Making an Impact

April 2024

In this issue:

Distracted Driving Awareness Month - It's Time to Park Your Phone
GHSA Report: 125 Years, Four Million Highway Deaths
It's 420! If You Feel Different, You Drive Different
New Crosswalk for Oregon Students
ODOT Wants to Hear from You About Road Safety
Safety Innovative Mobility Program Microgrants
Upcoming Events:
May 1, 2024 - National Heatstroke Prevention Day
May 20 - June 2, 2024 - National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization. Click It or Ticket!
May 2024 - National Motorcycle and Bicycle Safety Month

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Distracted Driving Awareness Month

It's Time to Park Your Phone

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, both nationwide and in the state of Oregon. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is hosting a Distracted Driving awareness event at the Capitol in Salem on Wednesday, April 3 from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The public is invited to come look at vehicles from the Oregon State Police, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and the Salem Police Department’s traffic motorcycle unit, and learn more about ODOT’s distracted driving campaign, “Park Your Phone.”

As part of the campaign, ODOT’s DMV – Transportation Safety Office offers some facts that are important to consider.

Distracted Driving in Oregon

“Distracted Driving” is a dangerous behavior for drivers, passengers, and non-occupants alike. Distraction is a specific type of inattention that occurs when drivers divert their attention from the driving task to focus on some other activity instead (per NHTSA).

From 2017-2021 there were 26,264 crashes resulting in 194 fatalities and 24,264 injuries caused by crashes involving a distracted driver in Oregon (all ages). From 2017-2021 there were 2,005 crashes, resulting in 15 fatalities and 1,775 injuries caused by drivers reported to have been using a cell phone at the time of the crash.

2017-2021 there were 125 crashes involving a driver aged 16-18 reported to have been using a cell phone at the time of the crash: 0 fatalities and 188 people injured.

2017-2021

There were 31 crashes involving a Pedestrian using a cell phone: 3 fatalities and 28 people injured.

2017-2021

There were 6 crashes involving a Pedal-cyclist using a cell phone: 0 fatalities and 6 people injured.

What is Distracted Driving?

Distraction occurs when a driver voluntarily diverts attention to something not related to driving that uses the driver's eyes, ears, or hands. There are four types of driver distraction:

Visual - looking at something other than the road.

Auditory - hearing something not related to driving.

Manual - manipulating something other than the wheel.

Cognitive - thinking about something other than driving.

Most distractions involve more than one of these types, with both a sensory — eyes, ears, or touch — and a mental component.

Additional Distracted Driving Information

ODOT Safe and Courteous Driving:

https://www.oregon.gov/odot/safety/pages/distracted.aspx

NHTSA’s Distracted Driving Website:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving

GHSA Report: 125 Years, Four Million Highway Deaths

A crashed car from the 1910s, from the Library of Congress archive. The GHSA reports that four million people have died in the United States from traffic crashes since 1899.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reports that the United States will mark a grim milestone this year: four million people killed on the nation’s roads since 1899. Four million over 125 years averages to 32,000 dead every year, or nearly 88 a day.

In a statement released in late February, GHSA CEO Jonathan Adkins says, “While roadway fatalities have declined slightly in the past year, this modest progress pales in comparison to the large increases we saw at the start of and during the height of the pandemic. The road to zero traffic deaths is long, but we know how to get there – doubling down on the strategies that improve safety. We need more equitable enforcement focused on dangerous driving behaviors, infrastructure that slows down speeding drivers and protects people outside of vehicles, community outreach and engagement programs, improved vehicle technology and better post-crash care.”

The GHSA, formed after the 1966 Highway Safety Act, is a non-profit which administers federal funding for programs promoting safe driving. Its members represent highway safety offices in all 50 states, US territories and tribal governments. For more information about the GHSA and the programs they support, visit ghsa.org.

It’s 420!

If You Feel Different,

You Drive Different

Whether it originated as a time as 4:20 p.m., or a date as April 20, ”420” is a celebratory tradition in cannabis culture.

With April 20 falling on a Saturday this year, there may be more marijuana- impaired drivers out on the road.

Cannabis impairs cognitive performance, slows reaction times, and makes it more difficult for drivers to keep a steady course on the road. It’s illegal in all 50 states to drive impaired, whether the impairing substance is legal or not.

Don’t get in the car with an impaired driver. If you have a friend who is high and about to drive, take their keys and help them get a sober ride home. They will thank you later and you may save a life.

If you plan to “pause for the cause” this April 20th, don’t drive. Plan for a sober ride home ahead of time. Once you are under the influence do not make important decisions, especially about driving. Consider just staying home and getting a delivery if the munchies strike!

ODOT Wants to Hear From You

About Road Safety

ODOT’s Transportation Safety Office is hosting workshops and open houses around the state to allow local community members to offer feedback, concerns and project ideas to better serve Oregon.

The first is scheduled for April 30, 2024, at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeview, Oregon. For more information about this and other workshops planned around the state, visit the Transportation Safety Public Participation and Engagement page:

https://www.oregon.gov/odot/safety/pages/transportation-safety-public-participation-and-engagement.aspx

Safety Innovative Mobility Program Microgrants Available

ODOT’s Innovative Mobility Program (IMP) is offering a second round of microgrants. This round opened March 25 and will continue through November 29 or until funds are exhausted.

The IMP awards grants of up to $15,000 for projects intended to improve access to public and active (walking, bicycling, etc.) transportation for historically underserved communities. Government agencies, educational institutions, transportation providers, businesses providing community services, and nonprofits are all eligible to apply.

For more information and application forms, visit the IMP web page at https://www.oregon.gov/odot/rptd/pages/innovative-mobility-program.aspx