November 2019 Summaries of timely road safety news, events, and alerts

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Message from NETS' Executive Director, Joe McKillips

As the end of the year approaches, I hope this finds you reflecting back on what has been a safe and rewarding year with regards to your road safety endeavors. With the holiday season soon upon us, NETS would like to extend a sincere thank you to our NETS members, valued NETS Sponsors, and fleet safety partners. Each of you supports and promotes the safety and health of employees and family members through your efforts to reduce traffic crashes and your efforts have not gone unnoticed. NETS mission to advance road safety could not be accomplished without the dedicated commitment of those with whom we work.   With the end of the year upon us, final arrangements are also being made to launch our first ever NETS Wellness initiative as part of our Drive Safely Work Week (DSWW) campaign series. The initiative is designed to highlight the tremendous impact wellness plays –  on a daily basis –  on safe and responsible behaviors behind the wheel. As highlighted during our recent conference by keynote speaker Sergio Rojas, employee wellness is often overlooked as playing a leading role in roadway risk to drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike. Use of the Wellness campaign materials will be a great way for employers to engage employees on this unique and value-added opportunity. This campaign, along with highlights of our annual conference, were recently profiled in a Fleet Management Weekly article as well. Thanks again for your commitment to road safety and wishing you the very best during this holiday season.

NETS ANNOUNCEMENTS

New NETS Employer Wellness Campaign Coming for the New Year! Through a cooperative agreement with NHTSA, NETS is currently developing an employer wellness campaign. The upcoming campaign, aimed at both employers and employees, will include the topics of driver physical health, work-life balance, improved diet, maintaining a “healthy vehicle,” and developing a wellness plan. Materials will be available through a dedicated NETS website. Look for the materials to be launched soon!

Learn About NETS Fleet Safety Sponsors

NETS is proud to partner with the following PLATINUM Fleet Safety Sponsor: eDriving is the driver risk management partner of choice for many of the world’s largest organizations, supporting over 1,000,000 drivers in 96 countries. Over the past 23 years, eDriving’s research-validated programs have been recognized with 70+ client awards around the world. www.edriving.com

LATEST ROAD SAFETY NEWS

NSC: 417 People May Die on U.S. Roads Over Thanksgiving The National Safety Council estimates 417 people may be killed and another 47,500 may be seriously injured in car crashes during the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday period. Compared with last year, the fatality estimate is down... Read more www.safetyandhealthmagazine...

Rear Seat Belt Use: Little Change in Four Years GHSA's new spotlight report, "Rear Seat Belt Use: Little Change in Four Years, Much More to Do," explores adult rear seat belt use rates, state laws and enforcement, and public education efforts. Read more www.ghsa.org

WORKPLACE/ HOME ROAD SAFETY

Winter Driving Dangers and How to Avoid Them Warm afghans, hot chocolate, and icy roads are here again, bringing snow that glistens and worsening driving conditions. More than 1,300 people die and another 100,000 are injured in crashes on snowy or icy roads every year. According to the U.S. ... Read more www.moneygeek.com

When Winter Tires Make Sense At some point during the year, a majority of Americans will find themselves facing treacherous driving conditions on snowy or icy roadways. Winter tires are specifically designed for this type of climate, but does it make sense to invest in a set ... Read more www.aaa.com

Car Seat Alert: A Winter Coat Could Endanger Your Child In wintertime it seems only natural to have your child snuggled up in their coat as you strap them into their car seat. But dramatic crash test videos show why it could be a mistake - with deadly consequences. TODAY national investigative... Read more www.today.com

States With Strictest Texting-While-Driving Laws Ranked Oregon secures the position of the strictest state for texting while driving with a maximum fine of $1,000 for the offense, which is 10 times the median fine in the U.S., according to a recent study. Read more www.automotive-fleet.com

Texting While Walking Is Dangerous. Here's How to Stop. You know you do it. It's not safe, obviously. Here's how to take control of your tech use. You're walking around and a thought occurs: "I should check my phone." The phone comes out of your pocket. You type a message. Then your eyes remain glued... Read more www.nytimes.com

States with Legal Marijuana See Rise in Car Crashes Car crashes were up as much as 6 percent in states where the recreational use of marijuana has been legalized, said two studies. According to research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute, the... Read more www.usatoday.com

When to Restrict Personal Use of Fleet Vehicles As unbelievable as it may seem, many fleets, large or small, do not have a policy regarding personal use of company-owned vehicles. Failing to have policies and procedures “give the employee the feeling of having free rein when it comes to use of... Read more www.automotive-fleet.com

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

How Often Should I Start My Car, Let it Idle in Cold? Don't. An intense cold snap is threatening to smash record lows across much of the nation through Thursday. With temperatures sliding and winter fast approaching, many car owners are asking: How often should I start my car to warm it up? Turns out... Read more www.usatoday.com

Volvo to Add In-car Sensors to Prevent Drunk Driving Swedish carmaker Volvo hopes to reinforce its reputation for safety-first driving by installing cameras and sensors in its cars from the early 2020s, monitoring drivers for signs of being drunk or distracted and intervening ... Read more www.reuters.com

Testing Cars That Help Drivers Steer Clear of Pedestrians Almost 6,300 pedestrians were killed in 2018 in the United States, the highest number since 1990, federal officials said this month. Collision-avoidance systems on many new vehicles could reduce that toll, but there are significant... Read more www.nytimes.com

Teen Invents Solution to Eliminate Blind Spots for Cars A 14-year-old from West Grove, Pennsylvania, won a $25,000 prize for creating a prototype designed to eliminate a car's blind spots. Alaina Gassler told CNN she first noticed the problem when she realized her mom didn't like driving their family's... Read more www.cnn.com

Autonomous Cars: Human Operator Training and Oversight Self-driving cars are basically in the Wild West right now. Sure, there are some federal guidelines, but mostly, it's patchwork stuff that varies from state to state. The Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium was founded by US automakers to try and ... Read more www.cnet.com

GOVERNMENT AND NON-PROFIT AGENCY NEWS

NTSB Calls for Action to Curb Spike in Bicycle Fatalities The National Transportation Safety Board has called for a major policy overhaul after completing its first study of bicyclist safety since 1972. November 14, 2019 The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for a major policy overhaul to... Read more www.iihs.org

NHTSA Announces Coming Upgrades to NCAP The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today announced its plan to propose significant updates and upgrades to the New Car Assessment Program in 2020. "NCAP is celebrating its 40-year anniversary,... Read more www.nhtsa.gov

INTERNATIONAL ROAD SAFETY

UK Phone Safety Move Addressed The UK Government is closing a legal loophole that has allowed drivers to escape prosecution for hand-held mobile phone use while behind the wheel. At present, the law prevents drivers from using a hand-held mobile phone to call or text. However, ... Read more www.worldhighways.com

New Australian Motorcycle Helmet Safety Ratings Released Safety ratings on motorcycle helmets have been released to coincide with Motorcycle Awareness Month. The Consumer Rating and Assessment of Safety Helmets (CRASH), a consortium of Transport for NSW, Insurance Australia Group (IAG) and Transport... Read more www.edriving.com

European Day Without a Road Death 2019. How Did it Go? This year's Project EDWARD (the European Day Without A Road Death) took place across Europe on Thursday 26 September. Devised by the European Roads Police Network (TISPOL) in 2016, the initiative once again aimed to raise awareness of road safety ... Read more www.polisnetwork.eu

Sign the People's Declaration - Global Alliance of NGOs Every 24 seconds - about the time it takes to read and sign the People's Declaration - another person is killed from a road traffic crash. You can help save lives: #CommitToAct by supporting the People's Declaration. The declaration will... Read more www.roadsafetyngos.org

UPCOMING TRANSPORTATION SAFETY EVENTS AND CAMPAIGNS

Save the Date: 2020 National Safety Council Congress & Expo October 5-7, 2020. The NSC Congress & Expo is the world's largest annual "must attend" event for safety, health and environmental professionals. For more than 100 years, professionals have turned to this safety conference for industry-leading... Read more congress.nsc.org

Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety The Third Global Ministerial Conference (Ministerial Conference), held in the final year of the Decade of Action, aims to reach high-level consensus for continued global road safety targets and collaboration up to 2030. The Decade of Action... Read more www.roadsafetyngos.org

Thanksgiving Holiday Travel Buckle Up - Every Trip. Every Time. This Thanksgiving weekend, millions will hit our nation's roads, eager to spend time with family and friends. It's one of the busiest travel times of the year, and unfortunately more people on... Read more www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov

Boycott Blackout Wednesday Boycott Blackout Wednesday - November 27, 2019. Excessive drinking intoxication is prevalent over Thanksgiving due in part to cultural phenomenons like "Blackout Wednesday" that highlight and even encourage the heavy consumption of alcohol... Read more www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov

Holiday Season: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving The holidays are known for being merry and bright, but they're also known for being the deadliest season when it comes to drunk driving. Every holiday season, lives are lost due to drunk drivers.Use these social... Read more www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov

Do you have a particularly successful road safety example to share? NETS Members are encouraged to share best practices, ask questions or contribute their expertise to the NETS Road Safety Leaders Forum, an online discussion forum exclusively for NETS Members and Sponsors. Not yet a member? Check out the benefits at  www.trafficsafety.org/Membership .

Note from the editor: All links to stories have been tested and are active 24 hours prior to distribution; however, links may become inactive over time at the discretion of the publication source.

About NETSWork® NETSWork is published electronically each month by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, Susan Gillies, editor, and Joe McKillips, Executive Director.

Network of Employers for Traffic Safety 344 Maple Ave. West #357 Vienna, VA 22180 703-755-5350 www.trafficsafety.org nets@trafficsafety.org

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