The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a study of all the motor vehicle crashes that occurred in 2010. According to that study, distracted driving was a contributing factor in 10 percent of fatal crashes. In addition, distracted driving was cited as a factor in 18 percent of the total crashes where someone suffered […]
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Federal Aviation Administration Asks For Extra Checks On Boeing 737s
A federal agency is asking U.S. air carriers to enhance and increase inspections of Boeing 737 aircraft in their fleets. The Federal Aviation Administration is concerned about undetected cracks in the fuselage or bulkhead that could cause dangerous decompressions. The problem first drew the attention of the FAA in 2009, after a Boeing 737 operated by […]
Illinois May Have Toughest Older-Driver Laws
Older age requirements for driver’s licenses are now in place in 30 states and the District of Columbia. The fatal auto accident rate begins to rise for drivers when they hit their 70s, jumps when they hit 80, and surpasses the crash rate for teen drivers after age 85. Illinois responds to the issue of aging drivers […]
Turbulence A Hazard For Passengers And Crew
An associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University referred to turbulence as “the last of the unanticipated threats,” regarding air travel. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, 63 people have been seriously injured by turbulence in flights over the United States since 2007. Many of those injured are flight attendants and other crew members who were unbuckled […]
Driver In Fatal Construction Accident Charged
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Illinois ranks among the top five states total number of roadway work zone fatal occupational injuries. Road construction accidents where motorists strike construction workers are not rare. They accounted for 7.9 percent of all construction deaths from 2003 to 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On […]
School Bus Safety And Safe Driving Practices
September is a time for new drivers to learn to interact with school buses and for all drivers to familiarize themselves with the law concerning school buses and safe driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 19 school-age children die in school transportation-related traffic accidents every year. Most of the victims are between the ages […]
Pickup Collides With School Bus In La Salle County
Thirty-nine students were taken to area hospitals after a pickup truck disobeyed a stop sign and struck a school bus in Marseilles, Illinois. The bus accident happened just after 8 a.m. Monday morning, approximately two miles from Milton Pope School where the children attend. The accident is currently under investigation by La Salle County officials. A Dodge […]
Magnets In Toys Pose Serious Risk To Children
Magnets on toys, clothes and other household items pose a serious risk to children who might swallow them. Products with magnets have been the subject of numerous recalls largely based on the possibility that children will ingest the magnets. The Consumer Products Safety Commission reports roughly 200 such cases since 2008. Once swallowed, the magnets clump together […]
New Safety Recommendations Concerning Large Plane Taxiing
The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended the installation of anti-ground collision aids on large airplanes. Three ground collision accidents involving large planes hitting other aircraft during taxiing are currently under investigation by the NTSB. The recommendations, which were made to the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency, involved on-board external-mounted cameras which would […]
Construction Work And America’s Deadliest Jobs
The safety education company eTrain Today used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics to compile a list of the most deadly jobs in the nation. The findings were significant for workers in several industries, including the construction industry. The data showed four major causes of construction worker deaths, as well as commonly violated […]
New Tools For Understanding Truck Driver Safety
After a truck accident, trucking companies may choose to take action against a truck driver who failed to perform his or her duties in a safe manner. New technology may allow fleet operators predict future driver behavior and take steps before a truck accident even occurs. Predictive analytics software can use information regarding a driver’s past behavior, […]
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Technology Gets Safety Test
Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication devices are two methods by which cars may be made safer in the future. The U.S. Transportation Department has begun a new test of so-called “smart car” technology. Some 3,000 cars, trucks and buses equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle crash avoidance technology and vehicle-to-roadway devices will be evaluated to determine the efficacy and […]
Truck Makers Want Rollover Accident Regulations Scaled Back
New regulations were proposed last May concerning the installation of anti-rollover systems in buses and heavy duty trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated that rollover accidents cause roughly 700 traffic deaths per year. NHTSA researchers estimated that electronic stability control systems would prevent thousands of crashes and between 49 and 60 fatalities every year. The […]
Federal Officials Want Stronger Drunk Driving Laws
The administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration expressed his support for laws that require first-time offenders of DUI laws to have interlock devices installed in their vehicles. Federal data shows that a drunk driver who is involved in a fatal traffic accident is 400 percent more likely to have a prior DUI on his or […]
FAA To Investigate Miscommunication Among Washington D.C. Controllers
Federal rules dictate how close together aircraft are allowed to fly. An incident involving three aircraft around Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. has prompted an FAA investigation, according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Early reports indicated that the planes were on a head-to-head course, but Mr. LaHood and FAA administrator Michael Huerta indicated that while […]
Bus Accidents Underscore Need For Safety Improvements
Last week, a Megabus crashed into a bridge support, injuring at least 33 and killing one. Yesterday afternoon, a second Megabus accident claimed the life of a 76-year-old West Loop resident. These accidents shine a spotlight on recent efforts to improve bus safety for occupants and for everyone who shares the road with buses. The National Transportation […]
In-Car Technology A Concern For Many Drivers
Cell phones, iPods, and other portable electronic devices have been the source of significant scrutiny among traffic safety experts. Recently, the efforts of automakers to make their vehicles more appealing to technophiles have also drawn attention. As car accidents involving distracted driving continue to plague U.S. roadways, many consumers now believe that in-car technologies have become too […]
Fatal Southern Illinois Bus Crash
A double-decker bus was headed from Chicago to St. Louis yesterday when it struck a bridge support. The bus crash killed one woman and injured at least 33 others. According to the Illinois State Police, a tire blew out on the bus shortly before it went off the road and struck the bridge support on […]
Distracted Driving And The Dangers Of Multi-Tasking
A study conducted at Ohio State University has demonstrated that multi-tasking between two visual tasks is more difficult than multi-tasking between a visual task and an audio task. The study has implications for those concerned about distracted driving. The laws that have been passed to ban texting and driving address situations where a driver is splitting […]
Pilot Who Reported Safety Concerns Ordered Reinstated
A pilot working for Ameriflight PR Incorporated repeatedly raised concerns about the way fuel calculations were made for planes flown out of the airline’s Puerto Rico base. Fearing a potential plane crash, he took further steps including refusing to pilot a flight, emailing management and fellow pilots, and finally raising the issue with the Federal Aviation […]
