Header VideoOfTheWeek 480

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Crash Inflicts Life-Threatening Injuries on Student Leaving Bus
WTVR-TV CBS 6 (Virginia), Jan. 13, 2016

A Richmond student was struck while getting off the school bus, and has life-threatening injuries. The crash occurred as a group of students began to cross Warwick Road, and the victim was struck by a vehicle traveling northbound. The student was transported to a local hospital. (WTVR-TV CBS 6 image)

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Fayetteville Cameras Here to Save Lives, Leaders Say
WNCN-TV NBC 17 (North Carolina), Jan. 13, 2016

Last summer, Fayetteville reinstalled red-light cameras in what city leaders said was an effort to save lives, not make money. (WNCN-TV NBC 17 image)

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State Official Calls for Safety Measures after Car Strikes Woman
WPRI-TV Channel 12 (Rhode Island), Jan. 12, 2016

An elderly woman is in critical condition after she was struck by a car Tuesday morning while trying to cross a busy road in Cumberland. … The crash, the fifth involving a pedestrian at that location in five years, prompted Rhode Island Rep. Jim McLaughlin to call on the Department of Transportation to lower the speed limit and improve traffic lights in the area, as well as add cameras. (WPRI-TV Channel 12 image)

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Public’s Call for Intersection Safety Rises after Crash
WABC-TV ABC 7 (New York), Jan. 11, 2016

There is frightening new video of an accident at a most unsafe intersection in Queens. A young boy was hit by an Access-a-Ride bus at an intersection that residents have been complaining about for years in Long Island City. (WABC-TV ABC 7 image)

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‘Safety Bus’ Bringing Attention to School Bus Dangers
WSAZ-TV Channel 3 (West Virginia), Jan. 11, 2016

School bus safety has been under scrutiny lately after footage of drivers whizzing past school bus stop signs has shown up again and again. On Monday, the Kanawha County Schools “Safety Bus,” an educational tool, displayed a new safety feature designed to alert drivers when students are in danger of being hit by the bus. (WSAZ-TV Channel 3 image)

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Cameras Get Spokane Drivers to Slow Down
KREM-TV CBS 2 (Washington), Jan. 9, 2016

School zone speed safety cameras have been up and running in several school zones since Monday, but are they actually getting drivers to slow down? According to Spokane Police, 95 percent of drivers who were ticketed by Spokane’s traffic cameras never faced another infraction. “That does truly demonstrate a change in driver’s behavior that keeps people safe,” Spokane Police Spokesperson Teresa Fuller said. Accidents in areas near road safety cameras have dropped 50 percent as well. (KREM-TV CBS 2 image)

 

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Texas School District Launches School Bus Safety Cameras
School Transportation News, Jan. 8, 2016

A new stop-arm violation enforcement program began with the installation of video cameras on the sides of Austin Independent School District buses to monitor traffic for those who break the law. … At this point, the video cameras from American Traffic Solutions begin recording footage by focusing on the license plate of any vehicle that passes the stopped bus.  … A 2014 pilot study revealed an average of 60 school bus passing violations a day. (KEYE-TV CBS 43 image) See related article at Occupational Health & Safety.

 

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Report: Crashes 36% Less Likely at Red-Light Camera  Intersections
American Traffic Solutions Press Release, Jan. 12, 2016 

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ fourth annual report on red-light safety cameras across the state, drivers are safer traveling through intersections equipped with red-light safety cameras. Total crashes in the state are up 50 percent, but the report found that angle crashes — the most violent and dangerous type of crash — did not increase at intersections with red-light safety cameras. Compared with the overall statewide trend, drivers at intersections with cameras are 36 percent less likely to be involved in a collision.
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Austin_Statesman @Statesman QUIZ Do you know when it’s legal to pass a school bus? atxne.ws/1JqmcwW

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NHTSA @NHTSA Five MPH the difference between hit or miss. Stop speeding before it stops you.

 

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Georgia Governor’s Transportation Plan Expands Toll Lanes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jan. 12, 2016

A sweeping plan to transform commuting in metro Atlanta by expanding the region’s toll lane network — including a multibillion-dollar expansion of I-285 and Ga. 400 — is on the fast track to reality. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution image by Bob Andres)

Driver Accused of Toll Evasion in New Jersey
The Record/NorthJersey.com, Jan. 12, 2016

A tractor-trailer driver from Texas is charged with theft of services from trying to avoid paying the George Washington Bridge toll. Authorities stopped the vehicle after noticing that the license plate was unreadable. The plate was tied to the vehicle’s grill with zip ties and flipped up so only the back of the plate was visible. The plates final two numbers were also covered with duct tape.

Bay Bridge Toll Opened City to Growth
Pensacola News Journal (Florida), Jan. 9, 2016

When news stories reveal further development of the Gulf Breeze community and the mass enjoyment of the Gulf beaches, it’s hard to believe the such progress was not possible until 85 years ago. … In June 1931, with many motorists lined up to watch, the bay bridge was declared. This was to be a toll bridge, with receipts to pay off bonded debt.  As snow-white beaches are admired and enjoyed by thousands, it’s interesting to remember that the projects which made all of this possible stemmed from one man’s dream, and that it was private investment that paved the way.

 

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Commentary: Red-Light Cameras Would Improve Safety
Greenville Online (South Carolina), Jan. 13, 2016

For most, nearly all of the problems that we the people of the state face and that the Legislature is entrusted to solve, there are no easy answers. However, one does have an easy answer: red lights. The situation of red-light obedience in our state is bad, growing worse, dangerous and simply disconcerting to those of us who consider ourselves to be careful and courteous drivers.

Commentary: 30,000 Illegal School Bus Passing Incidents Is too Much
Adirondack Daily Enterprise (New York), Jan. 11, 2016

If most of us believe our children are our most precious commodity, why, then, would 30,000 New York state drivers pass a stopped school bus every day! … New York Association for Pupil Transportation President David Adam noted that “This continuing disregard for the safety of our children is alarming and we urge parents and law enforcement officials to join us in urging all motorists to stop for the school bus!”

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Letter to the Editor: Why Red-Light Cameras Matter
The Denver Post (Colorado), Jan. 9, 2016

Paul Houston is committed to outlawing traffic cameras. But if he had a loved one who was killed or maimed by a driver who was speeding or ran a red light or stop sign, or drove under the influence, he would want a camera at every intersection and on all major thoroughfares. … What are we going to do to get errant drivers under control?

 

Header QuoteOfTheWeek 480

“We have over 15 years of data to show that more than 3,000 cars per day are not going to stop. The revised policy represents a more proactive approach to what bus drivers and students can do to (be) safe even when motorists don’t obey the law.”
Derek Graham, North Carolina Department of Instruction’s Transportation Services Section Chief
Sampson Independent (North Carolina), Jan. 10, 2016