction, it is important that behavioral countermeasures be implemented as effectively as possible.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon

Car in DitchWhen winter weather turned bad suddenly I would often find my shift was a busy one, driving from vehicle to vehicle in the ditch at the side of the road. Of course, we were obligated to check collisions and insure that no one was hurt but in this situation manpower often did not match the number of incidents reported.

12 Hour Suspensions

Counter Attack LogoLast week's column looked at the 24 hour prohibition from driving for all drivers who had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 50 mg% or higher and were either the driver of or who had care and control of a vehicle on a highway or industrial road. This week we'll look at a special suspension that applies to drivers who are in the Graduated Licensing Program (GLP).