HB 187 Hearing before the MD Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, March 28, 2019

(Click on the image for Del. Valderrama's testimony)

5 Prince George's High School Students Hurt in Crash

(Click on the image for Gina Cook's News4 report)

• None of the students were wearing seatbelts, police say
• [Chief] Stawinski said none of the students in the car were wearing seatbelts and it appeared that three of them in the backseat were partially ejected from the car. All three have serious injuries. Stawinski said authorities are "guardedly optimistic" the will survive.

Drive Focused, Sober & Safe - April 27

(Click on the image to register)

Maryland State Police warn of phone scams using cloned numbers

(Click on the image for Reem Nadeem's WTOP report)

• The caller ID showed “Maryland State Government.”
• The scams use scare tactics and usually call from local numbers.
• Senior citizens are especially vulnerable to these scams and police ask the public to make sure elderly family members are aware of the scams.
• Anyone who receives one of these phone calls should hang up and contact their local state police barrack.
• A Tantallon neighbor received a call from "1-410-537-1150", the Maryland State Police (MSP) Barrack in Perryville, MD.
• Report calls that pretend to be from MSP to our local Barrack in Forestville, 301-568-8101.

I Can't Live Without You Baby

(Click on the image for  a message from Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban)

The Highway Don't Care

But We Do!

#DrivingItHome

• Always wear your seatbelt!
• Don't text and drive!
• Don't distract the driver!
• NEVER drink and drive!
• Stop Speeding!
• Avoid Aggressive Driving!

The Last Text

(Click on the image for the video)

From the American Journal of Public Health:
Our findings suggest that states’ efforts to curb distracted driving through texting bans and decrease its negative consequences are associated with significant decreases in the incidence of ED visits that follow an MVC.

MD 210 Is Number 1!

(Click on the image for the TRIP of Washington report)

The most congested portion of Maryland arterial roadways during weekday PM peak travel hours
is MD 210 southbound - Kerby Hill Rd/Livingston Rd to Palmer Rd. (page 3 of the report)

How a singular focus on speed leads state DOTs to overspend and overbuild

(Click on the image to read Beth Osborne's Smart Growth America report)

• It’s nearly impossible to square the priority of speed with most other state goals. This assumption of “the cars need to always move fast and never slow down” is at the root of most of the big problems that they face.
• States expend a lot of effort trying to squeeze square pegs into round holes, rather than using round pegs. State DOTs created to build the autobahn in the US, that got so good at building this one product that they now try to build it everywhere.
• State DOTs are reluctant to believe that they can or should dictate behavior. States design roads to indicate to drivers that they should go fast (with wide, straight lanes and infrequent signals or crossings), and then are surprised when drivers respond logically to that design, acting as if there is nothing they can do to change that or slow them down.
• A singular focus on reducing delay leads state DOTs to overbuild roads, waste money, and generate more traffic, as well as many other frequent problems.

Wonder Why Driving in Germany Is Safer?

(Click on the image for Brian Cooley's report)

"when Americans go to Germany they're in awe of the Autobahn, when Germans come to America, they're in awe too. In awe that we haven't killed each other with our lousy driving."
Top 5 differences:

5. There's a first aid course. You need to pass a real first aid course in Germany, 8 hours of it. Part of the course also teaches you how to secure the accident scene.

4. You Learn Theory. There are at least 14 and possibly 20 or more hours of this theory training to get ready for a theoretical exam. And that consists of 30 multiple choice questions.

3. You really learn driving. You'll need a minimum of twelve 90 minute on the road training sessions, 4 of which have to be on the Autobahn and at speed and about 3 of those have to be at night.

2. It takes time and money, 3 to 6 months is what you need to allot to get your first driver’s license in Germany. it can easily cost you something in the region of 2,000 euros.

1. A test is a test. Three wrong answers on the German test, and you've failed. And questions like, what is the maximum speed you're allowed to drive a truck with a permissible total mass of 3 tons on a road with one marked lane for each direction outside built up areas. You also have to open the hood during your driver’s test and identify for the instructor the major visible components. 

Briefing on HB 187, MD 210 Speed Camera Bill

(Click on the image for the briefing)

The Future of MD 210 at Kerby/Livingston

(Click on the image to see the future of MD 210)

SHA currently estimates completion of construction at the end of 2021.

Driving It Home: Changing the Driving Culture

(Click on the image for the short video)

The #DrivingItHome campaign is being launched March 22-24, 2019 at high schools, in the community and at churches.

Aisha Braveboy to Launch Countywide Safe Driving Initiative: ‘Drive Focused, Sober and Safe’

• Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha N. Braveboy announced today the launch of ‘Drive Focused, Sober and Safe,’ a countywide initiative to raise the awareness of the importance of driving safe on our roadways.
• “It is imperative that citizens make safe driving a top priority when on the road. This initiative comes at a critical time when the number of fatal car crashes are on the rise,” said State’s Attorney Braveboy. “In the last six months, there have been over 40 fatal car crashes in which 51 people died. This campaign is about saving lives. Many of these crashes were the result of impaired or distracted driving. In some cases, lives could have been spared if appropriate safety restraints were used.”
• The Drive Focused, Sober, & Safe Campaign will begin with a Kick Off event on Saturday, April 27, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The half day event will engage residents of all ages with a panel discussion, exhibitors, interactive driving displays and student performances. The event will take place at the Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Center in Ft. Washington.
• To attend the Drive Focused, Sober, & Safe Campaign Kick Off event, please register at the following link: https://saodrivesafekickoff.eventbrite.com.
• For more information on how to get involved with the campaign, contact Denise Roberts at 301-952-2848 or via email at dgroberts@co.pg.md.us.
• For more information about the Office of the State’s Attorney, please visit http://sao.mypgc.us. Follow us on Twitter, http://twitter.com/PGSAONEWS for more news and updates.

Good Driving Starts Young

(Click on the image to learn from a kid) 

• Whether passengers or drivers, auto collisions are the No. 1 killer of every single age from 16 to 23, as well as age 10. Our backseat passengers are the drivers of tomorrow, and they are looking to the adults in their lives to inspire safe driving behaviors. Allstate is bringing attention to the critical community issue of safe driving by asking future drivers to advocate for their parents and other current drivers to model good driving habits in hopes of making the roads safer for everyone.
• 94% of collisions are caused by preventable human factors.
• Reading or sending a text tends to take about five seconds — at 55 mph, that’s like driving an entire football field with your eyes closed, 

Driver Finds Out The Hard Way Why You Should Always Signal Lane Changes

(Click on the image for the short video clip)

Losing an hour of sleep can heighten car crash risk: AAA warns

(Click on the image for the CBS News report)

• Missing two hours or more of sleep nearly doubles your crash risk, AAA says
• Drivers need at least seven hours of sleep a night to drive safely
• Nearly 3 in 10 people admit to driving drowsy within the past month.

• As Americans roll their clocks forward for daylight saving on March 10, they may miss more than the early church service or that Sunday brunch with their buddies. Since they will lose an hour, the AAA reminds anyone getting on the road that day that they need to remember to adjust their sleep schedules so they still get a minimum of seven hours of snooze. 
• That isn't just a gentle suggestion. AAA research from its Foundation for Traffic Safety shows drivers who miss one to two hours of the recommended time in a 24-hour period can nearly double their risk for a crash.
• Our new research shows that a driver who has slept for less than 5 hours has a crash risk comparable to someone driving drunk.

Push continues for more speed cameras on ‘wild west’ Md. 210

(Click on the image for John Domen's WTOP report)

By reputation and by the numbers, Maryland Route 210 is one of the deadliest highways in the region, and last July, it got its first speed camera.
But those who live there, and officials who patrol Indian Head Highway in Prince George’s County, Maryland, say more has to be done.
The first county-run speed camera on a state highway went up on July 1[the camera became operational on Oct 31, 2018], “and, since then, we have lost five citizens on that roadway, and multiple other persons were injured,” said state Del. Michael Jackson as he testified Thursday on House Bill 187.
If approved, it would broaden the use of speed cameras on a road that has become known for a shockingly high number of fatal crashes.
“In 2017, the police department initiated more than 5,600 traffic stops and wrote 8,000 citations,” said Mark McGaw, the former police chief and current deputy chief administrative officer of public safety in Prince George’s County.
“In 2018, traffic stops on Maryland Route 210 increased to 6,400, and more than 10,000 citations were issued,” McGaw said. “Nonfatal accidents continue to rise each year, with more than 350 reported in 2018.”
He noted many of the crashes involved pedestrians and often involved excessive speed.
“Unfortunately, 210 continues to be the site of many tragedies,” said Maj. Bill Alexander with Prince George’s County police. “We have invested a lot, a lot, on Maryland Route 210.”
Alexander noted that the single camera, which sits in the southbound lane of Route 210 at Old Fort Road, is well known to drivers along that corridor. As drivers become familiar with where cameras are, they learn to slow down as they go by.
“The single camera that’s on 210 now is not, in and of itself, assisting us,” Alexander said.
Ron Weiss, who lives along the 210 corridor and has long advocated for more to be done to slow drivers down there, said there’s another problem with the placement of that particular camera.
“That location, where vehicles are at 0 mph for a portion of the traffic cycle, is catching only a fraction of speeders caught by the work zone camera, just 1 mile north of the intersection,” said Weiss, who also testified before the House Environment and Transportation Committee.
Weiss said crashes along other stretches of the highway continue to claim lives, even after the camera was installed.
“Our sad history is that the inordinate number of serious and fatal crashes on 210 have happened along the entire 13 mile length of the highway, both north and southbound. A single speed camera just isn’t going to make a big difference,” he added.
Gloria Constant, of Accokeek, who also testified, said she’s been rear-ended several times on the highway, and that the same thing has happened to others she knows.
“On a daily basis, while driving on Indian Head Highway, it’s like the wild, wild west. Nobody regards the law. It’s the norm to experience excessive speeding,” Constant said.
[More at the link above.]

911 Call about Suspicious Activity Leads to Arrest of Suspect on FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List

From http://pgpolice.blogspot.com/
Lamont Stephenson is now in custody after his arrest this morning in Lanham. The 43 year old is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List.
At approximately 2:00 am, Prince George’s County Police received a 911 call about a suspicious person in a rental company truck parked outside of a closed business. This took place in the 7900 block of Annapolis Road. Responding PGPD patrol officers approached the truck and began to talk to the man who was still inside. The officers then began to check whether the man, Lamont Stephenson, had any open warrants. It was at that point, Stephenson told the officers he was wanted in New Jersey for murder. Stephenson was also checked for weapons and one was recovered. The suspect told the PGPD officers he also committed a crime in the District on Wednesday night. [From WTOP: "multiple sources tell WTOP’s Megan Cloherty that Stephenson is also connected to the deadly stabbing of a woman in her D.C. apartment on Wednesday."]
Stephenson was taken into custody and brought to our Criminal Investigation Division. The Prince George’s County Police Department immediately contacted authorities in Essex County, New Jersey and the Metropolitan Police Department.
Stephenson is currently in the custody of the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections pending extradition.

Justice Department warns of fast-growing elder fraud scams

(Click on the image for the NBC News report)

The Department of Justice announced a roundup of more than 260 people accused of cheating 200 million Americans, most of them seniors, out of $750 million. One of the biggest scams involves a phony computer virus.

Montgomery County Speed Cameras Have Changed Driver Behavior

(Click on the image for a short video)