September
2007
Traffic deaths in the United States dropped to a record low last
year, according to figures released by the Department of Transportation
(DOT).
In 2006, 42,642 people were killed in traffic
accidents, a drop of 868, or roughly 2 percent, from 2005. That amounts to
1.42 people per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the lowest rate ever
recorded, according to the DOT. Those figures include 30,251 fatalities in
passenger vehicles - a category that includes cars, trucks, SUVs, vans and
pickups - which is the lowest annual total since 1993, according to the
DOT.
Compared to 2005, injuries in passenger vehicle crashes
declined 6.2 percent.
Alcohol-related deaths rose slightly compared to 2005, however, going from
15,102 to 15,121.
Unfortunately, motorcycle fatalities increased by 5.1 percent, marking the
ninth consecutive increase for motorcycle deaths which corresponds with an
increase in sales every year for the last decade.
Arizona
State Parks has a new off-highway vehicle (OHV) Ambassador Volunteer
Program beginning this fall. Volunteers will play a vital role in
maintaining high-quality OHV recreation opportunities, monitoring OHV
trails, roads, and facilities, and actively participating in site
improvements and user outreach in cooperation with local land managers.
OHV Ambassadors will provide their time, energy, expertise, and personal
OHVs to carry out their volunteer roles in the OHV Ambassador Program. For
more information, please visit www.azstateparks.com.
BikeSafe-North
Carolina invites motorcyclists to participate in Rider Skills
Days that offer assessment on present skills, and advice to help make
their riding in North Carolina safer and more enjoyable. As well as
professional riding techniques, topics covered include the system of
motorcycle control, collision causation factors and security.
The Rider Skills Days are run during the week and at
weekends, by highly qualified police motorcyclists passing on their wealth
of knowledge and experience in a friendly and informal manner. Held at the
Highway Patrol Driving Facility, Raleigh, the pre-booked days include both
classroom based advice and on-road ride-outs. Contact Sgt. Mark Brown for
more information at BikeSafeNC@ncshp.org.
The
Tennessee Senate passed the current helmet bill to allow adults
21 years of age and over the right to choose whether or not they wear a
helmet. The bill is currently in the House Finance Committee to be heard
by the Budget Subcommittee when they return in January of 2008. All
Volunteer State riders are urged to contact their state representative and
ask him or her to support and co-sponsor HB 1283.
Massachusetts
legislation currently before the House Committee on Transportation would
further restrict off-highway motorcycle and ATV riding by prohibiting
anyone under the age of 14 from riding. Riders under 16 years of age would
be restricted to machines of 90cc displacement or less and all riders
under 18 years of age would be required to receive safety training. House
bill 3592, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Patrick (D-Falmouth), and a
pre-written response are available on the “Rapid Response” page of www.AMADirectLink.com.
North
Carolina House bill 1575, introduced by Rep. Cary D. Allred
(R-Burlington), would make it illegal to allow small motorcycles or ATVs,
those with 50cc or smaller engines, from participating in organized
practices or races with larger machines. The legislation was written in
response to a youth fatality that occurred in a combined MX practice. The
bill is posted on the “Rapid Response” page of www.AMADirectLink.com.
The
Humane Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club and other
anti- recreation groups have recently notified the National Park Service
of their intent to sue under the Endangered Species Act and other laws to
close twenty miles of off-highway vehicle (OHV) trails in the already
minimal and heavily- restricted route network on the Bear Island Unit of
Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve.
Joining the Humane Society, Defenders of Wildlife and
Sierra Club on the letter were Wildlands CPR (Center for the Prevention of
Roads), The Wilderness Society, National Parks Conservation Association,
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and the Florida
Biodiversity Project. These same groups (or various combinations of them)
had previously coordinated efforts in attacks against hunting and
recreational access in other areas across the country, including bear
hunting in New Jersey and Minnesota, and snowmobile use in Yellowstone
National Park and the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.
In 2000, the Preserve closed 23,300 miles of dispersed
OHV use and limited vehicles to only 30 miles of trails in the Bear Island
Unit, which provides a highly-restricted but still popular hunting
experience for those pursuing deer and wild hogs. Despite the significant
past and ongoing restrictions on hunting and OHV access, the letter
alleges that activity along additional twenty miles of trail will disturb
and reduce the "prey base" of the endangered Florida panther.
The
National Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) at the
University of Minnesota has released a list of states with the country’s
most dangerous rural roads. Maine tops the list, with 92 percent of its
traffic fatalities occurring on rural roads.
CERS based the list on state-by-state data on deaths on
rural roads in 2005, along with information from the US Department of
Transportation.
The causes of high fatality rates on rural roads —
roads outside of areas with populations of 5,000 or more — include a
false sense of security that leads to high speeds as drivers enjoy the
scenery. Head-on collisions and driving off the road are common accidents
on rural roads. The entire list of states is available at www.ruralsafety.umn.edu.
New Hampshire’s Legislature named
the future off-highway vehicle (OHV) Park in Berlin Jericho Mountain State
Park. The legislature also provided exemptions from certain state
requirements to allow off-highway motorcycle and ATV trails to be
established and maintained in the park. The enabling legislation,
introduced by Sen. John Gallus (R-Berlin), is available on the “Rapid
Response” page of www.AMADirectLInk.com.
Local traffic planning agencies are
being asked to contribute to the nationwide Traffic Analysis and
Simulation Pooled Fund Study (PFS). Administered by the US Department of
Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, the PFS allows
participating agencies to tap each other’s experience in planning
transportation projects and to build partnerships on those projects.
The PFS will develop methods for addressing several
issues, including modeling for unique projects such as multimodal
corridors and for non-recurring congestion caused by accidents, weather
and work zones. Any public agency responsible for conducting, managing or
approving traffic analysis studies may participate. Information on the
program is available at www.tfhrc.gov/its/traffic analysis.htm.
The 14th annual National Public Lands Day,
the largest hands-on volunteer effort to preserve America’s lands, will
take place Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007. In addition to the usual facility
clean ups and repairs, this year will have a new focus on countering the
tide of invasive plants and animals that take over habitats and squeeze
out native species.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the
government spends $120 billion annually on the control and impact of more
than 800 out-of-control invaders that pose a threat to the environment,
economy, and human health. That doesn’t include the value of
biodiversity, aesthetics, soil erosion, water contamination, etc. Every
volunteer who removes invasive species helps keep the toll from rising.
The estimated dollar value of volunteer time is $18.77
an hour for 2006, based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and
Independent Sector. So every 100,000 volunteers who participate in
National Public Lands Day represent an additional $1.8 million worth of
labor for American lands.
This year’s goal is to exceed the 2006 National
Public Lands Day numbers of 100,000 volunteers by at least an additional
10,000.
One third of America's land is in public hands, and may
be used for everything from recreation and relaxation to logging and
mining for natural resources. National Public Lands Day is a yearly chance
for Americans to take ownership of these lands, which are constantly
threatened by human causes such as pollutants and natural causes like
disasters and erosion. Events will take place in parks, forests, rivers,
lakes, wetlands, at cultural and historic sites and neighborhood areas.
Families and students can tour national parks and many state parks for
free on this date, and learn about wildlife habitats while working to
benefit them.
Those interested in organizing a project or
volunteering for this year’s event can learn more at www.publiclandsday.org. This
website offers tips for site organizers, and more information and photos
for the news media.
Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri
(R) signed into law a measure which grants fish and wildlife conservation
officers the power to enforce the state’s off-highway vehicle laws. The
legislation was introduced by Sen. Susan Sosnowski (D-South Kingston).
The California Highway Patrol (CHP)
continued its crackdown on riders attending local motorcycle gatherings
this summer, seizing a dozen bikes and issuing 40 citations. Most of the
motorcycles were impounded because the riders did not have a motorcycle
license.
CHP officers targeted participants at bike nights at
Zorba's Restaurant in Highgrove, an unincorporated Riverside County
community north of Riverside, and Backwoods BBQ in Corona. The crackdown
started after sport-bike riders jammed Inland freeways while performing
stunts in traffic on July 16. Those incidents remain under investigation,
the CHP said. The CHP has also received numerous complaints from the
public about the weekly bike nights.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be
hosting a Motorcycle Travel Symposium on October 10 – 12, 2007, at the
NTSB Conference Facility in L’Enfant Plaza, Washington, DC. The purpose
of this symposium is to: continue the discussion on the topic of vehicle
miles traveled (VMT) initiated by NTSB at their Motorcycle Forum held
September 2006; share state best practices in the collection of these
data; explore ways to merge the data from the various groups represented
at the Symposium; and propose future research in the area that would
ultimately lead to better state and national estimates of motorcycle
travel.
The Motorcycle Travel Symposium will bring together
groups interested in measuring or using motorcycle travel data along with
the groups currently collecting some form of motorcycle travel data. The
target audience is federal, state, and local agencies that collect travel
data, vehicle registration data, and vehicle inspection data. Private
industry representatives which include groups that develop equipment for
measuring travel, motorcycle manufacturers, motorcycle riders groups, toll
facility operators, and any other individual or organization that as a
course of business may record motorcycle odometer readings such as service
stations and vehicle maintenance businesses. Other sources of motorcycle
travel data will also be explored, such as active theft deterrent/recovery
systems, aerial and satellite imagery, vehicle mounted digital short-range
communication (DSRC) equipment, civilian adaptations of military
technology, GPS, and cell phones.
Additional details and an agenda for this symposium
will be announced at a later date. However, you are welcome to register
online at www.fhwa.dot.gov/motorcycles/2007registration if you wish to
attend this event.
Should you have any questions about the Motorcycle Travel Symposium,
please contact Mr. David Winter, FHWA’s Office of Highway Policy
Information, by e-mail at David.Winter@dot.gov
or by telephone at (202) 366-4631.