Tag Archives: drowsy driving

What will it take to make a significant reduction in the number of people who die on our roads?

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

Today, I watched some of  the live streaming of NHTSA’s conference, Driving Behavioral Change in Traffic Safety. As I listened to the various speakers and panel discussions, many thoughts and questions went through my mind. . .

Driving Behavioral Change in Traffic Safety Conference being Livestreamed at DOT

The basic question is: What will it take to make a significant reduction in the number of people who die on our roads?

  • It will take all of us working together.
  • It will take facing the problem head on.
  • It will take acknowledging that there is a problem–and the full extent of it.
  • It will take recognizing that we are all a part of the problem.
  • It will take talking about it openly.
  • It will take understanding that crash deaths are not just an expected risk of driving on the road but are to a great extent preventable.
  • It will take accepting that risky driver behavior is not a personal right but a violation of other people’s right to be protected from reckless behavior.
  • It will take calling risky driver behavior what it is: RECKLESS.
  • It will take classifying a vehicle as a weapon and reckless driver behavior as an act of violence.
  • It will take enacting laws that prohibit a full range of reckless driving behaviors and then enforcing those laws with stiff consequences.
  • It will take understanding  that changing personal behavior is not the only way to reduce crash deaths and learning how to work with others who are addressing vehicle and environment risk factors.
  • It will take recognizing and embracing that preventing crashes from happening is not the only thing which needs to be addressed but that we can also reduce the severity of those crashes so that death is not the end result.
  • It will take manufacturers and employers and consumers and law enforcement and engineers and countless others to recognize how their individual decisions and actions contribute to not just crash statistics but to the unnatural ending (or saving) of life for people with names and faces and hopes and dreams and other people who care about them whose lives will be changed forever.
  • And it will take us all realizing that someday soon one of those names and faces could very well be ourselves or someone whom we love and will miss dreadfully. And that it could have been prevented.
  • It will take listening to the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones due to traffic crashes and apologizing, as a society, for letting them down–for not addressing it as the priority it should be. Bringing healing and hope that their frustrations and anger and grief are being heard and that their petitions for change are being taken seriously. Giving them a voice and channeling their zealous energy in positive ways which can in fact be a powerful tool for changing the future and moving us more surely Toward Zero Crash Deaths, Serious Injuries, and Fear of Traffic.
  • And beyond that, I firmly believe that, in order to move as a nation Toward a Vision of Zero Crash Deaths, it will take take a commitment to a National Vision Zero Goal and a coordinated endeavor of government, private industry, workers of every skill imaginable, and informed citizens. Anything short of this will be disjointed and less effective, which translates into — not simply unmet project goals but — people dying. It is not an impossible dream but it will require sacrifice and will be well worth the effort.

I kept writing down  ideas as they came to me during the various presentations and discussions and emailing them to the event coordinator. I did not hear my questions being addressed. But I am going to record them (in their raw intensity) here:

After losing my 2 youngest daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13), due to a truck underride crash on May 4, 2013, I have been calling for a National Vision Zero Goal (along with over 20,000 Vision Zero Petition Signers):
Rebekah photo of crash
I am asking President Obama to:
  1. Set a National Vision Zero Goal (it is not listed as an issue on whitehouse.gov)
  2. Establish a White House Vision Zero Task Force
  3. Sign a Vision Zero Executive Order to authorize Vision Zero Rulemaking Policies
These are the questions which I have been sending to the event coordinator today:
  1. What are you doing to address the reality (which I learned in 1979 at the University of Michigan/School of Public Health,Health Behavior/Health Education) that fear is not always the best motivator? The attitude that “it will never happen to me”?
  2. Will the addition of more and more technology for collision avoidance give people the false idea that they don’t have to pay as much attention, i.e., counteract attempts to focus on driver behavior?
  3. How many lives would be saved if the 319 proven safety standards/laws which are not being adopted by states were mandated? http://annaleahmary.com/2016/01/why-on-earth-dont-we-establish-national-traffic-safety-standards-require-them-to-be-adopted-by-states/
  4. Drunk driving is one thing.  What about stopping people for texting or using their cell phones while driving?
  5. What about drowsy driving? Are there ways for it to become something which can be included in traffic enforcement? DWF Driving While Fatigued.
  7. How about an equivalent of Volunteer Firefighters? Can we train and deputize citizens to pull over unsafe drivers?
  8. For motor vehicle-related injury prevention. What about Second Collision problems? Like auto safety defects or truck UNDERRIDE deaths and serious injuries? Is the Task Force addressing this? What role could they play to prevent these preventable deaths?
  9. Not only does traffic safety involve the driver, vehicles, and environmental factors, but it does so in three phases–pre-event, event, and post event. Every one of these factors can be addressed to prevent or reduce the severity of the event. Remember Dr. Haddon’s matrix which Adrian Lund (IIHS) shared (similar to this one, Haddon Matrix) (also, see Care for Crash Victims): 
  10. How about requiring driver training programs to set up volunteer coaches or mentors for drivers with permits to aid parents in this vital life skill development?
  11. How about change DMV written tests for driver license and renewal? Ours in NC was FULL of numbers and statistics regarding DUI consequences . How about make it more graphic and stick-in-the mind friendly? I spent my time preparing for it by memorizing numbers.

  12. Take a tip from 1954 and Jimmy Stewart. Start training at elementary level only update it to use the technology that the youngest generation is immersed in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj9Iuxw2_wk

    How about design electronic games to raise awareness and teach safe driving behavior?
  13. How about clear up the confusion about whether Marijuana IMPAIRS driving?

  14.  How can we find ways to remind people that driving choices can lead to forever results? Find ways to touch not only the head but the heart.

    Never Come Back Once a loved

    one becomes a motor vehicle crash statistic, it will be too late–they will

    Towards Zero; There’s no one someone won’t miss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsyvrkEjoXI

  15.  How about using interactive learning methods of raising awareness?

    When I interviewed my 9 and 6 year-old grandchildren about how they thought underride guards could be stronger, they showed amazing awareness and creativity.
    Put people in situations where they are faced with thinking through the results of driving choices and also purchase of safe equipment and increase their demand for affordable safer vehicles from the automotive industry.

    https://annaleahmary.com/2015/11/our-grandma-wants-to-make-the-roads-safer-remembering-2-girls-in-the-aftermath-of-a-truck-crash/

    In group settings. In game apps. Make use of church youth groups to address these issues.
  16.  REQUIRE phone manufacturers to advertise safe driving behavior

  17. Why not set a National Vision Zero Goal to raise American awareness?

    People need to know that Death by Motor Vehicle is a preventable problem but it will take us all to work together to defeat it.
    They should be just as concerned, if not more, about the Violent Weapon of Destruction that is put into the hands of drivers everywhere 24/7.
  18. What about the use of more electronic road signs to alert drivers to upcoming traffic situations? And more things like rumble strips?

  19. People need to know that they are not in control so that their driving behavior reflects that knowledge.

    Use Cass Sunstein’s idea for example for phone usage. Default Setting. Turned off when in a moving vehicle. Not sure if that is technologically possible but something like that.
    Default RULE/traffic law. If caught texting or talking on cell phone while driving, get a point on record.
    Set up a  Consequence. Have their TICKET posted on social media.
    Loss of Reputation/Respect.
    ILLUSION OF CONTROL
  20. Make salient and visible  How can we give visibility nationally and locally the extent of the Traffic Safety Problem?
  21. Electronic signs on highway to alert drivers to traffic conditions
  22. Choice architecture: use existing social groups to create localized indication of traffic safety norms, church youth groups, MOPS groups, Preschool parent groups LET them hear from families of crash victims. Give these people visibility.
  23. Savings of not losing a loved one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsyvrkEjoXI
  24. Can we get TRAFFIC SAFETY as an issue on whitehouse.gov?
  25. Can we get President Obama to set a Vision Zero Goal, establish a White House Vision Zero Task Force which would include an interdisciplinary group, and sign a Vision Zero Executive Order?
  26. Have we made Vision Zero a National Priority? http://annaleahmary.com/2016/03/tell-obama-you-are-standing-with-us-in-this-family-continues-fight-for-trucking-safety/
  27. Why not set up Community Vision Zero Activist Groups?
  28. Are there strategies raising awareness about MICROSLEEP?

  29. MAKE IT A NATIONAL Vision Zero Goal!!!! Apply the resources.

  30. Put a face to the problem!!!!! Let the victims and their families be honored and remembered on a regular basis. We are ALL vulnerable.
    Create a National Vision Zero Goal using social media and modern technology.
    I know someone who could design immersive reality simulation models to show immediate negative consequences of reckless driver behavior choices (as suggested by Dr. David Abrams).
  31. Could this group of people gathered together in Washington at this conference please, please, please call upon President Obama to set a National Vision Zero Goal, establish a Vision Zero Task Force, and sign a Vision Zero Executive Order? If he does not do those things, who else will lead us in such a United Effort? Without such a vision, the people will indeed perish.

NHTSA livestreaming Driving Behavioral Change in Traffic Safety conference, March 10 & 11

Safety Advocacy, , , , , ,

When I found out that NHTSA was holding a Driving Behavioral Change in Traffic Safety conference, I asked if they were going to be livestreaming this important event. The event coordinator said they would be and that she would let me know details when they were available.

Here is that information:

Thank you for your interest in the Driving Behavioral Change in Traffic Safety conference that is taking place Thursday, March 10 and Friday, March 11 in Washington.  The event will run from 8:30 – 4:30 on Thursday and from 8:30 – Noon on Friday.

NHTSA will be streaming this event live  at http://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/symposiums/index.html.  The link within that page for the webcast should be live this afternoon.

You may access the agenda by following this link: http://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/symposiums/march2016/index.html
Please share these links with any of your colleagues who might be interested in watching this event.  Thank you.

I also asked if it would be taped and made available online. Here is the answer: The plan is for them to be recorded and posted after the event.  Our technical team tells me that they should be up Friday afternoon at the latest.

Here is a pdf of the agenda: Driving Behavioral Change in Traffic Safety Conference Agenda

I posted previously on this event/topic: https://annaleahmary.com/2016/02/nhtsa-hosting-discussion-of-the-behavioral-changes-necessary-to-achieve-near-zero-traffic-safety-deaths/

I hope that, in addition to looking at how to change personal driving behaviors, other factors which impact individual driving behaviors will be kept in mind as well.
  1. For example, an obvious one is what leads truck drivers to drive even when they are tired. https://annaleahmary.com/tag/truck-driver-compensation/
  2. Also, technological aids such as alerting drivers to driver fatigue or getting phone manufacturers to build in features that make it simple to turn off when driving, etc.  https://annaleahmary.com/tag/distracted-driving/
  3. And things like addressing the notion that it is okay to drive while under the influence of marijuana. http://annaleahmary.com/2015/02/marijuana-impairs-judgment-reaction-times-awareness/
  4. Or a national awareness campaign to educate people about the dangers of microsleep. http://americansleepandbreathingacademy.com/the-dots-war-on-drowsy-driving/
  5. Or more things like rumble strips along the side of the road.
  6. Or more electronic traffic signs which alert drivers to slowed traffic ahead. https://annaleahmary.com/2016/02/can-electronic-road-signs-save-lives-crash-ahead-7-miles-stay-alert/

 Having studied Health Behavior & Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health (and raised 9 children), I am well aware that simple awareness is not enough to change behavior.

I would also like to see proven safety measures more quickly adopted nationwide: Why on earth don’t we establish National Traffic Safety Standards & require them to be adopted by States?

What would I do if I were the National Traffic Safety Ombudsman?

gertie 2946

NHTSA hosting discussion of the behavioral changes necessary to achieve near-zero traffic safety deaths

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, , , , ,

“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is announcing a meeting that will be held in Washington, DC on March 10-11, 2016 to explore ways to promote evidence-based behavior change in a traffic safety setting.

“The Driving Behavioral Change in Traffic Safety workshop will include presentations and discussions on a number of topics including analysis and feasibility of using different approaches to changing behavior; exploring promising untested strategies; identifying long-term pathways to eliminate fatalities; and considering how evidence-based behavior change strategies can be used in the broader policy discussion.

“Attendance at the meeting is limited to invited participants because of space limitations of the DOT Conference Center. However, the meeting will be available for live public viewing on the NHTSA Web site (www.nhtsa.gov).” Meetings: Driving Behavioral Change in Traffic Safety

Sounds promising. . . I hope to see meaningful results which can be widely-dispersed. And focused on while also addressing environmental and vehicular causes of traffic deaths.

We Rescue Jesus Saves 018

Why on earth don’t we establish National Traffic Safety Standards & require them to be adopted by States?

Our Crash Was Not An Accident

Are you aware that Death by Motor Vehicle is one of the leading causes of death?

Note: While taking classes at the University of Michigan in 1979 for my Master of Public Health degree in Health Behavior & Health Education, one of the things I learned, which has stuck with me, is that fear is not always the best motivator for changing behavior. In other words, knowing that something you do could end your life or that of someone else doesn’t necessarily change our actions. It doesn’t always sink in.

That needs to be kept in mind as we attempt to encourage better driving behavior.

“Fatigue and the criminal law.”

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

Should Driving While Fatigued be considered RECKLESS or NEGLIGENT when a person is driving an 80,000 lbs. death machine? Not a new question. Deserves an answer.

“Fatigue is an increasingly recognised risk factor for transportation accidents. In light of this, there is the question of whether driving whilst fatigued should be a criminal offence. This paper discusses the current legal position, including the problems of voluntary conduct and self awareness. Three models for reform are proposed. The manner in which scientific research can inform legal consideration and future directions for research are discussed.”

Ind Health. 2005 Jan;43(1):63-70.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15732306

Other related studies:

  1. “Fell asleep and caused a fatal head-on crash? A case study of multidisciplinary in-depth analysis vs. the court. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19214881
  2. “Convicted of fatigued driving: who, why and how? ”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19540978
  3. “[Tiredness and sleepiness in bus drivers and road accidents in Peru: a quantitative study].”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15333261
  4. “Modern medicine is neglecting road traffic crashes. ” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23776413
  5. “Acute cannabis consumption and motor vehicle collision risk: systematic review of observational studies and meta-analysis.”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22323502
  6. “Psychomotor vigilance testing of professional drivers in the occupational health clinic: a potential objective screen for daytime sleepiness.”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21826029
  7. “Visual vigilance in drivers with obstructive sleep apnea.”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19616141

If a truck driver is prone to drive drowsy, what is the logical strategy to make him/her a safer driver? Forbid driving commercially? Require technology to alert to sleepiness? Convict of a reckless criminal offense if not used and a crash results leading to death or serious injury?

What Hours of Service (HOS) rules would make the most sense?

And ENFORCEMENT is oh so very important. In our crash, the Crash Report said, “No Medical Card found.” Yet, was any further mention made of this or investigation done into this? Not that I am aware of.

Driving While Fatigued = DWF = A Public Health Problem

IMG_4491

“Despite Plenty of Anti-Sleep Gadgets, Truckers Still Fall Asleep at the Wheel”

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

A long article from the perspective of some truck drivers on the fatigue that tends to occur when driving for a living. . . http://motherboard.vice.com/read/despite-plenty-of-anti-sleep-gadgets-truckers-still-fall-asleep-at-the-wheel .

Imagine being the one who fell asleep at the wheel and killed someone as a result. Drowsy driving is too often ignored until it’s too late.  Let’s do a better job of solving this problem, America.

DWF = Driving While Fatigued

IMG_4462

A Gadget to Alert Drivers When They Nod Off at the Wheel; What are we waiting for, America?!

Truck Safety, , ,

“Gadget to stop drivers nodding off at the wheel could become compulsory could be included in new European regulations” My goodness, if this can be done & would Save Lives, why would we NOT do it, America?!

“Germans Develop Device to Stop Drivers Falling Asleep at the Wheel.” I remember reading about this previously:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8122957/Germans-develop-device-to-stop-drivers-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel.html

DWF = Driving While Fatigued is a widespread problem that is largely ignored and difficult to recognize while you are in the thick of things (which makes it even more disastrous) — with potentially disastrous consequences. Under-reported. . . because it is not measurable after the fact.

https://annaleahmary.com/driver-fatigue/

IMG_4462

Our crash may have been caused by truck driver drowsy driving.

FMCSA Finally Releases the Electronic Logging Devices Rule To Track Trucker Hours

AnnaLeah and Mary, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

We are excited to see that the FMCSA has released the final rule for Electronic Logging Devices designed to keep better track of truckers’ driving hours and to reduce truck driver fatigue.

After our truck crash on May 4, 2013, for which we never saw the truck driver’s paper log books, we are very happy about this. We never found out for sure why the truck driver who hit us was unable to slow down with the rest of the traffic–which was stopped for another crash two miles ahead of us. But we suspect that fatigue –drowsy driving — may well have played a part.

DWF = Driving While Fatigued

Here is the press release: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/electronic-logging-devices-be-required-across-commercial-truck-and-bus-industries

and some articles:

ScanWashington DC 151

We are thankful that FMCSA has taken this important step to protect travelers on the road. We hope that it will also be followed by the best possible Hours of Service rules and better wage compensation for truck drivers who work hard to deliver the goods.

Thank you to everyone who signed the AnnaLeah & Mary Stand Up For Truck Safety Petition which we delivered to DOT on May 5, 2014. One of the three requests in that petition was for Electronic Logging Devices to be implemented.

FMCSA Ready to Study New Data on Trucker Hours of Service & Fatigue

AnnaLeah and Mary, Truck Safety, , , , , , ,

FMCSA has been collecting data on truck driver hours of service; now they will analyze the data. Let’s hope that they will find clear answers to the driver fatigue dilemma.

“DOT enters next phase of 34-hour restart study” http://tinyurl.com/ppfwfpx

Driving While Fatigued (DWF) is definitely dangerous!

For more information on driver fatigue:

IMG_4456

This is a photo which the Georgia State Patrol took when they arrived at the scene of our truck crash.  Truck driver fatigue may have been a factor; we never saw his paper log books.

Letter from wife of truck driver killed by fatigued truck driver: Federal studies show longer truck trailers dangerous.

Truck Safety, , , , , ,

By Express-Times Letters to the Editor
on July 31, 2015 at 11:28 AM

“I am writing in response to Mark Rosenker’s July 28 letter, “Longer truck trailers have a good safety record.”  Nearly three years ago my husband Brad, a truck driver, was killed by a fatigued truck driver who swerved off the road and struck Brad while he was standing on the shoulder. Sadly, this crash is not unique. All too often I read about a construction worker hit by a semi in a work zone, or a family crushed in their minivan simply because the truck driver did not apply the brakes soon enough.

Yet some people in Washington believe it’s time to increase the length of double tractor trailers, from 28 feet per trailer to 33 feet. Proponents of the increase rely on one study — industry-funded junk science that claims these longer trucks to be safer. That is false. . . ”

“. . .  These differences could be what prompts yet another wife or mother to write a letter to the editor on truck safety.

Kim Telep
Harrisburg”

Read other posts on this topic: https://annaleahmary.com/tag/bigger-trucks/

Truckers Need More Areas to Park & Rest

Truck Safety, , ,

With truck crashes and fatalities on the increase over the last few years, and with more trucks on the road, there are many problems which need to be addressed, including the lack of enough parking areas for truckers to stop and rest.

“The trucking industry is well aware of the parking problems. Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express in Dayton and 2nd Vice Chairman of the American Trucking Associations, said drivers often are caught in the middle between the push to keep the wheels rolling and the need to abide by the rules of the road.

‘We are in a perfect storm of regulation of drivers’ circadian rhythm, if you will,’ he said. ‘The rest is important, but you’ve got to have a place to park.’

With 80 percent of all goods delivered by semi-trucks, Burch said retailers want products delivered on time but do not want to allow truckers to park on site.

‘These truckers have to have rest, so where do they go?’ Burch said. ‘The truck stops are full. The rest stops are full. The shopping centers have no parking. It is a big problem that no one seems to care about.’”

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/news/big-rigs-have-fewer-places-to-park-for-the-night/nmyCq/?source=ddn_skip_stub#a55eb4c5.3554830.735793