Rain and snow increase risk of fatal car crashes by 34 percent

(Click on the image for Jason Samenow's Washington Post report)

• A new study shows precipitation of every intensity substantially increases the risk of deadly motor vehicle crashes. These crashes are among the leading causes of accidental deaths in the United States and claim about 35,000 lives each year.
• The study, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, found a 34 percent increase in the risk of a fatal crash when precipitation is falling.
• Light precipitation increased the risk of a fatal crash by 27 percent, while the risk more than doubled during heavy precipitation.
• [A]wareness campaigns, improved messaging in forecasts and even “the expansion of variable speed limits that adapt to road conditions” could make traveling safer.

Responsible drivers adapt to the increased risk by slowing down. 

County Executive Alsobrooks and Chief Stawinski Working to Keep Us Safe

(Click on the image for the News4 report by Adam Tuss)

On WTOP: Prince George’s Co. urges drivers to make safer decisions

From County Executive Angela Alsobrooks:

"On Monday morning Police Chief Hank Stawinski and I conducted traffic enforcement along our roadways.  We only handed out warnings that morning, but I had the opportunity to speak with several drivers that we pulled over for infractions such as speeding and distracted driving.  And there was one thing that stuck out to me; all of the people that we stopped felt that they were doing something that was taking a matter of a second and not causing any harm.

Statements such as, “I was just taking a second to call into my job to find out the location of where I should be.”  Or even, “I was just taking a second to pick up the phone rather than to hit the hands-free button.”

Well, it only takes a second for an awful tragedy to occur, and unfortunately we’ve seen this time and time again in Prince George’s County over the past several months.

Last December, three young children were killed in an accident on Route 210.  At the start of this year, five children were killed in a crash along Route 301, and many more people have been seriously injured as a result of crashes, including several students from DuVal High School less than a month ago.

Too many people have been hurt and too many lives lost, so it’s past time that we change the driving culture here in Prince George’s County.  That won’t happen at the police station or in the court house, but instead it must start in our community.  We need every Prince Georgian to commit to wearing a seatbelt, driving free from distractions and driving sober.

It only takes a second to make the decision to wear a seatbelt and to make sure everyone else in your car is wearing one as well.  It only takes a second to use a hands-free button in your car, rather than picking up your phone in your hand.  And it only takes a second to make the decision to not drive yourself home after drinking, or even to make that decision for a friend.

So please, Prince Georgians, use those seconds to make decisions that are safe.  While our police have and will continue to step up their enforcement, that is only part of the solution.  Our community coming together and making those safe decisions, collectively, will be the effort that truly makes our roads safer."

The District Court in Our County Handled Over 100,000 Motor Vehicle Dispositions in 2017

(Click on the image for the original graphic)

How Much Is that Traffic Fine?

(Click on the image for the schedule of fines.)

Conclusion: follow the rules of the road to save money.

Creating A Cultural Shift Can Be Done But It Doesn’t Happen Overnight. Or Does It?

(Click on the image for the article by Raoul Dennis)

• Distracted or aggressive driving may not be addictive the way smoking is. But they are both habits supported by cultural cues—-and they can both get you killed. 
• The difference is: smoking isn’t the coolest thing to do any more. County leaders are hoping they can put distracted driving, speeding and DUIs in the same “not cool” category.
• The lesson learned: it can be done.  Shifts in how we think about parts of our culture can impact behavior patterns within our culture.
• Sparked by the increasing numbers of deaths in unnecessary car accidents, County Councilmember  Monique Anderson-Walker has launched a campaign to change motorists’ thinking about driving. 

Major Safety Changes Coming to Route 210

(Click on the image for Jackie Bensen's News4 report)

Note, up to 3 speed cameras will be allowed on 210, not 3 additional cameras.

Click HERE for the April 15 briefing.

Safe driving campaign to launch in Prince George's County after increase in deadly crashes

(Click on the image for Mikea Turner's WUSA report)

• Deadly crashes are on the rise in Prince George's County and the state's attorney is launching a campaign with the hopes of changing that.
• "Over the last six months, we've had over 40 fatal accidents and more than 50 people have lost their lives including very young people," Braveboy, whose office is responsible for prosecuting drivers at fault in these types of accidents, said.
• "A third of our accidents are a result of impaired driving," Braveboy said. "Both alcohol and drug-related impairments."

Phone addicts are the new drunk drivers

(Click on the image to download the study)

• [Phone Addicts] hide in plain sight, blatantly staring at their phones while driving down the road.
• On any given trip, they physically touch their phones four times more than the average driver. 
• As a result, they spend six times longer watching their screens.
• Their eyes are off of the road for 28 percent of their time spent on the road.
• Almost all our respondents thought they were safe drivers, but were willing to admit that they use their phones in the car all the time, signaling a cognitive disconnect between knowing the risks and taking action.

PGPD To Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint

The Special Operations Division will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Friday, April 19, 2019, from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am. Officers will focus on the southern portion of the county. This is one of the many checkpoints that will be conducted throughout the year.

Please never drive under the influence. The consequences are not worth the risk.

6,915

The number of citations issued by police on MD 210 since January 1, 2019.

Why do we tolerate this many highway fatalities? Is it "Normal"?

(Click on the image for the Consumer Reports article)

• Automakers and regulators have worked to make cars and driving safer for more than 50 years. So why aren’t U.S. highway fatalities going down? People are driving more miles than in the past, but that doesn’t explain the increase entirely. Transportation experts say the industry and others, such as government road designers, safety regulators, and drivers, could be doing more to bring the number down.
• “There’s still so much safety tech on the shelf, and too many people are overconfident about their driving,” says David Friedman, vice president of advocacy at Consumer Reports. “The fundamental cultural question is: Why do we tolerate this many highway fatalities?”
• The promise of self-driving cars is so exciting because the technology could significantly reduce traffic deaths. More than 9 of every 10 serious crashes are linked to driver error, according to NHTSA. In theory, a robot-driven car doesn’t fall asleep or get drunk. It doesn’t make human mistakes.
• A poorly designed road can escalate a small error into a fatality. Traffic engineers know that a minor change in the sweep of a curve or an unclear road sign can have an impact on safety. For this reason, dozens of cities in the U.S. are completely rethinking road design with safety top of mind.
• It’s no mystery that driver mistakes contribute to highway crashes and injuries. Drunken driving, speeding, and failing to wear a seat belt are three major reasons. Sometimes drivers engage in more than one of these risky behaviors at the same time. Each contributes to about 10,000 traffic deaths per year.
• Human behavior remains the most common contributor to crashes, but it’s also the hardest to change.
• We persist in accepting the status quo because we see it as normal. We need to change our expectations, and break out of our complacency.

County Executive Alsobrooks Thanks Delegate Valderrama

(Click on the image for the full Community Connections Special Edition)

"One other major priority coming into session was to address some of the safety concerns on our roads, and I want to thank Delegate Valderrama for all of her efforts to pass legislation that secured additional speed cameras along Route 210. We all have a responsibility to drive safely and slow down, but for those who don’t heed our warning, it is our hope that these cameras will slow them down and help reduce the number of crashes along 210."

HB 187, MD 210 Speed Camera Bill Passed both the Maryland House and Senate!

(Click on the image for more information on HB 187)

House vote: 98-37
Senate vote: 41-5
Law becomes effective: June 1, 2019

Do you drive ‘intexicated’?

(Click on the image for Kristi King's WTOP report)

• You might think almost everyone believes it’s a bad idea to email, text or check on social media while driving.
• But a AAA survey finds more than three out of 10 people are OK with it: Only 67% of D.C. residents responded that it’s never OK for drivers to engage in those distracting behaviors while behind the wheel.
• It’s National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and AAA has created a new word to describe it — “intexicated,” a word deliberately similar to “intoxicated.”
• “Distracted driving — especially texting while driving — is just as dangerous as drinking and driving,” said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s manager of public and government affairs.
• “Behind the wheel, this can become a deadly weapon,” Townsend said while holding up a cellphone.
• Results of AAA's poll of Maryland drivers on distracted driving are HERE.