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December 21, 2017
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Drive safe and sober this holiday season

During this hustle and bustle time, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety wants to remind motorists to plan ahead for their holiday travel and drive with caution. Historically the Christmas and New Year holiday season is a deadly time on our nation's roadways.

There were 52 people killed and 243 seriously injured in Missouri traffic crashes between Dec. 10, 2016 and Jan. 1, 2017. Eight of the fatalities and 20 of the serious injuries involved a substance-impaired driver.

"A lot of holiday parties involve alcohol," said Bill Whitfield, executive chair of the coalition. "If you're going to drink, plan another way home before the celebration begins, and encourage your friends and family to do the same." 

There are no excuses to drive impaired. The facts are known - drinking and driving is a lethal combination. The consequences can be fines, jail time or even death. It's simply not worth it. Your last drink could be someone else's last breath.

To learn more, visit the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety website at savemolives.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter at Save MO Lives.
Join the Movement!
Take the challenge: when you get into any vehicle, buckle up your safety belt. If you are a driver, put the cellphone down.  Join the 2,086 people (288 of whom represent businesses) who have joined the movement so far. 

Click below to accept the challenge!

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Did You Know This?
Above is the view of the lunar far side of the moon taken from Apollo 8.
This day in transportation history

Dec. 21, 1968 - Apollo 8, the second human spaceflight mission in NASA's Apollo program, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The three-person crew - Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders - became the first humans to leave Earth's gravity and orbit the moon.



How does the United States rank for infrastructure?

Yahoo Finance recently ranked the world's top 11 countries for infrastructure. They were ranked on a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 = underdeveloped and 7 = extensively developed by international standards.

Each was ranked in the areas of transportation, energy, communications, water, waste management and defense. 

The U.S. came in at 10th place, with a 5.9 ranking. 

1.  Switzerland - 6.6
2.  Hong Kong - 6.4
3.  Singapore - 6.4
4.  Japan - 6.2
5.  The Netherlands - 6.2
6.  United Arab Emirates - 6.2
  7.  Finland - 6.1
 8.  France - 6.1
 9.  Austria - 5.9
10. United States - 5.9
11. India - 4.6
Have You Seen This?
MoDOT launches social media photo contest

The first winner of MoDOT's social media cover photo contest was Cody Quint who submitted this photo of the Interstate 70 bridge over the Missouri River at Rocheport.
MoDOT has launched a new way for Missourians to take pride in and show off their transportation system. The Social Media Cover Photo Contest started the end of November with the first winning photo chosen on Dec. 7.

The contest encourages anyone to submit their best transportation-related photo to the department's social media sites. The winner gets his or her photo posted as the cover photo for MoDOT's main social media sites for a month. The submitted photos must be taken from a safe location. Photos that appear to be taken while driving will be automatically disqualified.

The first winner of the contest was Cody Quint, of Cooper County, who submitted a photo taken of the Interstate 70 bridge over the Missouri River at the Cooper/Boone county line.

"I was canoeing at Big Muddy and had my drone," he said. "So I took some photos. And I submitted them because who doesn't want their pictures to be the cover photo for MoDOT?"

Join the competition and submit your transportation photos today - Facebook - Twitter.
Roadway Safety
 
Fatality update
Did you know...  64 percent of head- on fatalities take place during the  day.  


Statewide Fatality Totals as reported  on the Missouri State Highway Patrol website as of Dec. 17, 2017:   

2017 Totals as of 12-17-17 - 890
2016 Totals as of 12-17-16 - 922
2015 Totals as of 12-17-15 - 849
2014 Totals as of 12-17-14 - 733
2013 Totals as of 12-17-13 - 733
2012 Totals as of 12-17-12 - 796



Missouri Dept. of Transportation | (888) 275-6636
P.O. Box 270 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0270