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DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA & Canada - The Dangers of Texting While Driving
* USA - Study: Texting Lifts Crash Risk by Large Margin
Blacksburg,VA,USA -The New York Times, by MATT RICHTEL -July 27, 2009: -- The first study of drivers texting inside their vehicles shows that the risk sharply exceeds previous estimates based on laboratory research — and far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions... The new study, which entailed outfitting the cabs of long-haul trucks with video cameras over 18 months, found that when the drivers texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting... The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which compiled the research and plans to release its findings on Tuesday, also measured the time drivers took their eyes from the road to send or receive texts -see too: How the Driving Tests Were Conducted-... In the moments before a crash or near crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds looking at their devices — enough time at typical highway speeds to cover more than the length of a football field...Even though trucks take longer to stop and are less maneuverable than cars, the findings generally applied to all drivers, who tend to exhibit the same behaviors as the more than 100 truckers studied, the researchers said. Truckers, they said, do not appear to text more or less than typical car drivers, but they said the study did not compare use patterns that way... Preliminary results from that study show risk levels for texters roughly comparable to those of the truck drivers. By comparison, several field and laboratory studies show that drivers talking on cellphones are four times more likely to cause a crash than other drivers. And a previous Virginia institute study videotaping car drivers found that they were three times more likely to crash or come close to a crash when dialing a phone and 1.3 times more likely when talking on it... (Photo from Virgina Tech Transportation Institute: A truck driver texts while at the wheel, top left, with other angles see) (See video)* USA - Texting while driving: national ban?
Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -July 29, 2009: -- Sending text messages or e-mails while driving could someday be banned under a proposal by U.S. Senate Democrats... If passed, the bill would “ban any driver from sending text or e-mail messages while driving a car”... Early reports concerning the legislation did not specifically mention commercial vehicles... If passed, the legislation would require states to enact a text-message ban while driving or risk losing federal transportation funding...
* Canada - Truckers are less likely to be at fault in fatal collisions: study - Drivers of other vehicles are three times more often to blame for crashes
Ladner, B.C.,USA -The Delta Optimist, by Sandor Gyarmati -July 25, 2009: -- Speed, fatigue, inattention and impaired driving were some of the key contributors to crashes involving big rigs in this province, according to a new report examining safety in B.C.'s trucking industry... Released last month, Best Practices for Truck Safety was written by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation and commissioned by the B.C. Trucking Safety Council... The study examined the causes and characteristics of fatal and injury collisions from 2000 to 2006 involving heavy trucks and compared them with other regions in Canada... At just under 19 per cent, B.C. truckers were more often at fault in fatal collisions than their counterparts in the rest of the country, according to the report. However, the drivers of other vehicles involved in fatal trucking crashes were still more often at fault than the truckers, including 57 per cent of the time in B.C... Overexertion was identified as the top cause of accidents, while most fatal collisions involving trucks happened on undivided highways and in poor road conditions... Some of the recommendations in the report include an independent review of the commercial vehicle driver licencing standards and testing procedures, developing policies on pre-trip driver inspections and implementing a fatigue management program. The recommendations also include developing and implementing a valid driver recruitment, selection and training process... Paul Landry, president of the B.C. Trucking Association, noted much work also needs to be done in educating the public on sharing the road with trucks and understanding their ability to stop and maneuver...* Canada - The battle for public perception in BC
Vancouver,BC,Canada -Today's Trucking -30 July 2009: -- BC Trucking Association boss Paul Landry, knows that no matter how impressive a safety record the trucking industry produces, it doesn't matter at all until the general public believes it... Things really heated up last month, though, when the BCTA launched a partnership with WorkSafeBC in an effort to improve truck safety in the province... One of the first tasks of this joint B.C. Trucking Safety Council was to determine the current safety level of trucks and their drivers in the province. A 166-page study was commissioned and conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF)... The study, titled “Best Practices for Truck Safety” was released and shortly after an article appeared in the Vancouver Sun with the front-page headline reading, “B.C. has Canada’s worst truck drivers."... The BCTA has since demanding an apology and retraction for the story but it, according to the association, did not receive a satisfactory reply. So, the BCTA has filed an official compliant with the self-governing BC Press Council... (Picture: The BC media seems to give truckers a bad rap. So, kudos to the BCTA, which always fights back)Labels: dangerous drivers
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