Roadside Chat - Flower or candy? Mom just wants you to arrive alive
Are you wondering what to get your mom for Mother’s Day? Flowers and candy are always nice, but what most moms want are happy, healthy kids who do what it takes to stay safe at all times, including behind the wheel.
Here are four simple things you can do to greatly reduce the risk of dying, as well as being seriously injured, in a motor vehicle crash:
- Buckle up – every seat, every trip
- Slow down – don’t drive aggressively
- Be alert – give all your attention to the task of driving
- Drive sober – if you feel different, you drive different
These four things sound simple, but in 2021, a total of 355 people died on Iowa highways. Of those, 176 people died in Iowa because of the actions of an aggressive driver. Another 89 people were killed in crashes with an impaired driver. The lack of seat belt use was noted in the deaths of 94 people in Iowa crashes. Unfortunately, it is tricky to determine exactly how many people died due to inattentive drivers, but traffic safety professionals acknowledge distraction is often underreported and a factor in many deadly crashes.
Find out more at https://zerofatalitiesiowa.com/.
In Iowa in 2022, there have been 89 deaths in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of four since last Friday. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf