Transportation Safety Newsletter, September 2022

Oregon Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 09/01/2022 07:26 AM PDT

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September 2022

Labor Day Holiday

Friends look out for each other. Have a plan. Drive sober. Someone handing the keys to another person with a pint of beer in the background.

This Labor Day holiday, we’re reminding everyone to drive safely. Impairment — no matter the substance — can be deadly. Research shows that high-visibility enforcement can reduce impaired driving fatalities by as much as 20%. This is why Oregon law enforcement agencies are participating in impaired driving enforcement campaigns during the end of summertime and the busy Labor Day holiday weekend.

Enjoy Labor Day to the fullest with your friends and family! Just have a plan in place for a safe ride home. And make sure your friends have a safe, sober ride home, too. Have a plan. Drive sober. Save lives.

Back to School

School routes are everywhere. Drive like it. Kid riding bike on path.

School is back in session for almost everyone in Oregon in September, from kindergartners to high school seniors. That means it’s a good time to remind everyone to be vigilant. Stop and stay stopped for people in crosswalks. Be alert for school buses: when overhead lights flash yellow, prepare to stop; when they flash red, stop. Obey school crossing guards – their job is to help students safely cross the street. And avoid distractions to help keep everyone safe!

Let Helmets Protect Your Brain

Protect your melon. Any way you roll, wear a helmet. Watermelon wearing a bike helmet.

Bicycle helmets are required by law in Oregon for kids under 16 years old, not only while bicycling, but also while skateboarding, riding a scooter, or skating. To stay safe, ride bicycles on the right with traffic, use hand signals, obey traffic signs and signals, be visible, and stay alert. Wearing a bicycle helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent.

One Easy Way

Child in car seat while adult hands them a sloth stuffed animal.

Every 32 seconds, one child under the age of 13 in a passenger vehicle is involved in a crash. Many times, injuries and deaths can be prevented by proper use of car seats, boosters, and seat belts.

One easy way to be safer is to buckle up every time we get in the car – no matter how short the trip. Protect the ones you love and set a good example for your kids. Create a good habit that will last a lifetime. After all, they don’t call it a “safety belt” for nothing. Buckle up. The Way to Go.

Watch Video

What’s in a Chip Seal?

Work zone chip seal operation on the roadway.

Ever wonder what goes into a chip seal? ODOT Maintenance crews show you in a new video. District 3 Transportation Maintenance Manager Steve Kubishta explains the process and tells how to stay safe and avoid cracked windshields.

Watch Video

Increase in U.S. Roadway Deaths

Another new report of an increase in lives lost may feel a bit like Groundhog Day, but we must not become desensitized to the tragedy

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated today that 9,560 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the first quarter of 2022 – up 7% from the year before and the highest number of deaths between January and March in 20 years. Tragically, the U.S. is on its way to a third straight year of surging roadway deaths.