Districted Driving Awareness Month was enforced twice as heavily in 2013 as it was in 2012 in Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz County CHP Officers gave no warnings during Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
From April 1-30, local CHP officers gave out 1,272 citations for either talking or texting on handheld phones behind the wheel, Officer Sarah Jackson said via email on Tuesday.
Eight people were arrested from the 1,272 stops made on top of the citations.
In the same month in 2012, Santa Cruz County CHP officers wrote 619 tickets, just 48 percent of the 2013 total.
Although the awareness month has ended, enforcement will not. Santa Cruz CHP urges drivers to continue driving safely, or for many, to start driving safely.
“When you consider the potential loss of life, injuries, property damage, or fines, the message should be clear — it’s not worth it,” Jackson said.
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A 100-car “naturalistic” driving study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute says that fatigue is a cause of 20 percent of car crashes, rather than the two or three percent previously estimated based on surveys, simulator studies and test tracks.
Also, the study found, 18- to 20-year-olds account for significantly more fatigue-related crashes than any other age group. Adolescents’ sleep patterns shift to later hours; however, the school day still tends to start early, resulting in daytime sleepiness. A driver at any age can also be fatigued.
“The study allowed us, for the first time, to observe driver behavior just prior to a crash. In 20 percent of all crashes and 16 percent of all near crashes, the driver was showing fatigue. We saw eye-lid closure, head bobbing, severe loss of facial musculature, micro-sleep – which is when your eyes drift shut and then pop up,” said Klauer. “This was not just yawning. The drivers were asleep.”
Applying the findings to the population at-large, these results suggest that drivers are at a four times greater risk of a crash or near-crash if they choose to drive while fatigued,” said Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. “That suggests that about 12 percent of all crashes and near-crashes in the population are attributable to fatigue.”
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Financial responsibility is required on any vehicle operated or parked on California roadways.
You must carry evidence of financial responsibility in your vehicle at all times.
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$15,000 for injury/death to one person.
$30,000 for injury/death to more than one person.
$5,000 for damage to property.
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A new report on teen driver safety by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm shows encouraging trends among teen passengers.
From 2008 to 2011, risky behaviors of teen passengers (ages 15 to 19 years) declined: the number of teen passengers killed in crashes not wearing seat belts decreased 23 percent; the number of teen passengers driven by a peer who had been drinking declined 14 percent; and 30 percent fewer teen passengers were killed in crashes involving a teen driver.
Overall, the report measured a 47 percent decline in teen driver-related fatalities over the past six years.
Still, as recent high-profile multi-fatality crashes with teen drivers illustrate, crashes remain the leading cause of death for U.S. teens.
In 2011 more than half of teen passengers (54 percent) reported “always” buckling up.
“When most people think about those affected by teen driver crashes, they think of teens behind the wheel. This report includes encouraging news about teen passengers, who are often left out of the teen driver safety picture,” says Dennis Durbin, M.D., M.S.C.E., co-scientific director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at CHOP, and lead author of the report. “When you see the needle move, as we have in this report, it’s time to apply the gas on programs that encourage safe teen passenger behaviors, as well as those that address what causes teens to crash.”
Based on recent research which identified specific behaviors or factors associated with teen driver crashes, Dr. Durbin said there are key areas he thinks have the greatest potential to further drive down the teen crash rate: reduce distraction from passengers and technology, increase skills in scanning, hazard detection, and speed management, and increase seat belt use to improve a teen’s chance of survival in a crash.
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