NEWS: MDOT video reminds drivers of their role in reducing fatalities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, JULY 17, 2017
CONTACT: Jeff Cranson, MDOT Director of Communications, 517-648-8247, cransonj@michigan.gov

MDOT video reminds drivers
of their role in reducing fatalities

Fast facts:
- Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) is a national effort to reduce fatal and serious injury crashes on our nation's highways.
- Each year, more than 35,000 people lose their lives on U.S. highways.
- In 2016, there were 1,064 deaths on Michigan roadways.
- A new MDOT video reminds drivers that they play a vital role in achieving that goal.

July 17, 2017 -- Driver behavior is a contributing factor in at least 90 percent of all fatal traffic crashes and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is reminding motorists of the critical role they play in traffic safety.

              A new video released on the department's YouTube channel promoting the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) campaign highlights what MDOT is doing to reduce highway fatalities and encourages drivers to do their part to help reach the goal of zero traffic fatalities. 

               "We have a lot of new safety features being built into our cars and technology is providing new engineering tools to improve safety on our roadways," said MDOT Traffic and Safety Engineer Mark Bott. "But the most important safety feature in any vehicle is still the driver."

              The TZD campaign was born at a national strategic highway safety workshop in 2009. Since then, many states have adopted the safety campaign that brings together stakeholders and transportation partners to improve safety through education, engineering, enforcement and emergency response.

               "With driver behavior factoring into about 90 percent of all fatal crashes, one key to changing driver behavior is educating the public on the scope of the issue," Bott added. "The 1,064 people who died on our roadways last year is a larger group than the entire population of towns like Lake Linden, North Branch, Concord, or Lakeview. This is a serious public safety issue that not enough people are aware of."

              For more information on how you can help reduce traffic fatalities visit the Michigan TZD website or the national site at www.towardzerodeaths.org.

 ###

Download MDOT's Mi Drive traffic information app: www.michigan.gov/drive

www.michigan.gov/drive  |  www.twitter.com/MichiganDOT  |  www.facebook.com/MichiganDOT