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June 2022
For many of us, summertime usually means vacations and summer road trips. Before you hit the road with your family or friends, take the time to review these summer driving safety tips. A little planning and some safety checks might spare you from dealing with the consequences of a breakdown — or worse, a crash.
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 Traffic Safety Facts – Children
Restraint use and alcohol-impaired driving crashes are the leading factors in child traffic fatalities in the U.S. Of the child passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes, 42% were unrestrained. Child safety seats have been shown to greatly reduce fatal injury for children in vehicles. And for children killed in traffic crashes, 21% were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2020 – the majority were passengers in vehicles with the alcohol-impaired driver.
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 Move Over
All 50 States have "Move Over" laws to protect law enforcement officers and other first responders stopped on our roads. Traffic-related incidents continue to be the number one cause of death among on-duty law enforcement officers.
In Oregon, drivers must move over to a non-adjacent lane (or slow down by at least five miles per hour below the posted speed) when approaching the rear of police, fire, and ambulance vehicles, as well as any motor vehicle that is stopped and is displaying required warning lights or hazard lights, or a person is indicating distress by using emergency flares or posting emergency signs.
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Driver Ed Wants You!
Join us and become an ODOT-approved driver ed instructor. It’s a great way to earn extra income on the side or after retirement. Training is free, and best of all you’ll be helping to save young lives.
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Safety on the Oregon Coast Bike Route
People who ride bicycles along beautiful U.S. 101 have a spectacular experience: unmatched scenery, cool towns along the way, breathtaking places to stop and enjoy the ocean breeze. This summer, we’re promoting safety along the route in the expectation that many more will be using it, eager to get out and take advantage of this unique opportunity.
Brochures, social media posts and even billboards will share the same messages, such as:
- People bicycling can use the full lane, so wait until there’s a safe place to pass.
- When passing someone on a bicycle, give at least 3 feet – enough so that if they fell over into the lane, you would avoid them. (This is Oregon law.)
- Slow down and be patient.
Download educational materials or order free copies by visiting ODOT’s Storeroom website. Learn more about bicycle and pedestrian safety and ODOT’s program on the website.
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Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2021
NHTSA has released a report presenting early estimates of traffic fatalities in 2021. According to preliminary data, Oregon saw a 19% increase in traffic fatalities from 2020 to 2021. Across the U.S., traffic fatalities in the following categories showed relatively large increases: multi-vehicle crashes (up 16%), urban roads (16%), drivers 65-and-older (14%), pedestrians (13%), large trucks (13%), daytime crashes (11%), motorcyclists (9%), bicyclists (5%), speeding-related crashes (5%), and alcohol-involved crashes (5%).
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National Safety Month
June is recognized as National Safety Month as organizations around the country raise awareness on reducing the leading causes of injuries and death. Millions of workers drive or ride in a motor vehicle as part of their jobs. And, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the U.S. The NIOSH Center for Motor Vehicle Safety (CMVS) provides research-based guidance to prevent motor vehicle crashes for truck drivers, drivers in other high-risk jobs (EMS, law enforcement, oil and gas extraction), and light-vehicle drivers (real estate, sales, health care).
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Resources
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