Texas Driver Safety and Training

Recent research indicates that through the combined efforts of lawmakers, law enforcement, and individual road users, Texas roads are getting safer. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the fatality rate on Texas roadways in 2008 was 1.41 deaths per hundred million vehicle miles traveled, a 1.40% decrease from 2007.

But there is still much work to be done: 3,468 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2008, seven more than in 2007. Though the increase is small, it reverses a downward trend that had been occurring since 2003.

Funding for roadway improvements helps make Texas highways safer for all users. In 2009, the Texas Transportation Commission approved $600 million in funding for the 2009 Safety Bond Program that provided for 355 improvement projects over 900 miles of highway, including:

• Widening narrow two-lane roads
  
• Adding left turn lanes and continuous left turn lanes to lower the incidence of rear-end collisions
  
• Installing concrete and cable barriers in divided highway medians to reduce the risk of head-on collisions
  
• Converted undivided roads into divided highways
  
• Building overpasses and interchanges to improve the flow of traffic and reduce crashes

Recent legislation that helps keep Texans safer on the road includes:

• Requiring all occupants to fasten their safety belts regardless of their age or where they are sitting in the vehicle
  
• Prohibiting motorcyclists from carrying passengers under the age of five unless the child is seated in a sidecar -Requiring children under the age of eight to be in an approved child passenger safety seat unless the child is at least four feet, nine inches tall
  
• Prohibiting drivers from using wireless communication devices in school zones unless the vehicle is stopped or a hands-free device is used if a sign is posted at the beginning of the school zone
  
• Increasing the penalty for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) with a child passenger by adding an automatic driver's license suspension for first-time offenders and an increased suspension period for repeat offenders
  
• Allowing police to order blood draws without search warrants from individuals they suspect of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in certain cases
  
• Increasing the penalties for driving with a suspended license or without insurance
  
• Requiring a six-hour driver education course for all first-time drivers' license applicants who are between 18 and 25 years of age.

Texas is making particular improvement in the area of teen driving safety. According to the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), the rate of fatal teen crashes is declining more quickly and steadily in Texas than in any other state. This progress is due in part to a peer-to-peer safety program for young drivers called Teens in the Driver Seat.

A study conducted by TTI looked at 36 states with a minimum of five years of crash records obtainable after implementation of a Graduated Driver License (GDL) law; the Teens in the Driver Seat program was part of the study because it is meant to supplement the state's GDL law. The study indicated that Texas has accomplished the following:

• Reduced the number of fatal crashes per 10,000 teen drivers by 32.5%, more than any other state studied; Texas was the only state that had a steady reduction in the rate of fatal teen crashes for five years in a row.
  
• Lowered the number of teen drivers in fatal collision by almost 33%; the average number for several other large states increased.
• Lowered fatal motor vehicle crash rates for teen drivers by more than five times that of other age groups in Texas.

How can Texas roads become even safer? Legislation, funding, and advocacy groups do make a difference, but on an individual level, drivers must take responsibility for their behind-the-wheel behavior. According to The National Safety Commission (TNSC), every driver should practice defensive driving techniques, such as:

• Avoiding distractions such as reading while driving, eating, using a cell phone for talking or texting, and dealing with children.
  
• Making sure you are physically fit to drive by avoiding drowsy driving. Studies show that 37% of drivers report having nodded off or fallen asleep while driving.
  
• Making sure you are emotionally fit to drive by avoiding aggressive driving. Be courteous to other drivers even if they aren't courteous in return.
  
• Including other road users, such as motorcyclists and pedestrians, in your visual search pattern.
  
• Wearing safety belts. According to the TxDOT, of all individuals killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2008 where restraint usage was applicable and usage was known, 56% were not restrained when the deadly collision occurred.
• Taking a defensive driving course to refresh your driving skills, especially if you receive a traffic ticket.
  
• Setting a good driving example for your children. Long before you start giving driving lessons, your kids absorb your driving practices as the "correct" way to drive.
  
• Enforcing GDL laws as house rules for teen drivers.
  

A parent-teen contract can help by making penalties for breaking the rules clear.

The need for motorists to police their own driving behavior is supported by the sad fact that, according to TxDOT, there were zero deathless days on Texas roadways in 2008.

Labels: defensive driving, driving safety, TNSC

A recent story in The Houston Chronicle discussed the implications of a new Texas law that allows police to order blood draws from individuals they suspect of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Previously, police were required to obtain a search warrant from a judge before ordering the test. The law goes into effect on September 1.

Though the law is causing some controversy, particularly among defense attorneys, it is not without precedent in the United States. Many states, including Florida, allow police to order the withdrawal of blood from a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) suspect without a warrant from a judge.

Despite widespread defensive driving education programs and law enforcement efforts to curb drinking and driving, the problem still causes many fatalities in both states every year. In Texas, the use of alcohol or drugs while driving causes 28% of fatal crashes and is the second most common contributing factor for crashes, according to the state's driver handbook.

Florida Traffic Crash Statistics show that there were 22,823 alcohol-related and 1,252 drug-related motor vehicle crashes, resulting in a combined 1,446 deaths and 17,160 injuries, in that state in 2007. Thirty-nine percent of traffic fatalities were alcohol-related.

Nationwide, statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate that in 2007, drivers who had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher who were involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes were eight times more likely to have a previous conviction for driving while impaired than drivers who had no alcohol in their systems. The most frequently-recorded BAC level for drivers who had been drinking and were involved in fatal crashes was .16.

The new Texas law is much less far-reaching than current Florida law, which allows law enforcement officers to order a blood test under any circumstances when use of an impairing substance while driving is suspected. Under the terms of the Texas law, police are only allowed to do so in particular circumstances, such as when the suspect is a repeat offender, a passenger in the vehicle is killed, or a child under the age of 15 is a passenger in the vehicle.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Florida DUI law also allows police to pursue the withdrawal of a blood sample "by authorized medical personnel with the use of reasonable force by the arresting officer" if the DUI involves serious injury or a fatality. Also, an individual who is unconscious or otherwise unable to refuse the test is presumed to have given consent to the test under the state's Implied Consent law.

Although states have been struggling with how to reduce motor vehicle crashes caused by drinking and driving for many years, national statistics indicate that that there is still much work to be done. NHTSA statistics indicate that an alcohol-impaired-driving fatality occurs every 40 minutes in the United States.

Labels: driving safety