Driver Safety Blog

Wednesday, 12 Jun 2013 : Decision Points

The National Safety Council acknowledges that the results announced today by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety of a new distracted driving study, again confirm the presence and crash risk of cognitive distraction. The human brain is incapable of performing, at the same time, the tasks necessary to safely operate a motor vehicle while engaged in other cognitively demanding [...] Read More...

Tuesday, 07 May 2013 : Decision Points

Today, the National Safety Council released findings from a recent analysis of national statistics on fatal motor vehicle crashes, in a report entitled, “Crashes Involving Cell Phones: Challenges of Collecting and Reporting Reliable Crash Data,” funded in part by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. The report reviewed 180 fatal crashes from 2009 to 2011, where evidence indicated driver [...] Read More...

Tuesday, 07 May 2013 : Decision Points

The Transportation Review Board recently released a Traffic Safety Fact report (PDF) estimating 1,045 lives were saved in vehicles equipped with electronic stability control (ESC) systems as standard equipment. In 2011, electronic stability control (ESC) saved an estimated 634 lives among passenger car (PC) occupants, and 411 lives among light truck and van (LTV) occupants, [...] Read More...

Wednesday, 24 Apr 2013 : Decision Points

The U.S. National Traffic Safety Highway Administration has released a fact sheet that provides updates on occupant protection—or seat belt usage—in 2011. Research has found that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate- to-critical injury by 50 percent. [...] Read More...

Thursday, 11 Apr 2013 : Decision Points

The Transportation Research Board recently released the initial analysis of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) project to study specific research questions using early SHRP 2 naturalistic driving study and roadway information database data. The study recruited 2,800 volunteer drivers, ages 16–80, across six sites…data will be collectd for 1 to 2 years…data include vehicle speed, acceleration, [...] Read More...

Tuesday, 09 Apr 2013 : Decision Points

If you drive for work, either in your own car or in a fleet vehicle, you work in one of the most dangerous “offices” around. In 2011 the total unintentional injury related deaths in the US attributed to driving for work was 1,603 – roughly 70% of the total number of 2,306 work-related deaths, according [...] Read More...

Monday, 01 Apr 2013 : Decision Points

Do your drivers have company cell phones? Does your company have a driving policy that prohibits cell use in one way or another while driving? Even if it’s not company policy (you are not alone), do your drivers operate company vehicles in states or jurisdictions where cell phone use is banned in one form or another? Last [...] Read More...

Tuesday, 19 Mar 2013 : Decision Points

Google has been busy mapping the highways and byways across the US, the world, and even places very few have ever been. These maps and the geo-referenced data layers combined with advanced sensors and drive-by-wire controls promise what might be as close to the autonomous “flying car” experience we’ve been dreaming about since the Jetsons’. [...] Read More...

Wednesday, 06 Feb 2013 : Decision Points

What an odd, and great, Superbowl game. But enough distractions… let’s get back to America’s true favorite national pass-time – sitting in traffic! Ok, may not really be your favorite, but according to a recent study, you do a heck of a lot of it… in fact they’ve estimated we spend roughly five and a half billion extra hours per year [...] Read More...

Tuesday, 08 Jan 2013 : Decision Points

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently released a study (pdf) where 46% of 3,303 drivers responding to the survey self-assess that they have nodded off while driving at some point in their lives, with nearly 10% admitting to nodding off behind the wheel at least once in the last 12 months. Drowsy driving is a [...] Read More...