Motorcycles

May 30, 2007
Drive Aware — Look for Motorcycles

With summer vacations in full swing, DPS reminds drivers to always look for motorcycles. The most frequent cause of motorcycle crashes is the failure of motorists in other vehicles to detect motorcycles.

“More than half of motorcycle crashes occur because the driver of the other vehicle simply did not see the motorcycle coming,” said DPS Director Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr. “Do your part as a motorist. Look, and then look again for motorcycles.”

What can you do? Drive aware:
· Look for motorcycles. They’re smaller and easy to overlook. Be aware at intersections.
· Anticipate a motorcyclist’s maneuvers. They may change positions in the lane to respond to driving conditions. Expect and allow room for such actions.
· Signal your intentions even if you don’t see cars in front of or behind you. Be careful, especially while making left turns across lanes of approaching traffic.
· Respect a motorcycle as a full-sized vehicle with equal rights to the road. Give them a full lane.
· Allow plenty of space when following a motorcycle. The slightest contact can cause a wreck.

Almost two-thirds of motorcycle-involved crashes are caused not by the motorcyclist, but by the other driver. The driver either does not see the oncoming motorcyclist or does not see him or her in time to avoid a crash. Automobile drivers also contribute to another 10 percent of motorcycle crashes where the motorcycle is the only vehicle involved. Drivers who unintentionally pull out in front of a motorcycle often force the rider to over-brake, slide and fall.

The most common crash between other vehicles and motorcycles is at an intersection when the automobile driver is making a left turn in front of a motorcycle. More than 40 percent of all motorcycle crashes occur at intersections. In 2005 (latest statistics available), 360 people in Texas died as a result of motorcycle crashes.

For additional information on motorcycle safety, please call 512-424-2021 or toll-free at 1-800-292-5787, or visit the DPS website at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/msb/draware.htm.

Click It or Ticket It

This year's Click It or Ticket campaign goes from May 21 thru June 3rd. Shown below is a sample editorial for you to use with your court personnel, when speaking to public groups or to publish in a local newsletter or newspaper. I hope that it is helpful. My Best, Hope


Click It or Ticket Goal? Save Lives & Prevent Injuries

We have heard for years that safety belts save lives and prevent injuries. That’s why Texas has had a mandatory safety belt law on the books since 1985. It states that drivers, front seat passengers and children under 17 years old in the front or back seat have to be buckled up. Children under five years old and less than 36 inches tall have to ride in a child safety seat. Period.

Texas is on the brink of its most ambitious campaign ever to remind drivers and passengers to buckle up or pay the consequences. Mega-messages featuring the Click It or Ticket slogan have popped up on landmarks from one end of Texas to the other, including the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, the San Jacinto Monument near Houston, the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Alamo, where state officials buckled a giant safety belt.

Why so much effort? Because it’s a simple fact: safety belts save lives. Safety advocates report that drivers and passengers who buckle up have a 50 percent better chance of surviving a serious traffic collision and avoiding serious injury.

Since the Click It or Ticket campaign began in the Lone Star State five years ago, there have been an estimated 1,200 fewer traffic fatalities in Texas and 28,000 fewer injuries as a result of increased safety belt use. Indeed, the number of Texans complying with state safety belt laws has steadily climbed from 76 percent to slightly more than 90 percent since the Click It or

Ticket effort began in Texas.

Ninety percent is good, but that still leaves one in ten of our friends and family at risk out on the roads. Taking two seconds to buckle up is one of the smartest, safest and simplest things anyone can do; if we just take the time to do it. What’s the most common excuse we hear for not buckling up? “I wasn’t going that far.” Yet, most accidents happen within 25 miles of home.

I encourage families with young children to pay special attention this year. You serve as a role model to your children. Research tells us that children whose parents don’t use seat belts are less likely to buckle up themselves. And teenage drivers have lower seat belt usage than adults – by half. That is just unacceptable.

That is why, from May 21 to June 3, state troopers, police officers and sheriff’s deputies statewide will be stepping up enforcement of the state’s safety belt laws. Drivers, front seat passengers and children under 17, whether riding in the front or back seat, must be buckled up. Also, children under five years old and less than 36 inches tall must ride in child safety seats. Adults who don’t use safety belts or fail to secure their children face fines up to $200, plus court costs.

If safety advantages are not enough to motivate you to buckle up yourself and your loved ones, law enforcement officers will provide an extra incentive—a ticket that can cost you up to $200 per violation.

Click It or Ticket

Click It or TicketNational Enforcement Blitz Launched to Save Lives
Buckling Down on Those Not Buckled Up – Day and Night
Employers: Today is the beginning of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign, a nationwide seat belt enforcement mobilization to crack down on low seat belt use and to reduce highway fatalities. The campaign coordinated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in conjunction with law enforcement agencies and state highway safety offices, will run from May 21 through Memorial Day to June 3rd.
Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. In 2005, 77 percent of passenger vehicle occupants in a serious crash who were buckled up, survived the crash, and when worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent – and by 60 percent – in pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans. Yet nearly one in five Americans (19 percent nationally) still fail to regularly wear their seat belts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle.
Support this campaign by communicating to your workforce that seat belt use is a top priority for your organization. Use existing internal dissemination channels (email, intranet, newsletters, supervisors) to send the NETS flyer linked below to all employees. Utilize security officers and parking lot attendants to reinforce the message by printing and distributing the NETS flyer. Click here to download the pdf file.
To further emphasize, your organization’s support of safe driving practices, conduct your own belt use survey to determine your corporate use rate. Recognize and reward those employees wearing their seat belts as they enter employee parking areas. Information on how to conduct a corporate seat belt survey can be found on the NETS website at: http://www.trafficsafety.org/buckle.asp
Network of Employers for Traffic Safety8150 Leesburg Pike, Suite 410Vienna, Virginia 221821.888.221.0045703.891.6005 (Fax)www.trafficsafety.org

TxDOT Holiday Campaign

Texas Department of Transportation
December “Designate a Driver” Holiday Campaign
December 11, 2006 through January 1, 2007

Overview
Year after year, Texas is among the states with the highest incidents of drunk driving in the nation. In 2005, more than 1,500 motorists died in alcohol-related crashes on Texas roadways. Safety experts continually remind us that drunk driving incidents spike during the holidays.

That’s why the Texas Department of Transportation is launching a new “Designate a Driver” media campaign as part of its an annual effort to curb drunk driving over the holidays. The campaign, including new TV and new radio spots, runs from December 11th through New Year’s Day, 2007. The campaign, which also includes billboards and pumptoppers, asks Texans to plan ahead if they plan to drink during holiday celebrations.

Santa is not the only one who’ll be busy this year: Law officers know when you’ve been drinking, and they know when you’re .08. From December 11th until January 1st, which includes Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the Texas Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies are making an extra effort to spot—and stop—drunk drivers.

Campaign Components
The Texas Department of Transportation will unveil its new “Designate a Driver” TV and radio spots this year. New animated television spots show Santa getting home in a surprising way, and new radio spots rely on popular Christmas carols to deliver upbeat “Designate a Driver” messages.

TxDOT will also post billboards and ads atop gas pumps that read, “Been drinking? Let Someone Else Take The Reins” and in Spanish, “¿Has Estado Tomado? Deja Que Otro Tome Las Riendas.”

The Texas Restaurant Association, the Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Valero Corporation and Texas Municipal Police Association are participating in the holiday DWI-prevention campaign by distributing point-of-purchase materials. Decals on cooler doors in convenience stores and gas stations and coasters in bars and restaurants remind motorists not to drink and drive when they’re purchasing alcohol.

Added Value Opportunities
As part of paid media buys around the state, radio and television stations have asked for local TxDOT spokespersons to participate in public affairs interviews to help prevent drunk driving in their areas. The following information should be helpful to those of you who will be granting interviews. To see all campaign elements for the holiday “Designate a Driver” campaign, visit http://www.txdot.gov/services/traffic_operations/traffic_safety.htm.

How Texans Can Avoid a DWI
Plan ahead if you plan to drink. Designate a driver, call a cab or someone you trust to pick you up, or spend the night where you are. Bottom line: Do not get behind the wheel if you’ve been drinking.

Here’s the Law
In Texas the legal limit for intoxication is .08 BAC (blood or breath alcohol concentration). However, drivers can be stopped and cited when impaired due to alcohol or other drugs regardless of BAC. Whether the driver or the passenger, motorists in Texas can be fined up to $500 for having an open alcohol container in a vehicle.

First Offense
Up to a $2,000 fine
Three days to 180 days in jail
Loss of driver’s license up to a year
$1,000 annual fee for three years to retain driver’s license

Second Offense*
Up to a $4,000 fine
One month to a year in jail
Loss of driver’s license up to two years

Third Offense*
Up to a $10,000 fine
Two to ten years in prison
Loss of driver’s license up to two years

*After two or more DWI convictions in five years, you must install a special ignition switch that prevents your vehicle from being operated if you’ve been drinking.

DWI with a Child Passenger
Motorists can be charged with child endangerment for driving while intoxicated if they’re carrying passengers younger than 15 years old.
DWI with a child passenger is a felony and punishable with:
Up to a $10,000 fine
Up to two years in a state jail
Loss of driver’s license for 180 days

Fifty-five percent of those killed in traffic crashes across America during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend last year were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.

The heavily-traveled Thanksgiving weekend is one of the most dangerous and deadliest times of the year due to low seat belt use. Although a record 82 percent of Americans now wear their seat belts, too many people still do not.

Please remind your employees to "Tighten Your Belt Before and After Thanksgiving Dinner.” Forward by email or print and distribute the below linked flyer and fact sheet to employees before they hit the road this holiday.

http://www.trafficsafety.org/thanks06.doc

Record High for Seat Belt Use in Texas

A statewide survey conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute reports that Texas has achieved a record high safety belt use rate in 2006 for Texas: 90.44%! This is the first year for Texas to reach the 90% level. From Terry Pence, Section Head of Traffic Safety at TxDOT: “A special thanks goes out to you and the communities and organizations you work with that were involved in the Click It or Ticket campaign efforts this year. You helped make a difference! This will result in saving many lives and injuries in Texas.”

Traffic Safety Activities

TxDOT has provided a three-year grant to the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center (TMCEC) to raise local awareness regarding the importance of traffic safety as a quality of life issue in Texas cities. TMCEC will attend the October 24-27, 2006 94th Annual Conference and Exhibition in Austin, sponsored by the Texas Municipal League. We hope that you will visit us at Booth #810 to discuss this important matter.