Your Monthly Update
September 2020
|
|
GHSA Report Addresses Need to Adapt to Shift in Transportation Preferences |
|
A new report released last month by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) calls for a greater focus on the safety of personal and shared transportation devices like e-scooters and e-bikes.
The COVID-19 pandemic is shifting travel patterns and the way people get around, with many hesitant to return to mass transit over health concerns. As a result, the use of e-scooters and e-bikes will likely continue to grow in popularity, the report states.
"This is a pivotal time for us as a country to really take a step back and look at our infrastructure, look at our streets, look at our streetscapes and say, 'How can we redesign them as much as we possibly can to accommodate where we are today,'" Pam Shadel Fischer, senior director for external engagement at GHSA and the report's author, told Smart Cities Dive.
“Micromobility devices, both shared and personally owned, are here to stay and we need to do more to ensure they’re operated safely,” said GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins in a press release highlighting the report's findings.
The biggest concern remains the safety of e-scooter riders, particularly the rise in injuries and crashes since they were first introduced in 2018. Hospitals reported triple digit spikes in e-scooter injuries and hospital admissions. Since 2018, 22 people died in e-scooter crashes, with all but three involving a vehicle.
Injuries and crashes are also likely underreported with a lack of a uniform standard to report the data, the report says, which makes it challenging to identify problems and trends. Reliable data is critical in allocating resources and making policy decisions to address safety issues, the report added.
The report recommends state crash reporting systems including all types of personal transportation devices allowed on state and local roads.
Efforts are already underway with the OTS grantees to educate the public on the safe use of personal transportation devices.
The Santa Monica Police Department has focused enforcement on e-scooter safety, resulting in a reduction of unsafe behaviors such as not wearing a helmet, riding on the sidewalk or running red lights.
In Long Beach, the Health and Human Services Department developed scooter decals reminding riders not to ride on the sidewalk and where to safely park e-scooters.
"There's no doubt there is value in personal transportation devices," OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. "The more we are able to increase awareness and educate riders, the more safe and viable an option riding an e-scooter or e-bike will become."
|
Decals remind riders where to park e-scooters and to refrain from riding on the sidewalk. Photo Courtesy: Long Beach Health & Human Services |
Rideshare Shutdown Averted While Legal Action Looms |
The two biggest companies in the ride-hailing industry nearly paused their business in California Aug. 20 in a legal fight over reclassifying drivers as employees.
A superior court judge had initially ordered Uber and Lyft to adhere to Assembly Bill 5, a state labor law that went into effect this year requiring the ride-hailing companies to designate workers as employees instead of contractors. But an appeals court ruling will allow Uber and Lyft to continue to treat their drivers as contractors while the court reviews their case.
Lyft announced they were suspending operations in California, but quickly reversed course following the appeals court ruling, stating that "Rideshare is ON" in California.
For years, Uber and Lyft have long designated their drivers as independent contractors, but A.B. 5 changes that relationship by requiring the companies to provide employment benefits to workers, including minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation.
This November, this legal debate will be up to voters. A ballot initiative, Proposition 22, would exempt Lyft and Uber from A.B. 5, and establish different criteria for determining whether ride-hailing and delivery drivers are employees or independent contractors. If passed, Prop 22 would still require Uber and Lyft to provide alternate benefits, including minimum compensation and healthcare subsidies.
For now, ride-hailing services will continue to operate as they did before and after A.B. 5 was signed into law.
While the OTS does not comment or take stances on any pending litigation or laws, the use of ride-hailing services has long been an educational tool to encourage people to plan ahead and find an alternative way to get a sober ride home.
However, ridership has been impacted by the pandemic, with Lyft reporting a 75% drop in riders in April compared to last year. Uber reported a similar decline in riders from April to June.
And although research indicates the introduction of Uber in large California cities – Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose – resulted in a steep reduction in DUI arrests, public education campaigns and enforcement remain important efforts to alter attitudes and change behaviors.
|
|
|
NHTSA Introduces the SaferCar App
to Check for Recalls
|
|
Drivers are able to look up vehicle recalls with their phone thanks to a new app from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
NHTSA released the free "SaferCar" app for Android and Apple phones late last month, which notifies owners of recalls on cars, trucks, RVs, motorcycles, tires and car seats.
“It’s good to have some redundancy built into the system so you don’t have to depend on first-class mail,” Rosemary Shahan, president and founder of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, an automotive safety advocacy group, told Consumer Reports. “There should be multiple ways that they reach out, because a lot of people never get the notices.”
The SaferCar app lets you enter or scan a car's vehicle identification number (VIN) and receive alerts for any vehicle that is subject to a recall.
The OTS downloaded the app to an Apple smartphone, and found it easy to add and search for vehicles. The app tells you whether there are any outstanding recalls, and provides the option to receive notifications for future recall notices. The app also has links to the NHTSA website to search for child car seats and fitting stations.
While recall notices are required to be sent by mail, the app provides an easy, quick way to alert drivers. The NHTSA estimates 25% of recalled vehicles are not fixed.
|
|
Push for Warning Alert System to Detect Children in Hot Vehicles
|
Illustration: JOHN RITTER/Consumer Reports
|
Safety advocates continue to push for technology in vehicles that would let drivers know if a child is in the back seat.
KidsandCars.org, a website that tracks hot car deaths across the country, is working with automotive technology companies on new sensor-based systems that are better at detecting if a child is in a car.
The calls for sensor-based technology in vehicles are gaining traction, with Tesla announcing last month plans on a motion-detection device that could pick up whether a child was left behind in a hot car.
In an application to the Federal Communications Commission seeking approval to market the device, Tesla said the sensor would use radar imaging to "differentiate between a child and an object left on the seat, reducing the likelihood of false alarms." The radar could also be used to detect broken windows and vehicle break-ins.
The FCC is seeking public comment on Tesla's request until Sept. 21, Reuters reported. It is not known if the request will be approved, or when the sensor technology will be added.
Last year, the auto industry entered a voluntary agreement to make rear seat reminder alerts standard for almost all passenger vehicles by the 2025 model year. There are already other vehicle manufacturers with sensor-based technology: Hyundai and Kia began offering it last year and General Motors has offered its rear seat reminder on all four-door sedans, trucks ands SUVs since the 2019 model year.
The Senate is currently reviewing the Moving Forward Act, which would require all new vehicles to have an alert system to detect the presence of a child in the back seat, and consider requiring an alert system that detects a child entering an unoccupied vehicle.
Children dying of heatstroke in cars, either by being unknowingly left or getting access and becoming trapped, has increased in recent years. According to the NHTSA, there were 52 hot car deaths in 2019 and a record 53 deaths in 2018.
So far this year, there have been 20 deaths, which is about half the amount of deaths during the same time period last year. The drop can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, with less parents and caregivers going to work or taking children to daycare. However, the risk of children getting into vehicles and becoming trapped inside has increased this year; nearly half (9) of the vehicular heatstroke deaths in 2020 were attributed to a child gaining access to a car on their own.
|
|
|
September is Pedestrian Safety Month |
|
September is California's Pedestrian Safety Month, and the OTS encourages all of our traffic safety partners to educate the public on the importance of looking out for one another.
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing travel patterns for many people across the state, making it critical for those who are out to practice safe driving and walking habits.
"People enjoy the outdoors and want some sense of normalcy during these difficult times," OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. "With that said, more people are out walking to get exercise or spend time out of the house. Now more than ever, we need to be looking out for one another so we are all staying safe."
As part of our statewide efforts to promote pedestrian safety, the OTS will run new "call-to-action" safety messages through paid and social media, as well as develop virtual lesson plans, teaching materials and informational videos for students to learn about safe walking behaviors. In addition, we plan to roll out activities for students, which includes "Go Safely" yard signs and chalk art that promotes social distancing and pedestrian safety.
Be sure to follow us on social media @OTS_CA on Instagram and Twitter, CaliforniaOTS on Facebook, and @GoSafelyCA on Facebook and Twitter. Share our posts or your own using the hashtags #GoSafelyCA and #CAPedestrianSafetyMonth.
|
|
DRE Investigator Receives National "DRE-of-the-Year" Award |
|
Orange County District Attorney's Office DRE Investigator Eric Franke was a recipient of the IACP's "DRE-of-the-year" award. |
|
A Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) investigator with the Orange County District Attorney's office is getting national recognition for his work stopping impaired drivers.
The award's namesake, Karen Tarney-Bookstaff, co-founded CANDID (Citizens Against Drug Impaired Driving) with her husband, and helped bring the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) program to Wisconsin in the 1990s. The DRE Section of the IACP established the award following Karen's death in 2006 to recognize a DRE's contributions to the program for the past year.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Glen Glaser, who is the statewide DRE Coordinator, nominated Franke. The nominations are made by DRE's across the country to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the DEC program.
Glaser said he has been nominating Franke for the past four years, and that California has had several winners.
"We can’t arrest every impaired driver, but hopefully we can educate," Glaser said. "(Franke's) role as an educator for new officers, new prosecutors, and the general public is invaluable."
Franke has nearly 40 years of experience in law enforcement, and is currently part of a team that manages the California Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) Training Network.
Funded by a grant through the OTS, the TSRP team serves as a statewide training ground for law enforcement personnel and prosecutors. Franke holds DRE schools and other sobriety testing trainings, including the standard field sobriety test (SFST) and Advance Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program.
The statewide DRE program certifies about 400 new DREs every year, Glaser said. The goal is to keep officers certified and up to date on the role of a DRE; recertification is required every two years.
DRE schools were put on hold in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but will start up again this month with social distancing measures in place for courses that require in-person instruction. In the meantime, there's a push to re-certify DREs, with 40 DRE recertification classes planned through September.
For Franke, the role of a DRE comes down to educating the public about the consequences of driving impaired.
"We want them to understand what an officer is trying to do when they are roadside with a driver who is impaired," he said. "We are not against them. We are educating the public on the behaviors they are gambling with."
|
|
Employee Spotlight:
Judicial Outreach Liaison
Judge Rogelio Flores
|
|
Longtime Superior Court judge Rogelio Flores isn't coming back to the bench, but is coming out of retirement to serve as the state's Judicial Outreach Liaison (JOL) through the American Bar Association.
Judge Flores will aid the OTS' judicial education programs with an emphasis on impaired driving. As the JOL, Judge Flores will work with the TSRP program to provide additional training and expand the use of DUI courts that monitor repeat and high-risk offenders.
Judge Flores retired in 2018 after more than 30 years on the bench with the Santa Barbara County Municipal and Superior Courts, but the JOL position was an opportunity he could not pass up.
"This was a perfect fit," Flores said. "It is really up my alley."
Over Judge Flores' lengthy career, he served as a Municipal Court Commissioner handling arraignments, small claims, traffic and jury trials, an Arraignment Court Judge for domestic violence cases, and for the last two years, as a Superior Court judge in Lompoc handling drug, mental health, domestic violence and felony trials.
An advocate for collaborative courts, Judge Flores spent 12 years as a Collaborative Court Judge, overseeing serious DUI cases with high blood alcohol content levels and/or repeat offenders.
Judge Flores was also member of the Collaborative Justice Advisory Committee from 2007 to 2019, serving as Vice Chair for the last seven years. In addition, Judge Flores served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, traveling to different countries in Latin America – Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, to name a few – to give presentations about drug courts.
A native Spanish speaker raised by Mexican-immigrant parents, Flores hopes to reach non-English speaking communities in the state to address impaired driving issues.
In his new role as the JOL, Judge Flores is planning a statewide meeting with every court in the state to learn about how they operate and how effective DUI court programs could be implemented. By next year, judge Flores hopes to develop a handbook that every court would use as best practices for DUI courts.
"California is in a unique position...traffic safety and impaired driving are critical issues," he said.
Despite the challenges managing programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, Judge Flores believes they can still be effective in reducing recidivism and getting offenders the help they need.
But he misses the face-to-face interactions, something he experienced thousands of times in the courtroom.
"I miss the personal touch and meeting people," he said. "Shaking their hands."
In his spare time, Judge Flores enjoys hiking, playing music, and writing. He earned a Bachelor's Degree and his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Both on the bench and now as the JOL, Judge Flores believes that reducing impaired driving boils down to behavior changes and helping people turn their lives around.
"How do you stop that cycle and focus that energy in a positive direction? It's near and dear to my heart," he said.
|
|
 |
The ABC Adopts Temporary Catering Authorizations to Help Businesses |
The Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is helping bars and restaurants cater their businesses to meet health directives intended to protect the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These authorizations extend the privileges for on-sale licensees (i.e. bars and restaurants) to areas adjacent to their licensed premise and under the licensee's control. This allows these licensees to expand seating options outside while maintaining social distancing by spreading people out.
These adjacent areas include parking lots, sidewalks and other walkways closed to the public when the licensee is open, as well as indoor and outdoor areas not currently licensed for the on-sale consumption of alcohol that can be controlled and secured by the licensee.
On Aug. 28, Gov. Newsom announced a new color-coded, tiered system for reopening businesses based on COVID-19 case rates and the percentage of positive tests.
While the new tiered system allows for some businesses in certain counties to begin or continue with some form of indoor dining, it is expected that these authorizations will continue to play a vital role in assisting businesses.
|
|
|
|
Cocktails To-Go Shake Up State Liquor Laws During COVID-19 |
In an effort to support businesses suffering significant losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ABC is shaking up liquor laws to help businesses stay afloat.
One of the main ways is offering regulatory relief over the sale of alcohol. Mainly, alcohol to-go.
California is not alone in this regard. At least 33 states and the District of Columbia are temporarily allowing cocktails to-go during the pandemic, the Associated Press reports. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only two states - Florida and Mississippi, allowed drinks to-go on a limited basis.
The laws have varied by state and even cities like Las Vegas and Reno. But similar to California, most require customers to buy food with a drink.
While there is support for cocktails to-go and it has served as a lifeline of sorts for ABC-licensed businesses - U.S. restaurants and bars have lost an estimated $120 billion during March, April and May – California saw a rise in incidents of alcohol deliveries to minors. It prompted the ABC to craft a new emergency regulation that establishes enforcement rules to curb deliveries and online purchases of alcohol to minors. The new regulation allows the ABC to conduct minor decoy operations for the off-site purchase of alcohol.
|
|
|
|
Lifesavers Conference 2021 Still Accepting Speaker Proposals |
The Lifesavers Conference 2021 is still accepting speaker proposals for 2021 conference workshops.
This month is your last chance to submit. The deadline for proposals is September 4th. You may submit your speaker proposal through the Lifesavers online portal.
Due to uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, the 2021 National Lifesavers Conference will be held online April 25-27, 2021. The conference schedule will be posted this Fall.
This year's Lifesavers Conference was also held online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a series of webinars held in June and July.
If you missed any webinars held last month, recordings are available for viewing on the Lifesavers website.
|
|
|
|
This is a difficult time for all of us and we are in need of good news. Here is how our grantees are bringing care, joy and happiness to the communities they serve. |
|
Bakersfield Police Officer and Boy Bond Over Love of Pokémon |
|
A 9-year-old boy found out a Bakersfield police officer shares the same love for the game of Pokémon as he does.
The officer was responding to a call when he noticed the boy wearing a Pokémon t-shirt, the Bakersfield Police Department said in a Facebook post. The boy looked upset so the officer started talking to him about the card game.
When the officer left, the boy gave the officer a "Charmander" card, the officer's favorite Pokémon. The boy told him Charmander would keep him safe at work. Now, that officer has his favorite Pokemon in his vest, keeping an eye over him.
The post about the officer's encounter with the boy has been shared 20,000 times.
|
|
The California Office of Traffic Safety administers traffic safety grants that deliver innovative programs and eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries on California roadways. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). |
|
|
|
Contact the OTS Marketing & Public Affairs Team
916-509-3030
|
|
|
Copyright © 2020
OTS Marketing and Public Affairs
All Rights Reserved
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
