Think about this for just a minute. Last year, 91 lives were lost on Iowa’s roads because of crashes with impaired drivers. This represents 28 percent of the 321 roadway fatalities in 2014. We could have decreased fatalities by nearly one-third if these drivers had simply handed over the keys to a sober friend or found another way to get where they were going.
So you think you can drive and text safely? No… oh, no you can’t.
More and more traffic crashes are due to drivers texting when they are behind the wheel. Approximately 1.2 million people worldwide are victims of this each year. So how can drivers be convinced not to text, or do anything else on a phone for that matter, while driving?
How about proving to them that it is a very bad idea by requiring them to text while taking a driving test? Watch how these Belgian drivers react when told they had to pass the ‘mobile phone test’ in order to get their driver's license.https://youtu.be/HbjSWDwJILs
The fatality count of 233 is an increase of seven from last Monday. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to http://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf.
We’ve seen it too many times this summer, parents forgetting their children in a car. The majority of these parents are not intentionally trying to harm their children, but the busyness of life gets the best of them and they actually forget about one of the people they care for the most.
Even with temperatures in the mid 70s, it takes less than 20 minutes for a vehicle to heat up to temperatures that can endanger your child or pet.
About a year ago Iowa DOT’s management rolled out a new strategic plan. Since veteran DOTers have seen a variety of strategic plans over the years, some were skeptical that anything would come of this “new” way for the agency to measure and improve its processes.
So what has happened with the plan over the last year?
North to south and east to west, you know something is big when law enforcement in 16 states work together towards a common goal. On Aug. 28-30, law enforcement from coast to coast in states along interstates 35 and 80 collaborated on the I-80/35 Challenge to reduce fatalities and serious injuries and increase awareness of impaired driving and seat belt use. The effort, which covered 4,500 miles, was expanded from last year’s successful I-80 Challenge.
The dates of the project were selected after a five-year review of crash data, showed the month of August to be one of the deadliest months for motorists on these two interstates.
