Transcript
NEVADA
Strategic Highway Safety Plan SAFETY CULTURE CONNECTION
INSIDE
Concept to Countermeasures
Always Buckle Up
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Announcing Certified Zero
Don’t Drive Impaired
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Walking School Bus Program
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Focus on the Road
Complete Streets
Stop on Red
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What’sTrending: New Technologies for Child Seats 5
Be Pedestrian Safe
Calendar
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Ride Safe
CONCEPT TO COUNTERMEASURES UNR SELECTED FOR URBAN PEDESTRIAN CRASH RESEARCH
Traffic safety professionals know that over 90% of the time the driver is either completely or partially at fault in fatal crashes, but how do we address this problem? The Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) set out to investigate the problem by outfitting volunteers’ vehicles with video monitoring, Global Positioning System (GPS), radar, and a host of other data collection equipment. The goal was to get a better understanding of how drivers behave behind the A head unit, attached near the rear-view mirror, wheel and use that knowledge to improve both roadway infrastructure houses cameras recording four different fields of view. It also receives data from and vehicle technology and performance. Over a 6-year study period, accelerometers and a passive alcohol sensor. the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) enlisted 3,147 driving volunteers from six locations across the United States to collect 5.4 million trips, 3,958 vehicle-years, and 49.6 million vehicle-miles of data. Additional information was collected on roads most traveled by the volunteers. To utilize the large amount of data, SHRP 2 partners AASHTO (American Association of State Highway Officials) and FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) initiated Concept to Countermeasures - Research to Deployment Using the SHRP 2 Safety Data, and a national request for projects resulted in 11 research projects. One of the projects, led by Dr. Hao Xu from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) focuses on how drivers negotiate turning movements at urban intersections. The long term goal is to identify infrastructure improvements to reduce pedestrian crashes at urban intersections. Six intersections (4- or 6-lane roadways) that experienced pedestrian crashes were selected: four in Washington State and two in Florida. In this still image from a video recording, a machine vision algorithm helps determine which direction the driver’s head is facing.
December 2015 » zerofatalitiesnv.com
To maintain the anonymity of the driver volunteers, the team from UNR traveled to Virginia Tech to view secure facial videos. The team reviewed video of the drivers’
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faces and recorded driver’s glances before, during, and after the turn, in addition to other valuable data elements. The team compiled and analyzed both the vehicle sensor data and driver behavior data. Dr. Hao Xu and Chuck Reider presented the research findings to the AASHTO Safety Task Force and FHWA in Arlington, Virginia in October 2015. Some interesting observations of right turn drivers include:
»»The number of right windshield glances is affected by
conflicting traffic. Low flow (less than 1,000 vehicles per hour (vph)) and high flow (greater than 2,000 vph) resulted in fewer glances to the right where pedestrians may be crossing.
»»“Right Turn On Red Must Yield to U-Turn” sign had the highest correlation with pedestrian crashes, six times higher than any other sign. That same intersection had the fewest right windshield glances per trip, only about 1 in 10 trips.
»»The intersection with “Turning Vehicles Yield to Pedestrians” produced 30% more right windshield glances than the intersection without the signs.
The State of Nevada is aware of the seriousness of pedestrian crashes and this project will provide clues on how to make urban intersections safer for pedestrians. One more step towards Zero!
ANNOUNCING: CERTIFIED ZERO The Nevada Department of Transportation is excited to announce “Certified Zero,” a new opportunity to get more involved in Zero Fatalities, Nevada’s highway safety program. The Certified Zero program expands upon NDOT’s popular Zero Fatalities Ambassador Training Program. The goal of Certified Zero is to expand the number of people, organizations, educational institutions, private companies, advocates and others actively participating in Zero Fatalities efforts, by providing them the training and resources to become certified ambassadors for the program. The ultimate goal is to grow the Zero Fatalities program by enlisting new partners and by having those partners return to their places of employment, families, and schools to carry forward the messages of safe driving in Nevada. Help continue to build Nevada’s safety culture. Get involved in Certified Zero! For more information, please contact Andrew Bennett at
[email protected] or (702) 860-4609.
Contact Us! For questions or to get involved, please contact us at
[email protected]
December 2015 » zerofatalitiesnv.com
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WALKING SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM One of the most exciting times for a child is when mom and dad let them start walking or riding their bike to school with their friends. Many parents are reluctant to do so for fear of the safety concerns that arise when their children are of age to have these privileges. Providing a safe and fun environment for our children to walk or ride to school safely can help alleviate parents’ reluctance to let them go. This is where the worries end and the Walking School Bus Program begins. A walking school bus is a group of children walking or biking to school with one or more adults as chaperones. A carpool without a car, the walking school bus has the added benefit of physical activity, and has shown to improve attendance among students. J.T. McWilliams Elementary in Las Vegas kicked off their Walking School Bus Program on November 9, 2015. Twelve parents volunteered to be “bus drivers” on three identified routes. The goal is to continue to expand each route to have additional “stops” so more children can participate. AAA Nevada has partnered with McWilliams Elementary to incorporate a Junior Safety Patrol component to the Walking School Bus Program. In addition, they have agreed to support McWilliams with volunteers, incentives, and a training program for 4th and 5th graders that are interested in learning more about pedestrian and bicycle safety. Student leaders will be able teach pedestrian and bicycle safety to other students.
Students from J.T. McWilliams Elementary taking their walking school bus to school and having fun
For more information about the Walking School Bus Program, please visit http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/
WHEN PICKING YOUR WALKING SCHOOL BUS ROUTE CONSIDER:
»»Are there good sidewalks and paths? Are there any raised sidewalks from tree roots or other visible unsafe conditions that could cause the children to trip or fall off bikes?
»»Is it easy to cross streets? Are there crosswalks availble to use? »»Is there a lot of traffic? Do they drive safely around the children? Yield to crosswalker traffic? Speed? »»Does the environment feel and look safe? Are there dogs on the loose or visible criminal activity? For more help determining if your route is safe, please see http://www.walkbiketoschool.org/get-set/event-ideas/ walkability-bikeability-checklists
December 2015 » zerofatalitiesnv.com
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RTC WASHOE COMPLETE STREETS MASTER PLAN The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (RTC) is in the process of developing a Complete Streets Master Plan to identify the RTC’s long range strategy for complete street treatments on regional roads in the Reno-Sparks Metropolitan Area. This plan will address safety, traffic flow, and connections for all modes of travel. Complete Streets are streets made with everyone in mind. They are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, and serve to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) for individuals with disabilities. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street. Complete Streets make it easy to cross the street, walk to shops, and bicycle to work. They allow busses to run on time and make it safe for people to walk to and from transit locations. FOUR-LANE UNDIVIDED THREE-LANE
CONFLICT POINT
One type of Complete Streets project includes reducing a fourlane roadway to a three-lane configuration. In a three-lane configuration there is always one lane for driving and one lane for turning. That helps make driving safer with fewer crashes and frustrations. With these improvements, a three-lane road can typically handle a similar (or typically handle the same) amount of traffic as a four-lane road.
The development of the Complete Streets Master Plan includes review of existing plans and projects, analysis of existing conditions, development of project selection and prioritization criteria, identification of potential complete streets locations, and community outreach.
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Project selection and prioritization will be based on the following criteria:
»»Bikeability score »»Walkability score »»Transit access »»Roadway characteristics and crash data »»Employment/population/public facilities »»Comments from community meeting
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Toolbox of Some Complete Street Elements: 1 Vehicle Travel Lanes 2 Bus Turnouts
5 Sidewalks and ADA Ramps
3 Bicycle Lanes 4 Curb and Gutter
7 Transit Stop and Amenities
6 Traffic Signals
Community meetings were held in Sparks and Reno on 8 Street Furniture and Landscaping September 29 and October 13, respectively, with about 55 people in attendance. The project team received about 130 comments from the community, and those comments were mapped in GIS. Draft recommendations are anticipated by the end of 2015. Public meetings will be held in February 2016 with the final report scheduled to be completed in March 2016. Visit www.rtcwashoe.com and click on Hot Topics for more information.
December 2015 » zerofatalitiesnv.com
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WHAT’S TRENDING: NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR CHILD SEATS Shopping for a car seat for baby is one of the first things a family buys before bringing home their new bundle of joy. But not all car seats are created equal. Technically, every car seat sold in the U.S. must pass Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213. They are all considered “safe”, however, it’s rare that they are used properly by the purchaser. Car seat manufacturers are now more than ever adapting car seats to be more convenient and easy to use for parents, grandparents, and caregivers. Incorporating the newest technology into their car seats has become a high priority for manufacturers. Whether it be easier to install, have side impact protection, a new and improved seat belt system, or an actual smart chip to let you know that your child is in the car, here are some of the newest improvements in child seat technology: Evenflo Sensorsafe™ Technology - Upon arriving at your destination, the new Sensorsafe™ Technology built into the new line of car seats by Evenflo will give off a series of chimes reminding you that a child is present in the car seat. Additionally, this handy feature will also alarm you if the chest clip becomes unbuckled during your drive. Mifold Grab-n-Go Car Booster Seat - This new addition in booster seats is 10 times smaller than past booster seats and holds the seat belt down instead of lifting a child up into the position of an adult like most booster seats. It does this in three places - at each of the child’s hips to hold the belt down against the bones and keep it off the stomach, and at a third clip that pulls the seat belt chest strap down correctly onto the bones of the shoulder and away from the face and neck. RideSafer® Travel Vest - The RideSafer® Travel Vest is a compliant alternative to the standard car seat and booster seat. Designed to use with vehicle lap-only belts (RS2 only) or lap and shoulder belt, the RideSafer® Travel Vest is easy to use, easy to carry, and is so ergonomic a parent can comfortably fit three children in a row in one vehicle. The RideSafer® Travel Vest positions the vehicle’s seat belt properly away from the abdomen and child’s neck while lowering their center of gravity. In addition, the innovative energy absorbing design of the vest helps to distribute a crash force over a wide area of the body instead of just the width of a seat belt, decreasing head injuries.
1. Evenflo Sensorsafe™ Car Seat; 2. Mifold Grab-n-Go Car Booster; 3. RideSafer® Travel Vest
These options are compliant with the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS 484D.495 and 484B.157) correlating to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213, “Child Restraint Systems” (49 CFR 571.213). For more information please visit Evenflo http://evenflo.com/sensorsafe/; Mifold http://www.mifold.com/; and RideSafer® http://ridesafertravelvest.com/. December 2015 » zerofatalitiesnv.com
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NEVADA TRAFFIC HIGHWAY SAFETY
Calendar of Events
ZERO ZERO FATALITIES FATALITIES OUTREACH OUTREACH EVENTS EVENTS
STRATEGIC STRATEGIC HIGHWAY HIGHWAY SAFETY SAFETY PLAN PLAN MEETINGS MEETINGS
November November 2015 2015 -- January January 2016 2016 Nov Nov 21 21 –– Opportunity Opportunity Village Village Magical Magical Forest Forest Jan Jan 44 December December 2015 2015 Safe Kids Kids Clark Clark County County Car Car Seat Seat Event Event 19 19 Safe
January January 2016 2016
Shield Shield of of Hope’s” Hope’s” TREE-MENDOUS” TREE-MENDOUS” Las Las Vegas Vegas Bowl Bowl
January January 2016 2016
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Motorcycle Motorcycle CEA CEA Intersections Intersections CEA CEA Pedestrians Pedestrians CEA CEA Technical Technical Working Working Group Group
February February 2016 2016 Nevada Nevada Executive Executive Committee Committee on on
17 17 Traffic Traffic Safety, Safety, Carson Carson City City
Zero Zero Teen Teen Fatalities Fatalities Storyboard Storyboard
44 –– 30 30 Challenge Challenge February February 2016 2016 First Friday Friday 22 First
March March 2016 2016 21 Impaired Driving Driving CEA CEA Meeting Meeting 21 Impaired 28 Occupant Protection Protection CEA CEA 28 Occupant
UPDATE TO THE STRATEGIC HIGHWAY SAFETY PLAN
Statewide safety partners have developed a draft document for the 2016-2020 Update to the Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Every five years, SHSP partners from across the state work together to refocus efforts and develop new strategies to reduce fatalities and serious injuries over the next five years, working toward Nevada’s goal of Zero Fatalities. Led by the Critical Emphasis Area (CEA) Chairs and Vice-chairs, with input and support from the Technical Working Group (TWG) and the Nevada Executive Committee on Traffic Safety (NECTS), the draft update outlines the strategies for each Critical Emphasis Area for the next five years. A supplemental document outlines the action steps and output measures for each strategy, which are intended to be reviewed and updated on an annual basis. The 2016-2020 Update to the Strategic Highway Safety Plan is currently in the process of being approved by the NDOT Director and the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA, and the Nevada Transportation Board in December/January, with final adoption of the Plan anticipated in early 2016.
December 2015 » zerofatalitiesnv.com
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