“IDOT consistently and proactively wants all motorists to be well informed of safe driving practices, including always driving sober and buckling up every trip, every time, and in every seat,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann L. Schneider in a press release. “Even with last year’s front seat all-time safety belt usage record near 93 percent, our long-standing partnership with law enforcement further solidifies the crystal clear message to motorists to Click It or Ticket both day and night.”

The increase in enforcement has one goal – to save lives during the Memorial Day weekend. Over the past three years, Illinois has seen record lows with regard to vehicle-related fatalities. Enforcement will place a special focus on nighttime activities. Data continues to show that nighttime, from midnight to 6 a.m., is a particularly dangerous time to be on Illinois roadways with more instances of alcohol-related crashes and safety belts less likely to be used. Law enforcement also will be paying particular attention to enforcing the new safety belt law that requires all occupants to buckle up, no matter their seating position.

“Illinois State Police are urging the motoring public to buckle up and drive responsibly when traveling during the busy summer holiday season,” said ISP Director Hiram Grau. “Every second counts when it comes to road safety and our officers will be enforcing all traffic laws and reminding motorists that seatbelts save lives.”

The Illinois State Police, the Illinois Secretary of State Police, and more than 500 county and local law enforcement agencies will provide additional safety belt and impaired driving patrols during the two-week mobilization period, which began on May 11. In addition, nearly 1,200 safety belt enforcement zones and 1,000 safety belt and impaired driving saturation patrols are anticipated in this time period as well. Fifty percent or more of these patrols will occur during late-night hours (11 p.m. to 6 a.m.). The mobilization also includes impaired driving enforcement, with more than 50 roadside safety checks.

Illinois has an excellent overall safety belt usage rate of 92.9 percent, but reaching that last 7.1 percent is a difficult task. In an effort to capture the attention of the intended demographic, males 18-34, IDOT has partnered with marketing firm Arthur Agency to develop an innovative and unique commercial. This year’s PSA features the positive effect of being buckled up and the negative effect of an unbuckled backseat occupant.

“Arthur Agency is happy to again partner with Flowers Communications Group to produce the 2012 Click It or Ticket campaign for the Illinois Department of Transportation,” said Dennis Poshard, president of Arthur Agency. “We feel strongly that this year’s spots are what’s needed to reach our target audience of 18-34 year old males. We hope the message helps prevent traffic fatalities.”

For more information about IDOT’s Click It or Ticket campaign, go to www.buckleupillinois.org.

Support IDOT’s Click it or Ticket campaign

http://www.buckleupillinois.org/Getinvolved.asp

Ohio senators voted 25-8 that would make it a secondary offense for adults, but texting, talking or using electronic wireless communications would be a primary offense for drivers 18 and younger.

Several major Ohio cities already ban text messaging while driving and some additional small cities prohibit hand-held cell use and/or texting, according to American Automobile Association.

South Carolina’s Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill April 25 to prohibit calling, texting or reading electronic messages in work or school zones. It also would make it illegal for drivers younger than 18 to use a cell phone without a hands-free device.

In Missouri, House members had an April 2 hearing for a measure to bar all drivers from text messaging while driving unless the device has voice-recognition technology for hands-free texting April 2. Missouri already bars the activity for drivers 21 and younger, according to AAA.

Alabama’s new ban on texting while driving for all drivers is effective Aug. 1, making it the became the 38th state to bar it for all drivers, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The continuing problem of too many Class 4-8 truck safety technologies chasing too few consumer dollars has stalled their market penetration, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan. However, the safety systems market is poised for a steep growth trajectory over the next five to seven years due to a tighter regulatory environment, introduction of integrated safety systems and availability of telematics-based safety applications.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.automotive.frost.com), “Strategic Analysis of North American Class 4-8 Truck Safety Systems Market,” finds the market earnings of $196.4 million in 2010 and estimates it to reach $609.8 million in 2017.

The safety systems market, after remaining in a state of flux for the past two to three years due to its compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations, is developing sustainable revenue streams, the study found. Moving forward, trucking original equipment manufacturers focusing on soft technologies and system integration will stoke higher adoption rates because of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance Safety Accountability regime, possible upcoming legislative support and energy-price volatility, Frost & Sullivan believes.

The development of ISS focused on collision mitigation, rising accident coverage costs and shortage of skilled drivers in the industry point towards the need of advanced safety technologies for trucks.

In North America, the legal environment poses significant barriers for OEMs offering safety technologies as a standard. The fear of lawsuits impedes rapid market penetration and growth of several nonmandated technologies, according to Frost & Sullivan. Improved legislative support, a clear return on investment, effective technologies reducing accidents and driver acceptance will ensure uptake of advanced safety technologies, the firm says.

With the market’s evolution, Frost & Sullivan says truck OEMs and system suppliers must work closely with each other as well as with new and disparate market groups such as telematics service providers. Rising awareness and the demand for standalone systems – such as stability control systems, tire pressure monitoring systems and lane departure warning systems – are expanding the revenue growth potential for participants.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday, May, 10, announced the elimination of 46 regulations on traffic signs to provide more flexibility for state and local governments, including allowing communities to replace traffic signs when they are worn out rather than requiring signs to be replaced by a specific date.

“Some of these burdensome deadlines would have cost communities millions of dollars at a time when they can’t afford that,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We spoke to state and local officials across the country, and we heard them loud and clear.”

Earlier this year, President Obama called for a governmentwide review of regulations in order to identify those that needed to be changed or removed because they were unnecessary, out-of-date, excessively burdensome or overly costly.

“Officials at the state and local levels are in the best position to make decisions related to sign replacement and other issues related to traffic management,” said Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. “These changes will give them the flexibility they need to make the best use of taxpayer dollars.”

The regulations establishing deadlines for street sign replacement came from the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, a compilation of national standards for all pavement markings, street signs and traffic signals. The Federal Highway Administration, which has published the manual since 1971, updates it periodically to accommodate changing transportation needs and address new safety technologies, traffic control tools and traffic management techniques.

Last August, FHWA issued a Notice of Proposed Amendments to eliminate the 46 deadlines, and a final rule has been sent to the Federal Register for publication. The final rule is available in the docket, FHWA-2010-0159, available at www.regulations.gov.

The deadlines requiring that certain street name signs be replaced by 2018 to meet minimum retroreflectivity standards and requiring larger lettering on those street name signs are among the deadlines that will be eliminated. The final rule also eliminates deadlines for increasing the size of various traffic signs, such as “Pass With Care” and “Low Clearance”: instead, communities will be able to replace and upgrade these signs when they reach the end of their useful life.

In addition to eliminating the deadlines, FHWA will allow communities to retain historic street-name signs in historic districts. DOT has retained 12 deadlines for sign upgrades that are critical to public safety, including installing “One Way” signs at intersections with divided highways or one-way streets, and requiring “Stop” or “Yield” signs to be added at all railroad crossings that don’t have train-activated automatic gates or flashing lights.

Free to the public at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/pcs/index.aspx, the bus safety checklist encourages travelers to first look at the on-road safety performance, safety rating and consumer complaint history of a bus company before buying a ticket or booking a trip.

Consumers also can download for free FMCSA’s SaferBus app at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/saferbus/saferbus.aspx, which provides quick, easy access to the safety records on nearly 6,000 U.S. interstate passenger carriers.

The event, held at the Coca-Cola Distribution Center on Route 130 in Middlesex County, marked the revival of the volunteer program that is expected to become a prominent component of the Department’s Clean Up NJ initiative, giving companies and organizations the opportunity to support well-maintained and attractive roadways in the Garden State. The Commissioner was joined by volunteers who will be among the first to adopt a section of highway.

“This is an exciting day not only for the Department but for all New Jersey residents who will team up with us to help keep our highways neat in appearance,” Simpson said in a press release. “Well-maintained highways convey a sense of pride and send a message to potential employers that New Jersey is a great place to establish a business.”

Simpson was joined at the event by Coca-Cola Distribution Center executives and employees and by officials from the New Jersey Clean Communities Council (NJCCC). The event included the unveiling of an Adopt-A-Highway sign that will become increasingly prevalent as groups sign on to participate.The signs and acknowledgement panels identifying the volunteer groups will be placed along adopted segments of highway.

Coca-Cola employees will adopt a one-mile segment of Route 130 near the distribution center. Volunteers will pick up litter along the northbound and southbound shoulders, but for safety reasons will leave the narrow median to NJDOT crews. NJDOT has entered into a contract with the NJCCC for administrative support. NJCCC is a non-profit organization that was originally formed under the 1986 Clean Communities Act. Its mission is to educate the public and promote programs that fight litter.

This is the first smart transportation system to be implemented in Saudi Arabia. Based on Telvent´s SmartMobility technology, this solution manages interurban expressway traffic through a centralized platform. It controls and manages the four tunnels and the entire range of field devices in place along the expressway’s length of 6 kilometers, increasing user safety and security and improving infrastructure maintenance.

The solution also provides real-time information on traffic conditions, which enables local authorities to respond rapidly in a coordinated manner to any incidents that may occur on the expressway, in accordance with action plans that are predetermined by the application. Citizens, in turn, can also make use of this information in real time, gaining the capability to select the route that best suits their interests at any time.

The project, which began in September 2010, has achieved a variety of additional benefits for users, including a reduction in both the number of accidents and in travel times within city limits, as well as a drop in fuel consumption. All of this results in a reduction in the release of pollutants, thereby improving air quality, in addition to helping to create a safer and more pleasant environment for citizens.

The project executed is part of the strategic plan which the Arriyadh Development Authority has drawn up for the city. This plan is contributing to rapid and sustainable city development in economic, social, architectural and environmental terms. Telvent, in turn, continues to work with local authorities towards fulfilling their objective of creating a smarter and more sustainable city. The company is developing a new project that will enable implementation of SmartMobility advanced mobility management technology in extending the road network in the Arriyadh Old Airport area.

This article was contributed by Telvent.

The 2012 NWZAW (April 23-27) kicked-off with an April 23 national news conference at a Route 141 construction zone in St. Louis. The event, hosted by the Missouri Department of Transportation, aimed to publicly highlight the safety risks for motorists and workers associated with driving through these sites. (For photos from the kick off, click here.)

Brad Sant, ARTBA’s senior vice president of safety and education, says the transportation design and construction industry is continually employing new approaches to address safety risks in driving through these sites.

“Just last week, ARTBA renewed its innovative alliance with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and industry partners,” says Sant. “The alliance is unique in that it includes multiple federal agencies, organized labor, representation from state agencies and employer associations—all working together to ensure our workplaces are safer for all involved.”

Sant also identified a new course, “Preventing Runovers and Backovers,” developed in partnership with OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as a first-of-its-kind program to address the problem of “struck-by” incidents in roadway construction. “For over a decade the industry has identified runovers and backovers as the primary safety concern for our workers. Now, with backing from OSHA and NIOSH, ARTBA is providing the industry with the first, comprehensive course to address the problem, and we are giving away this training and material for free,” he said.

This fall, the ARTBA Foundation-managed National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse will utilize cutting-edge technologies to deliver “Best Practices in Roadway Work Zone Safety” at the Local Transportation Asset Management Virtual Conference & Innovation Showcase. It marks the first time such a virtual event has been delivered to the desktops of tens of thousands of city and county government officials across America. The conference’s educational sessions — free of charge — provide strategies, tips and tactics aimed at helping improve safety.

Sant says innovation was also the thrust behind the recent production of a new video, “Flagger Fundamentals,” which revitalizes flagging training with information from the most recent federal and industry standards. By focusing on six steps to safe flagging operations, the interactive video (available in English and Spanish) is a learning tool for flaggers who may need to sharpen their skills and recall basic flagging operations.

Among some of the other ARTBA safety innovations during the past 30 years:

1985: Hosting the nation’s first “National Conference on Work Zone Safety,” in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration.  The groundbreaking event brought together national leaders to tackle unique safety and health challenges faced in roadway construction and led to the development of a series of national and international events that continue to this day.

1998: Launching the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse.  ARTBA and its operating partner, the Texas Transportation Institute, harnessed the power of the Internet early on to provide a centralized information source on “all things” safety and make it available “24/7.”  The facility (www.workzonesafety.org) is now the world’s largest online safety resource; handling more than 200,000 requests annually.

1999: Creating the first-of-its-kind “Highway Worker Memorial Scholarship” to provide post high-school education to the children of highway workers killed or permanently disabled on the job.  The program helped put a public face on the very personal impacts of roadway work zone fatalities and injuries. More than 100 scholarships have been given since its inception.

2002: Forming with the National Safety Council a strategic alliance to create an OSHA 10-Hour course that is focused on the transportation construction industry. In an era when generic OSHA 10-Hour classes are offered to all audiences, ARTBA recognized the need for customized training to meet the unique needs of industry workers.

“Any time your job site is just a few feet away from fast moving traffic, things can get a little too exciting,” said Tom Brown, the chair of the association’s national highway and transportation division and president of Vista, Calif.-based Sierra Pacific West. “Since construction workers don’t get the option of wearing seatbelts, they are more likely to be killed in a work zone crash than motorists are.”

Brown said that 28 percent of contractors report their workers were injured during work zone crashes this past year, and 18 percent had at least one construction worker killed during those crashes. While they are less likely to kill motor vehicle operators and passengers, highway work zone crashes do pose a significant risk for people in cars, Brown added. He noted that more than 50 percent of work zone crashes injure vehicle operators or users, and 15 percent of those crashes kill them.

Work zone crashes also have a pronounced impact on construction schedules and costs, Brown added. He said that 35 percent of contractors reported that work zone crashes during the past year forced them to temporarily shut down construction activity. Those delays were often lengthy, as 47 percent of those project shutdowns lasted two or more days, Brown noted.

Association officials said that 75 percent of contractors nationwide feel that tougher laws, fines and legal penalties for moving violations in work zones would reduce injuries and fatalities. And 66 percent of contractors nationwide agree that more frequent safety training for workers could help. They added that many firms and the association have crafted highway safety programs.

But Brown suggested that the best way to improve safety was for motorists to be more careful while driving through highway work zones. “The easiest way to improve work zone safety is to get motorists to slow down and pay attention,” Brown said. “When motorists see construction signs and orange barrels, they need to take the foot off the gas, put the phone down and keep their eyes on the road.”

The work zone safety study was based on a nationwide survey of highway construction firms the association conducted in March and April of this year. Nearly 400 contractors completed the survey.

During the next two years, the “Work Zone Safety Alliance” will develop and disseminate educational materials aimed at preventing worker injuries and deaths from construction vehicle runovers and backovers. It will also concentrate on increased outreach to non-English-speaking or limited-English-speaking workers.

“Most fatalities that occur in road construction work zones involve a worker being struck by a piece of construction equipment or other vehicle,” said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, in a written statement. who presided at the signing ceremony. “This renewed Alliance with the Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Partners will help reach workers and employers with critical education and information to reduce preventable injuries and deaths.”

ARTBA Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Bill Toohey represented the association at the event. It marks the third time the alliance has been renewed.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are the federal agencies engaged in the partnership, which includes these private sector groups: ARTBA, the National Asphalt Pavement Association, the Associated General Contractors of America, and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials, and labor organizations – the Laborers’ International Union of North America and the International Union of Operating Engineers. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration participates as an ex-officio member.

“This alliance is unique among those administered by OSHA, in that it includes multiple federal agencies, organized labor, representation from state agencies and employer associations,” said Brad Sant, ARTBA senior vice president for safety and education, who worked to forge the initial alliance nearly a decade ago. “It demonstrates an unparalleled commitment by the transportation construction sector to promote safety for our industry’s workers. In an era marked by polarized politics, it is refreshing to see these very different groups come together and work so cooperatively to ensure our workplaces are safer for all involved.”