How much impact could a nationwide network of Traffic Safety/Vision Zero community groups have on the death toll of vehicle violence? How could a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman be instrumental in bringing this about?
I continue to hear about safety factors which need to be brought to the attention of everyone. But probably won’t be without this kind of national focus and advocacy effort. . .
Just heard about these two today:
- Don’t put your feet on the dashboard: A deployed airbag inflates at about 320 km/h, and you don’t want your legs to be in the way when it does (Check out the photo of the car in this crash which collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer; was underride involved?) Not to mention the importance of emergency medical services in detecting internal injuries in passengers protected by air bags. Invisible disabilities can result.
- The color of your car and your clothes (when a pedestrian) could impact your safety: Years ago the Federal Highway Administration published a poster for the public with the statistic that 60% of pedestrian fatalities occur between the hours of 6:00pm and 6:00am. The “Be Safe, Be Bright” poster shows distances at which pedestrians can be seen wearing clothing of different colors – and retro reflective materials.
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
You can increase your safety by 10%.
In 1961, my wife was in a white VW Beetle. She stalled coming out of a shopping center at night and was struck on the driver side by a car coming over a hill. The driver swerved to the right and struck the VW just behind the driver side door. Luckily, my wife was not physically injured but she was badly shaken. I had picked white as the color because it would be cooler (no air conditioning). I was not thinking safety back then.
During all my years working on safety I could not get NHTSA to do analyses on fatality rates by car color. Only after I left NHTSA did researchers in Australia do such research and found that white cars were 10% safer. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-daylaightsavings.php
In 2015, I was pleased to learn that white had become the most popular car color on the planet. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-whitecarsnews.php
For the year 2015, no one can be pleased to learn that NHTSA recorded:
* The Nation saw 2,348 more fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2015 than in 2014—a 7.2-percent increase.
For pedestrians and cyclists color is also important for safety.
* Pedestrian fatalities increased by 466 (a 9.5-percent increase) and are at their highest number since 1996.
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* Pedalcyclist fatalities increased by 89 (a 12.2-percent increase), and are at their highest level since 1995.
See https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812318
Years ago the Federal Highway Administration published a poster for the public with the statistic that 60% of pedestrian fatalities occur between the hours of 6:00pm and 6:00am. The “Be Safe, Be Bright” poster shows distances at which pedestrians can be seen wearing clothing of different colors – and retro reflective materials. See
http://www.careforcrashvictims.com/besafe.php
Be brighter and be safer.
Lou Lombardo
