RMA Survey Finds Many Motorists Are Not Tire Smart
The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) wants drivers to know that checking for proper tire pressure can save lives and reduce fuel costs. Proper tire pressure can save motorists as much as $0.10 per gallon at the pump according to the RMA. More importantly under inflated tires can cause accidents that could have been easily avoided.
Record high gas prices should be an incentive for motorists to take every step possible to help make their cars and their money go further," said Dan Zielinski, RMA senior vice president, public affairs. "While our survey found that 61 percent of motorists agreed that checking tire pressure is very important to maximizing fuel economy, only one in seven drivers properly perform this easy task."
Checking tires is not only a fuel saving tip, it can also be life saving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), under inflated tires contribute to 660 fatalities and 33,000 injuries each year. NHTSA estimates that about one in four cars, and one in three light trucks, have at least one significantly under inflated tire.
Under inflated tires also cause premature tire wear that can force consumers to replace tires sooner. "Consumers can help their wallets and the environment by paying attention to their tires so they last as long as possible, reducing disposal needs," Zielinski added.
They recently ran a study that found many drivers are not tire savvy.
Forty-six percent of drivers wrongly believe the correct inflation pressure is printed on the tire sidewall
Twenty-six percent of drivers wrongly believe the best time to check tires is when they are warm
Only one out of every three drivers knows how to tell if tires are bald
The RMA recommends motorists check tire pressure at least monthly using a tire guage. The recommended tire pressure can be found on a label placed on the driver's door or in the owner's manual
RMA recommends that tire pressure be checked at least once every month with a tire gauge. The recommended tire pressure for every vehicle is set by vehicle manufacturers and can be found on a label usually placed on the driver's door or check the owner's manual. Also, tires should be checked when cold, or haven't been driven for at least three hours.
During National Tire Safety Week, RMA and its partners will promote tire care education to motorists throughout the country. More than 18,000 tire dealers, auto dealers, AAA clubs and others throughout the country will provide RMA tire care information brochures to consumers. Additionally, most tire retail locations provide free tire pressure services to motorists throughout the year.
"Our goal during National Tire Safety Week is to encourage all motorists to take five minutes to be tire smart and help save lives, save fuel and save the environment," Zielinski said.
More tire safety tips can be found here on the betiresmart.org website.
Miley Cyrus has been busted by Consumer Reports. The Associated Press reports that the 15-year-old actress and singing sensation was caught without a seat belt in the back seat of a Range River in her hit movieHannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour. You can read the Consumer Reports blog post here. In it Consumer Reports explains why seat bealts are so important.
Why should we care? Because, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in about 55 percent of passenger vehicle fatalities in 2006 (the latest data available), the occupants were not wearing seat belts. Even worse, in the 13- to 15-year-old age group, that percentage climbs to 65 percent. Unfortunately, we're not surprised by these grim statistics because a 2002 survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that when parents were dropping teens off at school in the morning, nearly half the teens weren't using seat belts.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there is an increase in fatal alcohol-related traffics on New Year's Eve. They released this information that shows som eof the myths associated with driving while intoxicated.
Just look at the numbers. A recent analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics shows that, by the time our country finished ringing in the year 2006 (the last year for which data are available), 84 people had died in alcohol-related traffic crashes in the 12-hour span between 6:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 5:59 a.m. the next morning. Two weeks later, on the same night of the week, the death toll dropped to 57.
Myths Persist
Even though many of us are aware of the higher rates of alcohol-related traffic fatalities on New Year's Eve, myths about drinking and driving persist-myths that, for some, can prove fatal. Scientific studies supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) on how alcohol affects our brains and bodies provide important information that challenges these commonly-held -- but incorrect -- beliefs. These myths are related to how quickly alcohol affects the body and how long these effects can last.
Alcohol's Effects Begin Quickly
Many New Year's revelers get into trouble because they generally do not recognize that critical driving-related skills and decision-making abilities are diminished long before they begin to show the obvious physical signs of intoxication.
Initially, alcohol acts as a stimulant and if you drink you may temporarily feel upbeat and excited. But don't be fooled. Inhibitions and judgment are soon affected, increasing the chance of making reckless decisions behind the wheel. As more alcohol is consumed, fine motor skills and reaction time begin to suffer and behavior becomes poorly controlled and sometimes aggressive, compromising driving abilities even further. Continued drinking can lead to the slurred speech and loss of coordination and balance that we typically associate with being "drunk." At higher levels alcohol acts as a depressant, which causes people to become sleepy and sometimes pass out.
Even When Drinking Stops -- Alcohol's Effects Do Not
During a night of drinking, it's also easy to misjudge alcohol's lasting effects. Many revelers believe that they can drive safely once they have stopped drinking for the night and have had a strong cup of coffee. The truth is that alcohol continues to affect the brain and body long after the last drink has been downed. Even after someone stops drinking, alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate through the body. As a result, judgment and coordination can be impaired for hours after drinking.
Driving home late at night is especially hazardous because natural drowsiness is magnified by the depressant action of alcohol. Driving abilities may even be impaired the next day, when any alcohol remaining in the system, or the general headache and disorientation associated with hangovers, contributes to the general feelings of sluggishness, even though the person no longer feels "drunk."
Sobering Up -- Myths and Facts
Myth: You can drive as long as you are not slurring words or acting erratically.
Fact: The skills and coordination needed for driving are compromised long before the obvious signs of intoxication are visible. In addition, the sedative effects of alcohol, combined with the late night hours, place you at much greater risk of nodding off or losing attention behind the wheel.
Myth: Drink coffee. Caffeine will sober you up.
Fact: Caffeine may help with drowsiness, but it doesn't counteract the effect of alcohol on decision-making or coordination. The body needs time to metabolize (break down) alcohol and even more time to return to normal. There are no quick cures -- only time will help.
Before You Celebrate-Plan Ahead
No one intends to harm anyone when they get behind the wheel on New Year's Eve. Yet traffic fatalities persist and myths about drinking live on -- even though scientific studies have documented how alcohol affects the brain and body. Because individuals are so different, it is difficult to give specific advice about drinking. But certain facts are clear -- there's no way to speed up the brain's recovery from alcohol and no way to make good decisions when you are drinking too much, too fast. On an evening like New Year's Eve (or any other evening, for that matter), rapid consumption of large amounts of alcohol is especially dangerous.
So this New Year's Eve, do not underestimate the effects of alcohol. Don't believe you can beat them. Pace yourself and be aware of how much you've consumed throughout the night. And as you think about the consequences of an arrest or a potentially fatal traffic crash, make alternative plans to get home safely.
CNET reports that Micron is launching a new sensor, called MT9V023, that can be used to improve vehicle safety. CNET's article includes this list of possible uses for the in-camera camera.
Volvo's XC90 SUV uses three cameras: one for backing up and two for monitoring the blind spots to either side of the car.
Cameras can be used to check for vehicles that are destined for a collision, telling the car to deploy air bags or tighten seat belts. The Hyundai Move in Japan uses this application, he said.
Another forward-looking camera can check if a driver is unintentionally drifting out of a lane, using an algorithm that factors in speed and how sharply the steering wheel is being turned to distinguish between unintentional drifting and deliberate lane changes.
Yet another front-mounted camera could keep an eye out for oncoming night traffic, automatically switching headlights between dimmed and high beams.
A camera mounted on top of the steering column can monitor the frequency and duration of a driver's blinks to guard against drowsy driving. If blinks become too rapid or protracted, the car can sound an alarm to jolt the driver awake.
An internal camera can help identify passengers to control how air bags should be deployed--for example, with less force when protecting children.
Another camera could let parents watch their children bicker in the distant reaches of a vast van or SUV.
There are lots of accidents caused by blind spots that could be avoided without them. The cameras mentioned above that monitor whether a vehicle is "unintentionally drifting out of a lane" could be used to wake a suddenly sleeping driver. These are just a few of the many uses for advanced cameras and sensors.
An article on MSNBC cites a Harris Interactive survey (commissioned for mobile messaging service Pinger Inc.) that found the vast majority of Americans want texting while driving outlawed.
Ninety-one percent of Americans believe sending text messages while driving is as dangerous as driving after having a couple of drinks, but 57 percent admit to doing it, a poll released on Tuesday said.
The Harris Interactive survey commissioned by mobile messaging service Pinger Inc. found 89 percent of respondents believe texting while driving is dangerous and should be outlawed.
Even so, 66 percent of the adults surveyed who drive and use text messaging told pollsters they had read text messages or e-mails while driving. Fifty-seven percent admitted to sending them.
Who are the 11 percent that actually think people should be allowed to send text messages while driving their cars? It only takes a few seconds of inattention for an accident to take place. But that reality isn't stopping many people. According to the study a staggering 57 percent admitted they had sent text messages while they were driving and 66 percent said they had read text messages while driving. (via The Truth About Cars)
US officials have ordered a review of all bridges similar to the collapsed Minnesoat bridge. 1/4 of all U.S. bridges are rated as structurally deficient according to a DOT study. The BBC reports that over 700 structures will looked at.
More than 700 structures will be looked at after it emerged that the bridge in Minneapolis had been classified as "structurally deficient".
Divers have resumed their search for victims in the Mississippi river. At least eight people are still missing.
First Lady Laura Bush is set to visit Minneapolis and will go to the scene.
Unfortnately, there isn't enough money to fund the much needed bridge corrections. MSNBC.com reports that the Federal Highway Trust Fund will run completely dry in 2009. The article also lists the following problems with U.S. bridges.
33 percent of the nation's major roads are in "poor or mediocre condition."
36 percent of major urban highways are congested.
26 percent of bridges are "structurally deficient or functionally obsolete."
Funding for highway projects like fixing bridges has suffered from budget shortfalls over recent years.
Meanwhile, funding for improvements and maintenance continues to fall short. When Congress last passed a major highway funding bill in 2005, the Federal Highway Administration estimated it needed $375 billion to fund repair and improvement projects, but the final bill authorized just $286 billion.
On Thursday, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said that the nation's transportation infrastructure has been underfunded for years and that the Bush administration has threatened to veto proposals to increase funding.
"We want to get the bills done and want to get them increased at a sufficient amount," he said. "We spend over $3 billion a week on the war. So there is a lot of money that is being spent in other places that we have to recover and put into our highways. Because we face immediate danger in lots of places, and the public deserves better than that."
We can't have bridges that are too dangerous to cross so something will have to be done to fund all these bridge repairs. You can see an interactive map showing the structurally insufficient bridges state by state here.
Minnesota Bridge Collapses. How Safe Are Our Nation's Bridges?
Minnesota suffered a shocking bridge collapsed yesterday. Fifty cars and trucks plunged into the Mississippi rivers and dozens are hurt, injured and missing. A CNN article says four people have been confirmed dead and twenty to thirty people are missing. There are still 30 to 50 cars in the river. A security camera also captured the bridge collapse. For local coverage check www.StarTribune.com.
ABC's The Blotter blog reports that a Department of Transportation (DOT) study found that 160,000 of the nation's bridges - one fourth of all U.S. bridges -- are rated as "structurally deficient."
Department of Transportation (DOT) statistics show that 160,000, more than a quarter, of the nation's bridges are rated "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete," and many don't have proper warning signs restricting weight loads.
The 160,000 bridges rated deficient are not necessarily unsafe, according to DOT, as long as there are restrictions on the types of vehicles, weight or traffic volumes allowed on the bridge.
But a 2006 investigation by the DOT inspector general revealed that one out of every 10 "structurally deficient" highway bridges did not have load ratings that reflected the condition of the structure. In other words, posted signs told drivers the bridge could carry more than it could safely handle.
"In a worst-case scenario, the lack of a correct load rating or the lack of a weight limit posting could allow heavier vehicles to cross and cause severe structural damage or the collapse of a bridge," the report stated.
The article says a "structurally deficient" doesn't necessarily mean a bridge is in danger of a collapse but the article said that signs are not usually posted alerting drivers to the problem - meaning heavy trucks may cross the bridge when they should not. CNN says the Minnesota bridge was found to be structurally deficient in a 2005 study. The Minnesota bridge collapse is going to raise a lot of questions about whether enough resources are being given to our nation's roads and highways.
Update: An interactive map showing structurally deficient bridges in the U.S.
42,642 People Killed in Traffic Accidents Last Year
The number of people killed on U.S. highways dropped to a five year low last year. However, 42,642 people were still killed on U.S. highways -- a ghastly average of over 3,500 killed a month.
Highway crashes killed 42,642 people last year, said Nicole Nason, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That compares with the 43,510 who died in 2005, according to the agency's latest figures.
"To me, that is 868 families that didn't get the terrible call that a loved one was killed in a motor vehicle accident," said Nason said, who released the annual findings at the 33rd International Forum on Traffic Records and Highway Safety Systems.
It would be great to traffic accidents drop by 868 each year. The PDF report from the NHTSA also includes motor vehicle crash deaths for each state and what percentage the number of deaths changed from the previous year.
The BBC reports that a project introduced at Cebit envisions a peer-to-peer network for vehicles that will help alert drivers about road dangers and traffic jams. The network could instantly pass information about oil and ice patches along to other drives.
Dr Anselm Blocher - a researcher at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence who is co-ordinating the project - said the ad hoc communication system could mean that drivers found out about dangers or jams ahead much more quickly than they do now.
For spotting dangers and jams, the system would use data from sensors that were likely to be fitted to cars, bikes and trucks in the future, Dr Blocher added.
For example, cars could spot oil on the road by combining temperature readings with wheel traction information, he said.
A wheel slipping on the road even though the temperature was not low enough for frost or ice would suggest oil or another slippery substance was present.
Once a car detected this sort of danger, information about it would be generated and passed down the line of vehicles approaching the patch of oil.
The article says that a warning light could display on a vehicle's dashboard if a slick spot was sensed by vehicles up ahead. The project is being called SmartWeb. It sounds like it would be very complicated to implement but it could also provide very valuable information for drivers. Right now drivers often can't see a problem up ahead until they notice other vehicles applying their brakes.
Drivers in Miami have the worst road rage according to a new study from AutoVantage. Miami was also the worst for road rage in last year's study.
For the second consecutive year, rude Miami drivers have earned the city the title of worst road rage in a survey released Tuesday.
Miami motorists said they saw other drivers slam on their brakes, run red lights and talk on cell phones, according to AutoVantage, a Connecticut-based automobile membership club offering travel services and roadside assistance.
Other cities near the top of the rude drivers list were New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Below is a list of the worst 25 cities in the U.S.
A woman's trash filled vehicle caused her to have an accident according to this WBZtv news story.
According to police, there was so much trash inside 53-year-old Ann Biglan's Ford Focus, it completely filled the inside from the floor to the ceiling front and back.
The copious amounts of trash apparently caused the crash. Biglan told police several old coffee cups and pieces of trash fell onto the gas and brake pedal, which caused her to lose control while backing out of a parking space near the West Yarmouth Post Office.
Police said the trash that fell on the pedal caused the Focus to pick up speed, drive over a curb, across Route 28, hit a Ford Explorer and back over a sidewalk. Biglan's car finally came to a rest after crashing into a flowerpot in the parking lot of the West Yarmouth Mobil gas station.
That's just another reason to keep your car clean. You don't want garbage inside your car to cause you to have an accident. Apparently the woman's home was a mess as well. (via Boing Boing)
The New York Times is reporting that marketers plan to address drivers by name on billboards using RFID to identify the vehicle and thereby the driver inside.
Each day, it seems, marketers go further in their quest to deliver messages so engaging and personalized that one cannot help feeling special. The latest step will be seen today in four cities when Mini USA begins delivering custom messages to Mini Cooper owners on digital signs the company calls "talking" billboards.
The boards, which usually carry typical advertising, are programmed to identify approaching Mini drivers through a coded signal from a radio chip embedded in their key fob. The messages are personal, based on questionnaires that owners filled out: "Mary, moving at the speed of justice," if Mary is a lawyer, or "Mike, the special of the day is speed," if Mike is a chef.
The Times article answered a couple questions we were thinking. Like what happens if several cars with RFID's arrive at once?
What happens if several Minis arrive at the same time? (The sign picks up the nearest car, then switches after 10 seconds.)
Can it be hacked?
Can the system be hacked so that unexpected messages appear? (No more so than a digital billboard with no RFID links.)
That's a yes on the hacking then -- any digital billboard can be hacked. You can imagine the kind of personal message a hacked RFID billboard might deliver.
The article says som experts are concerned drivers could be distracted and get into accidents because of the name calling signs.
The experiment adds a new wrinkle to the wrangling among marketers and safety experts over whether drivers might be dangerously distracted by messages flashed on the growing number of digital billboards around the nation. Some communities have forced billboard owners to modify or turn off such signs, and the federal government has said it will soon publish a review of the research on the subject.
Safety experts should be very concerned. What's more distracting for drivers than addressing them by name on a huge billboard? Everbody pays attention to their own name. That even beats billboards that distract by being sexy like the Pretty Polly billboard and the Wonderbra Eva Herzigova Billboard.
Driving in China sounds terribly unsafe when you read an article that says 89,000 people were killed driving on China's roads in 2006. And this was an improvement from previous years that broke the 90,000 mark.
The number of road traffic deaths in China was 89,455 in 2006, 9.4 percent fewer than that in 2005, and the first time below the 90,000-benchmark since 2000, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
"The country recorded 378,781 traffic accidents in 2006, down 15.9 percent year on year," said a ministry spokesman on Monday.
The 38 major traffic accidents - accidents with more than ten fatalities each - resulted in 558 deaths, dropping 30.9 percent from 2005. It was the lowest number of major accidents since 1991, he said.
That sounds horrible but keep in mind China's population is about three or four times the size of the U.S. and the U.S. average nearly 40,000 auto-related deaths each eyar. You can see the U.S. data on the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) website provided by the NHTSA.
Everyone knows teenagers are the worst drivers but can video games make them even worse. A New Zealandarticle (via Gamers Game) says a transport spokesman in New Zealand has blamed video games for increasing driving stupidity and reckless driving behavior in teenagers.
Three Auckland teenagers were killed when the vehicle they were in crashed off the Northwestern Motorway in Auckland during a high-speed police pursuit on Christmas Eve.
National's transport spokesman Maurice Williamson says today's young people think they are bullet-proof. He blames Playstations and X-boxes for making teens think they can drive stupidly and just push the reset button if anything goes wrong.
Mr Williamson believes 15 is far too young to be behind the wheel of a car.
Accident data has shown that teens get in many more accidents. Teens also are part of the demographic with the most auto-related deaths.
Driving is fatal for almost 50,000 Americans every year. People between 15 and 24 years old (especially males) have the highest rate of auto-related deaths, even though people in this age group may be smart, skilled, and have great reflexes. A collision is the most likely tragedy to kill or cripple a teenager.
Teens tend to have poor judgement that increases the frequency of accidents. However, there have been no studies suggesting video games make teens drive any worse than they already normally do. Maybe the transport spokesperson is suggesting that a teenager would try something crazy they saw in a video game but wild car stunts are not unique to racing games. They can also be found in tv, movies and music videos. Some even think video games can improve a teenager's driving performance. For example, there is the StreetWise game from DaimlerChrysler.
Mercedes Benz is working on an anti-microsleep system that will warn drivers that appear to be surrfing from driver fatique and possibly falling asleep at the wheel. An article at PistonHeads look at some methods Mercedes team of experts are testing to accurately determine when a driver is at danger of falling asleep.
Over the course of their investigations, the company's team of engineers, cyberneticists, mathematicians, computer scientists and psychologists is testing out a variety of methods for detecting driver fatigue as soon as it sets in. One of these techniques is the eye-blink observation method: an infrared camera directed at the driver's head permanently monitors the eye-blink frequency, enabling microsleep to be detected the instant the eyes stay closed for a certain period of time. A warning signal sounds in the car's cockpit in response.
In order to obtain objective indicators of fatigue, other physiological readings such as the electroencephalogram (EEG) are used. Yet another method is based on the analysis of dynamic driving data, such as steering or braking characteristics. One of the systems triggers an alarm if the driver does not move the steering wheel for a prolonged period of time.
The article on PistonHeads.com also says research indicates that the early morning hours provide the most danger for sleep-deprivation accidents.
Most road accidents caused by over-fatigue occur in the early hours of the morning between 0200 and 0600 as well as in the afternoon, according to studies carried out by insurance companies in Germany and the Swiss Advisory Agency for Accident Prevention. As well as fatigue, this fact can also be attributed to our biorhythms, as the human body is programmed for sleep and recuperation at these times. Human performance levels drop rapidly after 2200, reaching their lowest point between 0300 and 0400. Performance levels do not return to their maximum until the morning, which is the best time of day for long journeys.
If someone is severly sleep deprived they may have an incident that jerks them awake only to fall asleep again later. If a driver is this tired the best option may be to stop driving and get some well need rest.
If drivers suddenly feel tired, there is only one solution: take a break. Drinking coffee, cola or energy drinks only serves to boost concentration levels briefly and can often leave drivers feeling even more fatigued when the effect wears off. A brisk walk in the fresh air, on the other hand, can often be far more beneficial. However, when it comes to combating fatigue as effectively as possible, nothing can beat a good sleep.
An effective anti-microsleep system will hopefully help to jolt a sleepy driver back awake but it will be up to the sleepy driver to pull off the road and get some sleep before they attempt driving again. (via path -> MedGadget -> Ubergizmo -> Autoblog)
Microheat has a product out called HotShot that helps melt ice and snow off the windshield in the winter and remove bugs, dirt and pollen in milder weather. Hotshot sprays heated water onto the windshield in shorts bursts to melt ice and snow. The technology is becoming available on more and more vehicles. It is currently offered on the following GM models: the Cadillac DTS and Escalade, the Buick Lucerne, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC Yukon and the Hummer H2.
First available on vehicles in 2004, the convenience and safety of HotShot has catapulted the product to a highly desired feature by most drivers, according to research from J.D. Power and Associates. According to the research, 69 percent of drivers surveyed expressed interest in having a system like HotShot on their next vehicle. They ranked it higher than features currently in series production such as Satellite Radio, Navigation, and Rear Seat Entertainment systems.
"Half a million motorists now enjoy the convenience, comfort and safety of HotShot in every season and under all driving conditions," said Microheat President and CEO Gary Pilibosian. "The system automatically removes snow, ice, bugs and road grime from windshields in under 90 seconds with the push of a button."
Introduced commercially in 2002, HotShot features a patented cycling technology that intelligently heats fluid to an exact temperature and sprays the fluid at a precise time interval to quickly and efficiently remove snow, ice, bugs and road grime from vehicles. The all-season, all-weather system can be activated at vehicle start-up and maintains hot fluid for use by drivers on demand during normal driving conditions.
The acclaimed HotShot has been the recipient of numerous awards including: Finalist in 2006 PACE Awards, celebrating product and process innovations; Frost & Sullivan's 2005 Excellence in Emerging Technologies Best Practices Award; Popular Mechanics deemed it the "Outstanding Achievement in New Product Design and Innovation;" RoadStar Magazine and Newport Publications awarded Microheat in 2004. Microheat's CEO Gary Pilibosian was named Automation Alley's 2006 Emerging Leader.
You can see some videos of Hotshot here. Alarm Clock notes how Microheat raised $50 million in financing for its de-icing product. If the product can do what it does in the videos on a reliable basis then the investments have probably been worth it. Jalopnik jokes that's it is Paris Hilton's de-icer.
Young Men Charged More for Auto Insurance Than Women
Men would lose the argument that women are worse drivers at least in the 18 to 25 demographic. An article on AOL investigates what insurers charge for auto insurance and young men are more expensive because they tend to have more accidents and tickets.
Argue all you want; however you'd be hard-pressed to find documented proof that men are superior to women as drivers. But make no mistake - gender certainly does impact driving habits and insurance industry observers believe that issue manifests in other ways, too. That's a point driven home by insurance executives such as David Snyder, who acknowledges that most car insurance companies take into account a driver's gender in determining policy pricing.
"The weight in pricing varies from company to company and by claims experience over time, but, for example, with all other factors being equal, a female between the ages of 18 and 25 would pay less than her male counterpart because as a rule younger women drivers have fewer accidents and moving violations than males in the same age group," says Snyder, vice president and assistant general counsel of the American Insurance Association, in Washington, D.C.
The only time gender has a bearing on car insurance rates involves young drivers, says Carolyn Gorman, vice president of the Washington, D.C. office of the Insurance Information Institute (III). Young males, between the ages of 16 to 25, typically pay more than females in their age group, because "many young men are more likely to show daredevil tendencies in their driving because of factors such as emotional immaturity and misplaced feelings of immortality," Gorman pointed out.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report that said 43,443 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2005. This is a 1.4% increase over 2004's death toll of 42,836. A staggering 2,669,000 people were injured in traffic accidents in 2005. An ABC News article reports that motorcycle deaths increased for the eigth year in a row.
"We have no tolerance for any numbers higher than zero," said Acting Transportation Secretary Maria Cino. "Motorcyclists need to wear their helmets, drivers need to buckle up, and all motorists need to stay sober."
The annual report found that motorcycle fatalities rose for the eighth straight year, growing 13 percent since 2004. The government said 4,553 motorcyclists died in 2005, compared with 4,028 in 2004. Nearly half of the people who died were not wearing helmets.
Pedestrian deaths increased from 4,675 in 2004 to 4,881 in 2005. NHTSA said it was investigating the increase to try to learn what led to the growth.
The NHTSA's complete 143 page PDF file, which is packed full of charts, data and graphcs, can be found here.
Your New Car Probably Contains an Event Data Recorder
A CNN article says that a new regulation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires car makers to inform customers when the car contains an Event Data Recorder (EDR). EDRs are similar to the "black boxes" recovered after plane crashes. CNN says voices are not recored by the EDR does record "speed, steering wheel movement, how hard the brakes are being pressed and the actual movement of the car itself." The article also says that if you have a new car it probably contains an EDR.
About 64 percent of model year 2005 cars were equipped with EDRs, according to NHTSA. Some manufacturers already include information about the EDR in the owners manual, but not all, said Rae Tyson, a spokesman for NHTSA.
"If you have a new vehicle, chances are it's got one," he said.
Data from the recorders is used by law enforcement and attorneys to recreate events directly leading up to an accident. Data is also used by car companies to research how cars and drivers perform in actual crashes.
Some privacy advocates have expressed concern that the data, which can be used as evidence in court cases, is being collected without the knowledge of vehicle owners and drivers.
The devices are virtually impossible to disable because their functioning is so tightly integrated with vehicle safety systems such as airbags and anti-lock brakes.
More information about EDRs can be found here, here, here and here.
An article on LiveScience.com says that crash-free cars are doable with today's technology. Technology would allow cars to make calculation that determine when a collision was about to take place. The technololgy is called vehicle-to-vehicle communication, or V2V.
"The technology is doable right now," says Carsten Bergmann, a VW lab manager. (Of course, getting the right data to the right car at the right time calls for fiendishly complicated threat-detection algorithms that are far easier with four cars than with hundreds of them.)
General Motors has gone one better than VW with a demonstration DSRC-equipped Cadillac CTS that stops itself to avoid accidents. Its enhanced stability-control system predicts where it's headed—like, into the rear end of another DSRC car stopped in the middle of the road—and prompts the onboard computer to apply the brakes without any input from the driver. The effect is very cool. It's also a little spooky, and many doubt that live-free-or-die Americans will ever sign off on fully autonomous vehicles.
Luckily, engineer Tomiji Sugimoto and his team at Honda R&D are working on a human-machine interface that will keep drivers in the loop. Head-up displays are a no-brainer. But Honda is also developing what's called haptic feedback, such as shaking steering wheels and pedals that vibrate.
"We're talking about a system that acts like a backseat driver," Sugimoto says. Except it's a backseat driver that's always right.
To make the concept work in heavy traffic would require GPS devices in all vehicles, a a matrix of of traffic data and complex threat-detection algorithms. Like the article suggests cars that stop themselves to avoid accidents may spook some drivers so it may be awhile before anything like this is in place.
Which days are the deadliest days to drive? Fortunately, we just passed the two worst days July 3rd and July 4th. The next dangerous day coming up is August 3rd. The data was provided in an AOL article that used charts from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study called "Traffic Safety Facts 2004."
Deadliest Days to Drive
July 4
July 3
December 23
August 3
January 1
August 6
August 4
August 12
July 2
September 2
Deadliest Days of the Week to Drive
Saturday
Sunday
Friday
Thursday
Monday
Wednesday
Tuesday
Deadliest Time of the Day to Drive
3:00 - 6:00 pm
6:00 - 9:00 pm
9:00 - Midnight
Noon - 3:00 pm
Midnight - 3:00 am
It sounds like drivers should be careful on those evening commutes and on weekends when there are more drunk drivers on the road. But road safety is important at all times no matter what the trends say. More information about accident data can be found on the NCSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) website which can be found here.
A large study by the National Institute of Health concluded that 16 million
Americans suffer from Intermittent Explosive Disorder where they lose their temper, throw things, even run their cars into another driver because of their sudden, uncontrollable rage. The study shows a definite genetic component to the disorder, which usually manifests by age 14. Sufferers of the disorder seem normal enough, but violently lose their tempers with very little provocation.
"People think it's bad behavior and that you just need an attitude adjustment, but what they don't know ... is that there's a biology and cognitive science to this," said Dr. Emil Coccaro, chairman of psychiatry at the University of Chicago's medical school.
Road rage, temper outbursts that involve throwing or breaking objects and even spousal abuse can sometimes be attributed to the disorder, though not everyone who does those things is afflicted.
By definition, intermittent explosive disorder involves multiple outbursts that are way out of proportion to the situation. These angry outbursts often include threats or aggressive actions and property damage. The disorder typically first appears in adolescence; in the study, the average age of onset was 14.
If there is truth to this study then it raises the question of whether people with this disorder should be allowed behind the wheel of a vehicle without some sort of medication or therapy. It isn't something a regular drivers test could uncover.
CNN reports that a new study has found out the obvious: distracted drivers are dangerous. It sounds like common sense but the study did find that distractions are even more dangerous than previously thought.
Almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes happen within three seconds of some form of driver distraction, according to the report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
The two research groups monitored the behavior of 241 drivers in 100 vehicles for more than a year. During the 2 million miles of the study, the drivers were involved in 82 crashes and 761 near-crashes.
Reaching for a moving object multiplied the risk of a crash or near-crash by nine times, according to the study. Reading, applying makeup, or dialing a handheld device tripled the risk.
"All of these activities are much more dangerous than we thought before," Dr. Charlie Klauer, a senior research associate at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
Drowsiness, cell phones, rubbernecking (gawking at a crash site), eating, applying makeup and reaching for an object were a few of the distractions noted in the study. A 200+ page PDF-file about the study can be found here.
Health.com reports on a survey that found that people who sing while they drive may be less likely to have an accident.
Next time you're behind the wheel and Sheryl Crow rocks your radio, sing along. Crooning might help you drive better -- and possibly save your life. A survey of 1,780 drivers for a British car-insurance company found that listening to music may help reduce road rage and decrease the chance of an accident. Most respondents with good driving records said music relaxed them when driving and helped them stay alert.
Following along with familiar music and repetitive lyrics keeps your brain engaged (yet not distracted, because you can stop or start whenever you want). Changes in your posture and breathing when you sing keep you from getting sleepy, explains Nicola Dibben, PhD, professor of music psychology at Britain’s University of Sheffield.
But be careful if you're more tempted to crank a techno wizard like Moby than a pop queen like Crow. Earlier research suggests that fast, loud music like dance and punk rock is more distracting than softer fare like light rock, pop, and classical. And the survey showed that younger people who listen to the raucous stuff while driving are even more prone to accidents.
Health.com also recommended some tunes to sing by like Sheryl Crow's "Every Day Is a Winding Road" and Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." It sounds like it might be a good idea but if you don't have much of a singing voice you might want to keep the windows rolled up.
Popular Mechanics has a feature about tech concepts you need to know for 2006. Two of the new tech concepts are related to road safety.
Driver-Monitoring System
Instead of just watching for hazards on the road, Toyota's latest precrash safety system is turning its attention to the most likely cause of an accident: you. This spring, Lexus models in Japan will be available with a camera mounted on the steering column that uses facial-recognition software to determine whether you're watching the road. If not, and the front-mounted radar sees you're getting too close to something, it will flash a light, then beep and tap the brakes if you persist in rubbernecking.
Spot Detection
To prevent drivers from smashing into what they can't see, two as-yet-unnamed automakers will include Valeo Raytheon's blind-spot detection in 2007 models. The system's 2.4-GHz radar sensors will be mounted in the rear bumper and won't be affected by the elements. When a vehicle is in a driver's blind spot, an LED in the sideview mirror will light up. If the driver turns the steering wheel anyway, a beep will warn him of the hidden danger.
You can read more about Valeo Raytheon blind-spot detectors here. They look like a device that every driver needs.
A new study disputes the idea that heavier SUVs are safer for kids than cars. An article in the Arizona Daily Sun describes the study which found that any benefit from being inside the heavier SUV is canceled out by the high risk of rollovers.
The researchers looked at accidents involving nearly 4,000 children under age 16 between 2000 and 2003, and found child injury rates of about 1.7 percent in both cars and SUVs. The study examined only 1998 or newer cars and SUVs with second-generation air bags.
On average, the SUVs weighed 1,300 pounds more than the cars studied. The study found that the extra weight of SUVs enhanced safety, reducing the risk of injury by more than a third.
But that was offset by findings that SUVs were more than twice as likely as cars to roll over in crashes.
Children in rollovers were three times more likely to be seriously injured than those in non-rollover accidents, according to the study.
Car buyers can check the NHTSA's SaferCar.gov website for vehicle safety information including results from crash tests and rollover ratings.
Alcohol-related Traffic Deaths Jump on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is a fun time to celebrate but it can also be a dangerous time period when more drivers than usual drink and drive. Statistics gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that in 2004 90 people had died in alcohol-related traffic crashes in the 12-hour span between 6:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 5:59 a.m. the next morning. Four weeks later, on the same night of the week, the death toll dropped dramatically to 20.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) says that many myths about driving under the influence persist today despite education efforst. Here a couple myths the NIAAA is trying to dispel:
Myth: You can drive as long as you are not slurring words or acting
erratically.
Fact: The skills and coordination needed for driving are compromised long
before the obvious signs of intoxication are visible. In addition, the
sedative effects of alcohol, combined with the late night hours, place you
at much greater risk of nodding off or losing attention behind the wheel.
Myth: Drink coffee. Caffeine will sober you up.
Fact: Caffeine may help with drowsiness, but it doesn't counteract the
effect of alcohol on decision-making or coordination. The body needs time
to metabolize (break down) alcohol and even more time to return to normal.
There are no quick cures-only time will help.
More information can be found on the NIAAA's website.
CTV.ca reports that the in-dash DVD players are going to be a big gift item this year. They sound exciting but they also sound dangerous. The photograph on the right is of the Sanyo ECD-T1780DV In-dash DVD player with 7" video screen. CTV.ca says the in-dash players become popular on Pimp My Ride.
But in-dash DVD players - which play in full view of the driver - are a newer phenomenon that have been made popular by shows like MTV's "Pimp My Ride," where mechanics spruce up old vehicles and install extravagant bells and whistles.
Indeed, in a survey by J.D. Power & Associates of new-car buyers last year, DVD players were favoured by 28 per cent of respondents, up from 16 per cent in 2000.
But these gadgets can drive motorists to distraction and have deadly consequences.
If installed as recommended, DVD players will not work in an automobile unless the emergency brake is on or the vehicle is in park. But owners can defeat the safety measures by installing the devices themselves.
It should be common sense but if you are using a DVD player while driving that's a very bad idea. CD Freaks agrees and discusses how dash boards are being enhanced with an increasing amount of gadgetry.
However, this is just the beginning, as now we have the "cockpits" of our cars adorned with an ever growing plethora of devices that have little to do with safe driving and only serve as dangerous distractions.
MSNBC.com has an article that discusses the risk billboard ads featuring semi-nude models may pose on the highways. A recent study found that the billboard ads do indeed distract drivers. One ad in particular was the Wonderbra ad (pictured on the right) featuring Eva Herzigova.
Research released this week said one in five male drivers said their eyes were diverted from the road by posters of scantily clad women -- such as model Eva Herzigova's famous adverts for Wonderbra which bore the tagline "Hello Boys."
However only one in 10 women were put off by the sight of a semi-dressed male model.
You may think that drivers don't look away for long but it doesn't take much inattention to cause an accident.
He said novel advertising could cause a significant risk of distracting drivers at crucial times, such as going round a difficult roundabout.
"In fact, this risk is probably underestimated and we need to do more research on the possibility of excluding non-essential information when the driver is already busy dealing with the road," he said.
The study, by Privilege Insurance, said a 5-second distraction at 60 mph equated to driving at least the length of a soccer pitch without fully concentrating.
A BBC article discusses at a few other distracting billboards.
Telegraph.co.uk has an article that lists the five worst habits of drivers. The list comes from the U.K. where they drive on the other side of the street but it definitely applies to drivers elsewhere in the world.
Not checking the blind spot before manoeuvring
Trying to change a CD or find a radio station while driving
Tailgating another vehicle -- it takes nearly 100m to stop when braking suddenly at 70mph.
Using a mobile phone while driving
Eating and drinking at the wheel
The Telegraph article offers a list for lorry (truck) drivers as well.
A recent Detroit News article cites an AutoExtra.com survey that 75% of driving-age teens are driving their own vehicles and half of these vehicle are purchased by parents.
An August survey by AutoExtra.com found that three out of four driving-age students own cars, half of which were purchased by parents. Of the 500 parents polled in the survey, 82 percent said they bought used cars and most of them cost under $10,000.
Fall is a prime time for teens' first car purchases, especially this year, as July's record high auto sales led to a surplus of cars from trade-ins, which means there's more selection and lower prices on used car lots. But while they were looking for less expensive cars for their children, 90 percent of parents polled in AutoExtra.com's survey cited safety and reliability as their biggest concerns.
The article says that when parents go for safety in a vehicle they sometimes choose SUVs which are not the easiest vehicle for new drivers to handle.
As a general rule, safety-conscious parents tend to focus on car size, said Jonathan Adkins, communications director for the Governors Highway Safety Association. Adkins said parents often buy SUVs because they think bigger is better. But only the newest models of SUVs have electronic stability control to prevent rollovers and many parents can only afford the used models.
The article also points to the DaimlerChrysler's Road Ready Teens website which includes information and a free online game teens can play to improve their driving skills.
Drive Carefully Near Little Ghosts, Witches and Jedis
Tonight is Halloween so be sure to be on the lookout for cute little witches, ghost, zombies, etc. when you are driving home from work. An article on Charlotte.com has some tips for kids' costumes so they are easily spotted by drivers.
This Halloween, thanks to the time change the day before, sunset will occur at 5:31 p.m. There also won't be a moon that night, so good working flashlights should accompany parents and trick-or-treaters. Reflective tape is also a good idea, especially on darker costumes, as are chemical lighting sticks that can be worn as a necklace with any costume.
Health Day says light-colored costumes are the safest and most easily spotted by drivers:
"Children should trick-or-treat with an adult and only go to homes of people they know. They should wear light-colored costumes with a reflective coating so they can be easily seen by drivers."
Despite the advice some kids will trick-or-treat without flashlights or parents in dark hard-to-see costumes so drivers should take it slow and stay alert. Happy Halloween!
News stations like 13WHAM.com are reporting that the new car smell that some drivers love is bad for you.
One of the best things about having a new car could be bad for you. New research finds that much loved "new car" smell is produced by harmful chemicals.
Cheryl Gardner has just purchased a new Nissan Pathfinder. She said the smell that tells her she's driving a new car just doesn't last long enough.
"I love it. It actually stays in the vehicle for a couple of months," she said.
According to a recent study, that pleasurable scent has been linked to harmful
chemicals -- volatile organic compound or VOC -- which releases chemicals from glues, paints, and vinyl.
The article also said the U.S. automakers are not looking into the matter and the EPA has no position on the toxic new car smell so for now just try not to breathe while you drive.
CTV.ca reports that some auto manufacturers plan to reduce the amount of the toxic new car smell. They also have more information about how dangerous that smell is for drivers.
Volatile organic compounds seep out of a vehicle's plastics, glue, vinyl and
upholstery, and include some cancer-causing toxins such as styrene, benzene and formaldehyde.
The Australian researchers found that the level of the compounds in new cars were several times higher than levels considered safe for homes and offices.
The full health effects of these compounds is not well known, but some controlled
studies have found they can cause headaches, throat or eye irritation, drowsiness
and confusion. Studies has also found that prolonged exposure to some of the
chemicals can lead to cancer.
"Just as air inside our homes and workplaces is often much more polluted than the air outside, so sitting in a new car can expose you to levels of toxic emissions many times beyond (health guideline) goals," said Steve Brown, head of the CSIRO's air quality control research unit.
Scotsman.com reports that an inventor has developed a dynamic speed bump that can "choose" to rise depending on the speed of the approaching car. The article says the inventor is looking for an investor for his idea.
The former maths and technology teacher has designed a speed hump which rises up out of the road when a speeding driver approaches.
The offending motorist will feel a small thump as they hit the bump, reminding them to go slow.
Sensors to instruct the hump to raise can be set to react to different speeds, operate at different times and can even be set to ignore speeding emergency vehicles.
The invention could mean the end to driving down a clear road late at night and being forced to break for a series of speed humps. Gywn Harvey, from Wales, said he came up with the idea ten years ago when he accidentally hit a speed hump too fast.
If it could work it would be nice for non-speeding motorists who get tired of the same speed bumps day after day even though they are driving slowly. Neighborhoods often use speed bumps to keep cars from driving too fast through areas where kids might be playing.
JapaneseCarFan.com reports that Nissan is working on a technology combining cameras and software that eliminates blind spots from vehicles.
The rear view system now available on nearly every model in the Nissan range eliminates the worst blind spot during reversing i.e. what's beneath your rear window. But there's a second blind spot along both sides of the car. To eliminate this, side mounted cameras need to be fitted as they have been to the Presage model on sale in Japan since June 2003. Now Nissan is testing front mounted cameras. Even more amazing is that the driver sees an image on the dashboard mounted monitor as if he or she were looking down onto the car. It also shows up everything around it.
Cameras mounted at the front and rear and on both sides take pictures of the surrounding road surface, which are synthesized by an image processing technique into one view that is shown on a central display. The system is especially helpful when parking, enabling the driver to steer easily and precisely into a parking space. It also eliminates any fear of running over the neighbour's prized belongings or posts or animals or anything else for that matter.
The trend in cars seems to be to turn the driver's area and the dashboard into more of a cockpit where the driver can visualize everything that is going on without looking outside. But problems may occur if the new tools, like GPS mapping, XML radio and blindspot eliminators, are so distracting that they cause the driver to take their eye of the road itself.
A new type of safety light improves on the old-fashioned flare technology. The device is a battery powered LED safety light called the PowerFlare.
Invented by a police officer, the PowerFlare safety light is your best friend in the dark. Whether you're using it on the road instead of old-fashioned flares or taking it with you on a hike, this innovative new product is for you. PowerFlare safety lights feature the latest in LED light technology, emitting light in all directions (can be seen for miles at night). Each PowerFlare unit is about the size of a hockey puck yet is strong enough to withstand being run over by trucks at highway speeds.
The PowerFlare comes in a rechargeable version and a version that runs on a CR123 lithium battery. Boing Boing says the LED battery-powered flares can be programmed to blink SOS.
A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has found that distracted drivers bring an extra risk to driving. Cell phones were an expected part of the problem. MSNBC.com reports that the study found that cell phone users, even with hands-free devices, were four times more likely to be involved in serious accidents. However, the study found that distraction itself can lead to accidents and there are many ways to create distractions with all the gadgets and digital controls available for vehicles today.
"It's really the mental, the cognitive distraction from thinking about something else other than the driving task," says Ann McCartt with the institute.
In a lot of cars today, that's all too easy. As car makers cram more technology into vehicles - from DVD players and navigation systems to MP3 players - the question is: How do you keep your eyes on the road ahead when you're constantly looking at the dashboard?
The MSNBC.com article says that manufacturers now have a name for all those new devices in vehicles -- human-machine interface and the designers claim they aim for a distraction rate of less than 2 seconds at a time. One example is the new steering wheels being designed with more and more buttons. Will too many buttons confuse drivers and increase distraction?
While much has been made of cell phone use in cars, researchers have yet to determine how much other devices impact driving.
"Drivers are engaged in distracting behaviors of one kind or another a lot of the time," says McCartt. "The key is: Are those distracting behaviors going to lead to a crash?"
For now, industry researchers and car makers agree that multitasking drivers multiply their risk every time they hit the road.
Parked Cars Can Get Dangerously Hot Even on Cool Days
KCRA reports on new research that indicates that parked cars can bet dangerously overheated even on days with highs in the 70s.
"There are cases of children dying on days as cool as 70 degrees Fahrenheit," lead researcher Dr. Catherine McLaren said in a news release.
Researchers measured the temperature rise inside a parked car on sunny days with highs ranging from 72 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit. Their results, published in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics, showed that a car's interior can heat up by an average of 40 degrees within an hour, regardless of outside temperature. And 80 percent of the temperature rise occurred within the first half-hour.
The article also said that running the air conditioner before turning off the car or cracking the window had an insignificant effect on keeping the car cool. So the bottom line is that you need to take your kids with you and not leave them in a car that could overheat.
The Sunday Timesreports on a new plan to monitor traffic in England raises major Big Brother fears. The plan includes satellites that will monitor traffic and literally apply the brakes to vehicles that are driving too quickly. Vehicles will have a "speed spy" devices implanted in the vehicle so that the brakes can be applied from an overhead satellite and computer system.
The satellite-based system will monitor the speed limit and apply the brakes or cut out the accelerator if the driver tries to exceed it. A government-funded trial has concluded that the scheme promotes safer driving.
Drivers in London could be among the first to have the "speed spy" devices fitted. They would be offered a discount on the congestion charge if they use the system.
Just when you thought there was a study about everything here comes one to determine which signs drive the best and the worst. The study found that geminis make the worst drivers.
The number one worst drivers were Geminis, "typically described as restless, easily bored and frustrated by things moving slowly," explained Warren Duke, Suncorp's national manager of personal insurance. "They had more car accidents than any other sign."
In second and third place came Taurus and Pisces. Capricorns are the best drivers according to the study. Here is a list of the zodiac driving rankings from worst to best from the study. We will leave it to Tarot.com's Nancy R. Fenn to explain what it all means.
MSNBC.com has a report about an interesting high speed frontal crash test on several big cars: 2006 Lexus GS 300, the 2005 Ford 500, GM's 2005 Buick Lacrosse, 2005 Acura RL, 2005 Toyota Avalon, 2005 KIA Amanti, 2005 Cadillac STS and the 2005 Chrysler 300.
High speed frontal accidents, like those being tested at 40 miles per hour, are among the deadliest out there. But with today's technology, you should be able to walk away from them with no significant injuries.
Brian O'Neill runs the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a non-profit group funded by insurance companies looking to improve safety and reduce claims. The Institute buys cars right off dealer's lots and replicates what might happen if two identical cars run into each other.
The 2006 Lexus GS 300, 2005 Ford 500 and GM's 2005 Buick Lacrosse received the best rating the Institute had to offer. Their dummies were protect by the safety cage and could have gotten up and walked away if they were not dummies.
The dummy in the 2005 KIA Amanti would have sustained a leg injury, but all the cars tested porformed well:
To recap, every large car in this round of tests is rated good. The only one that didn't get a "best pick" was the KIA Amanti. KIA tells dateline it's "disappointed," but "confident" that the Amanti is a "safe vehicle."
Allstate Insurance Company has released the findings from their study about which U.S. cities have the best and worst drivers. Allstate researchers analyzed internal data to determine the likelihood drivers in America's largest 196 cities (cities with over 100,000 residents) would experience an auto collision compared to the national average.
The study found that drivers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa were the least likely
to have a crash.
The study revealed that the average driver in the central Iowa city will
experience an auto collision every 15 years, compared to the
national likelihood of a crash every 10 years -- making them
33.28 percent less likely to have an accident than the national average.
The worst ranked city was Washington D.C. Drivers in D.C. had one
accident every 5.2 years on average.
A PDF file containing Allstate's rankings of all U.S. cities with over
100,000 residents can be found here.
DaimlerChrysler is using a new concept vehicle to examine the potential of bionics for automobile development. The Mercedes-Benz bionic car study had its world premiere at DaimlerChrysler Innovation Symposium in Washington. The car's engineers looked for a specific example in nature which would approximate the idea of an aerodynamic, safe, comfortable and environmentally compatible car. The example they came up with was the boxfish. Despite its boxy, cube-shaped body, this tropical fish is outstandingly streamlined. With an accurately constructed model of the boxfish the engineers in Stuttgart said they were able to achieve a wind drag coefficient of just 0.06 in the wind tunnel. DaimlerChrylser also said the car gets 20% lower fuel consumption and 80% lower nitrogen oxide
emissions. Using the boxfish design, DaimlerChrysler also says it was
able to build a 1/3 lighter car without a reduction in strength or
crash safety.
The Associated Press reports that Highway Death Rate dropped last year from 1.48 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles in 2003 to 1.46 deaths in 2004 according to the government. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that deaths rose form 42,643 in 2003 to 42,800 in 2004. The other problem with trying to measure how hazarous driving is in today's world is that our medical care is constantly improving. So you can have more terribly injured people than ever before, but more are being saved by our quick amublance service, trained emergency a
The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) wants drivers to know that checking for proper tire pressure can save lives and reduce fuel costs. Proper tire pressure can save motorists as much as $0.10 per gallon at the pump according to the RMA. More importantly under inflated tires can cause accidents that could have been easily avoided.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there is an increase in fatal alcohol-related traffics on New Year's Eve. They released this information that shows som eof the myths associated with driving while intoxicated.
CNET 
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report that said 43,443 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2005. This is a 1.4% increase over 2004's death toll of 42,836. A staggering 2,669,000 people were injured in traffic accidents in 2005. An ABC News 
Popular Mechanics has a 
CTV.ca 
MSNBC.com has an 
A new type of safety light improves on the old-fashioned flare technology. The device is a battery powered LED safety light called the 
DaimlerChrysler is using a new concept vehicle to examine the potential of bionics for automobile development. The Mercedes-Benz bionic car study had its world premiere at DaimlerChrysler Innovation Symposium in Washington. The car's engineers looked for a specific example in nature which would approximate the idea of an aerodynamic, safe, comfortable and environmentally compatible car. The example they came up with was the boxfish. Despite its boxy, cube-shaped body, this tropical fish is outstandingly streamlined. With an accurately constructed model of the boxfish the engineers in Stuttgart said they were able to achieve a wind drag coefficient of just 0.06 in the wind tunnel. DaimlerChrylser also said the car gets 20% lower fuel consumption and 80% lower nitrogen oxide
emissions. Using the boxfish design, DaimlerChrysler also says it was
able to build a 1/3 lighter car without a reduction in strength or
crash safety.