Transcript Document 7143390

VEHICLE SAFETY
INFORMATION AND
PREVENTION
July 2008
Training Objectives
 Recognize
the dangers and
causes of vehicle crashes.
 Recognize the importance of
wearing seat belts and using
child safety seats.
 Identify tips to keep young
drivers safe.
 Recognize the importance of not
driving while drunk.
Motor Vehicle Fatalities
In the United States, motor vehicle
crashes are the leading cause of
injury death for children and adults
and the second leading cause of
injury death for children ages birth to
one.
 Motor vehicle fatalities include drivers
and passengers of motor vehicles,
pedestrians who are struck by motor
vehicles, bicyclists and occupants in
any other form of transportation,
including all-terrain vehicles.

 According
to the National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), every
day in the United States, an
average of 5 children age 14 and
younger were killed, and 568
were injured in motor vehicle
crashes during 2006.
 In the 14 and under age group,
males accounted for 55 percent
of the fatalities and 49 percent of
those injured in motor vehicle
crashes during 2006.
Crashes Involving No Restraints
 According
to the NHTSA, 6,983
passenger vehicle occupants age
14 and younger were involved in
fatal crashes in 2006. For those
children where restraint use was
known, 25 percent were
unrestrained; among those who
were fatally injured, 45 percent
were unrestrained.
 In
2006, there were 452
passenger vehicle occupant
fatalities among children under 5
years of age. Of those 452
fatalities, where restraint use
was known (427), 149 (35%)
were totally unrestrained.
(NHTSA)
Crashes Involving Pedestrians
and Cyclists
According to the NHTSA, there were a
total of 4,784 pedestrian fatalities in
2006. The 14 and under age group
accounted for 331 (7%) of those
fatalities. Almost one fifth (18%) of
the traffic fatalities in the 14 and under
age group were pedestrians.
 A total of 773 pedal-cyclists were killed
in motor vehicle crashes in 2006. The
14 and under age group accounted for
13 percent (98) of those fatalities.

Alcohol-Related Crashes
 According
to the NHTSA, there
were 419 (23%) fatalities among
children age 14 and younger in
crashes involving alcohol in 2006.
Of those 419 fatalities, 202 were
passengers in vehicles with
drivers who had been drinking
with blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) levels of .01 gram per
deciliter (g/dL) or higher.
 An
additional 108 children were
killed as passengers in vehicles
with drivers who had not been
drinking. Another 62 children
age 14 and younger, who were
killed in traffic crashes in 2006,
were pedestrians or pedalcyclists who were struck by
drinking drivers (BAC .01 g/dL or
higher).
Missouri Motor Vehicle Fatalities
 Of
the 133 motor vehicle deaths
among Missouri children in 2006,
107 were reported to the Child
Fatality Review Program (CFRP);
93 (90%) of those were reviewed
by a local CFRP panel.
 Of those, two motor vehicle
fatalities were determined to be
Homicides.
Restraint Safety
 Many
children and adults die
every year due to not wearing
seatbelts or not being properly
restrained in a car seat.
 According to NHTSA, seat belt
usage in Missouri, in 2007, was
77.2%. Nationwide, seatbelt use
was 82%.
 Research
has shown that
lap/shoulder seatbelts, when
used, reduce the risk of fatal
injury to front seat occupants
(age 5 and older) of passenger
cars by 45 percent, and the risk
of moderate-to-critical injury by
50 percent. For light-truck
occupants, seatbelts reduce the
risk of fatal injury by 60 percent
and the risk of moderate-tocritical injury by 65 percent.
(NHTSA)
 Research
on the effectiveness of
child safety seats has found them
to reduce fatal injury by 71
percent for infants (less than 1
year old) and by 54 percent for
toddlers (1-4 years old) in
passenger cars. For infants and
toddlers in light trucks, the
corresponding reductions are 58
percent and 59 percent,
respectively.
(NHTSA)
 Among
children under age 5, an
estimated 425 lives were saved
in 2006, by child restraint use.
Of these 425 lives saved, 392
were associated with the use of
child safety seats and 32 with
the use of adult seatbelts.
 If there had been 100 percent
child safety seat use for children
under age 5, an estimated 518
lives (that is, an additional 98)
could have been saved in 2005.
(NHTSA)
How to Wear a Safety Belt
According to the Missouri Department
of Transportation (MODOT), seatbelts
must be worn correctly to be
effective.
 The lap belt should be worn low and
snug across the hips. The shoulder
belt should be placed over the
shoulder and across the chest. Safety
belts that ride up against your
stomach or across your neck (instead
of your shoulder), may not protect
you in a crash. Never place the
shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back — this could result
in serious or fatal injury.

Pregnant women should always wear
safety belts with the lap belt as low as
possible across the hips throughout
pregnancy.
 Safety belts can be dangerous for small
children. Safety belts that are in the
wrong position may hurt a child in a
crash, or they may not hold them in
the vehicle seat. Young children
should be placed in the appropriate
child safety seat until they are over 4
feet 9 inches tall and have outgrown
the limits of their safety seat.
 The NTHSA recommends that children
12 and under ride in the back seat.
That's the safest place.

Air Bag Safety
 Safety
belts should be worn in
combination with air bag systems.
They keep your body in the safest
position so an air bag can do its
job.
 Drivers with air bags should keep
at least a 10-inch distance
between the air bag and their
breast bone.
A
tilt steering wheel should be
tilted down so the air bag will
deploy toward the chest and not
the head.
 Never place a rear-facing infant
seat in front of a passenger side
air bag.
(Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety)
Child Safety Seats
 According
to the Missouri State
Highway Patrol (MSHP), the
worst possible place for a child
to ride is in the arms of an adult.
An unrestrained adult can crush
a child against the dashboard.
 The safest place for a child under
12 years of age, is to be secured
in the back seat.
A
rear-facing infant seat should
not be used in a front passenger
seat equipped with an air bag.
The air bag could hit the back of
the safety seat and could
seriously injure the baby’s head
and brain.
 A child safety seat holds on to a
child in a crash and keeps them
from hitting dangerous objects
or from being thrown from the
vehicle.
Types of Child Safety Seats
 An
infant seat is designed for
children up to 20 pounds. It
should be placed rear-facing in
the back seat.
 Convertible seats are for children
up to 40 pounds. They face
rearward in the infant position,
and convert to sit upright and
face forward for toddler position.
 Booster
seats are for children who
have outgrown other safety seats
and can be used with an adult lap
belt and shoulder belt.
 Lap/shoulder belts should be used
for children age eight or older, or
who weigh 80 pounds or more. The
lap belt should stay low and snug
across the hips without riding up
over the stomach, and the shoulder
belt does not cross the face or front
of the neck.
(MSHP)
Fatalities Among Missouri Teens
 The
Missouri State Highway
Patrol reports that in 2006, there
were 215 fatal crashes in
Missouri that involved drivers
under the age of 21.
 In Missouri in 2006, there were
11,864 personal injury crashes
involving drivers under the age
of 21.
Fatalities Among U.S. Teens
 According
to the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC), motor
vehicle crashes are the leading
cause of death for U.S. teens,
accounting for 36% of all deaths
in this age group (2006).
 In the U.S. during 2004, 4,767
teens ages 16 to 19 died of
injuries caused by motor vehicle
crashes.
Reasons Teens Have Vehicle
Crashes
 According
to the Missouri
Department of Transportation
(MODOT), there are three
reasons why young drivers are
involved in vehicle crashes.
• The first is inexperience. Many
young drivers lack the
judgment and technical ability
of older, more experienced
drivers.
•
•
Young drivers are more apt to
take risks. This impulsiveness
can result in poor driving
judgment.
Many teens drive at night with
other teens in their vehicles.
They are often distracted by their
friends. During night driving,
reaction time is slower, since the
driver can only see as far as the
headlights allow. This
combination often leads to
crashes.
Safety Tips for Young Drivers
 MODOT
suggests the following safety
tips for young drivers:
 Wear your safety belt.
 One reason some young drivers have
accidents, is because they are
distracted. Here are some tips from
MODOT:
 Pull off of the road to find a safe
place to talk on the cell phone or
look for items in the vehicle.
 Program radio stations or make CD
selections, before you get on the
road.




Do not let others ride with you, if
they distract you.
Never read while you are driving.
Plan your trip and get directions
to your destination before you
leave.
Do not put on makeup, shave or
eat while driving.
 Obey
the speed limit. Speeding is
a major cause of traffic
accidents. These are some
things to keep in mind:
 Always drive at a safe speed.
The speed limit is the
maximum speed allowed under
normal conditions. When
adjusting speed, take into
account driving ability, the
capability of your vehicle, the
roadway and weather
conditions.
 Slow down in rain, fog, snow
and ice, and keep at least twice
the normal stopping distance
between you and vehicle in
front of you.
 Slow down when approaching
curves, intersections, downhill
grades, heavy traffic and work
zones.
 Many
traffic crashes occur
because people do not stay on
their side of the roadway or they
make turns incorrectly. Here are
some tips:
 Make sure you are in a legal
passing zone before passing
another vehicle. It is illegal to
pass on the right or the shoulder
of the roadway.
 Use turn signals about 100 feet
before the turn or intersection
and when changing lanes.
 Make sure your vehicle is in the
proper lane for turning. Do not
cross over into another lane of
traffic.
 Slow down appropriately (or
stop, if required) before
making a turn.
 Pay attention to your lane
position, keeping your vehicle
in the center of your lane.
 Do not pass on hills, curves or
at intersections.
Alcohol and Vehicle Crashes
 Alcohol-related
motor vehicle
crashes kill someone every 31
minutes and non-fatally injures
someone every two minutes.
(NHTSA, 2006)
 Nearly
1.4 million drivers were
arrested for driving under the
influence of alcohol or narcotics
in 2005.
(Department of Justice, 2005)
Alcohol and Young Drivers
 It
is illegal for anyone under 21 to
purchase, possess or consume ANY
amount of alcohol in ANY situation.
Under Missouri's Zero Tolerance law,
a teen’s license will be suspended if
they're caught driving with even a
trace of alcohol in their system that means less than one drink can
put them over the limit.
 MODOT offers these tips to young
drivers:



Whatever you do, DO NOT
attempt to drive yourself home,
even if you think you're okay.
Ask a friend who hasn't had any
alcohol to give you a ride. A
designated driver is the person
who has had NO alcohol.
If you and all your friends have
been drinking, call a parent,
older sibling or even a cab.
Everyone will be glad you chose
the safe way home.
 If you've been drinking at a
friend's house, staying where
you are is always safer than
gambling with your own life
and the lives of others.
 See a friend stumbling to their
car? Get their keys and find
them a safe way home. You
could be saving their life, or
someone else’s.
Stopping A Friend From Driving
Drunk
 The
NHTSA and the Advertising
Council's Innocent Victims public
service campaign emphasizes the
need to intervene and get the
keys away from someone about
to drive drunk.
 The following tips are from this
campaign:
 If it is a close friend, try and use a
soft, calm approach at first. Suggest
to them that they've had too much to
drink and it would be better if
someone else drove or if they took a
cab.
 Be calm. Joke about it. Make light of
it.
 Try to make it sound like you are
doing them a favor.
 If it is somebody you don't know
well, speak to their friends and have
them make an attempt to persuade
them to hand over the keys. Usually
they will listen.
 If it's a good friend, spouse or significant
other, tell them that if they insist on
driving, you are not going with them.
Suggest that you will call someone else
for a ride, take a cab or walk.
 Locate their keys while they are
preoccupied and take them away. Most
likely, they will think they've lost them
and will be forced to find another mode
of transportation.
 If possible, avoid embarrassing the
person or being confrontational,
particularly when dealing with men. This
makes them appear vulnerable to alcohol
and its effects.
For More Information, Visit
These Websites
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention(CDC),
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheet
s/teenmvh.htm
 Missouri Department of
Transportation,
http://www.modot.mo.gov/safety/in
dex.htm
 Missouri State Highway Patrol,
http://www.mshp.dps.mo.gov/MSHP
Web/Publications/Brochures/docume
nts/SHP-740.pdf

 National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration,
*http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
*http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/
site/nhtsa/menuitem.9f8c7d635
9e0e9bbbf30811060008a0c/
*http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/peo
ple/injury/alcohol/innocent/ind
ex.html
 Missouri Coalition for Roadway
Safety,
http://www.savemolives.com/
Missouri Department of Social Services
State Technical Assistance Team
Address:
PO Box 208
Jefferson City, MO
65102-0208
Telephone:
(573) 751-5980
(800) 487-1626
(8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST,
Monday – Friday)
Email:
[email protected]