Making an Impact
August 2023
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In this issue:
- NHTSA Launches Labor Day 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' Campaign
- Back to School Safety
- Plan for Safety To and From School
- Child Passenger Safety Week
- 5 Facts About Child Passenger Safety
- Why National Seat Check Saturday is Important
- How to Observe National Seat Check Saturday
- Be Prepared for These Upcoming Events
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NHTSA Launches Labor Day
‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’
Campaign
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Two-thirds of drunk driving crash fatalities involved a driver with a BAC of .15+ in 2021. | |
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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) kicked off its annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Labor Day national enforcement mobilization campaign today.
The enforcement effort will be supported by a $13.8 million paid media campaign using a mix of television, radio, digital, social media and billboards to educate drivers about the dangers of impaired driving.
As part of the high-visibility enforcement campaign, law enforcement officers will be working with their communities from August 18 through September 4 to stop impaired driving.
The initiative includes a number of public service messages: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over; If You Feel Different, You Drive Different; Drive High, Get a DUI; and Ride Sober or Get Pulled Over.
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By the Numbers - 2021 Statistics | |
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Sadly, data shows that impaired driving is on the rise. Fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes increased by 14.2% from 2020 to 2021, as compared to a 10.1% increase in overall traffic fatalities from 2020 to 2021. And two-thirds of drunk driving crash fatalities in 2021 involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or more, nearly twice the legal limit of impairment. Those crashes killed 9,027 people in 2021.
NHTSA data shows that historically summer months tend to be more dangerous on the road. In 2021, drunk driving accounted for 31% of traffic crash fatalities. In 2021, 13,384 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes, an average of one alcohol-impaired-driving fatality every 39 minutes, up from 2020, when one person was killed every 45 minutes in an impaired-driving crash in the United States.
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To address these unacceptable deaths, U.S. DOT launched the National Roadway Safety Strategy last year. The department’s efforts on safer drivers are part of an overall strategy to combat traffic fatalities. | |
“Impaired drivers put everyone, including themselves, at risk,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said. “We’re asking everyone to arrange for a sober ride home. It’s a matter of life and death." | |
At the kickoff event today at the Governor's Highway Safety Association’s Annual Meeting in New York City, NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson was joined by Barbara Rooney, GHSA’s Chair and Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety; New York State Police Acting Superintendent Steven Nigrelli; Dr. Jeffrey Lai, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Fellowship Director at the UMass Memorial Medical Group and the UMass Chan Medical School; and Erica Linn, whose parents were killed by an impaired driver. | |
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NHTSA urges everyone to plan ahead and never drive after consuming alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs. Instead, designate a sober driver or call a ride-hailing service or cab to make sure you get home safely.
Even one drink can begin to impair your driving ability. If you see an impaired driver on the road, call 911.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs is illegal in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
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Before it's time to head back to school, use these tips to ensure that your child has a safe, healthy, and happy year. | |
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① Make the first day of school easier for kids.
- Take your child to visit the new school or classroom before the first day of school. Attend any available orientations and take an opportunity to tour the school. You can also bring your child to school a few days prior to class to play on the playground to help them feel comfortable. Many children get nervous about new situations, including changing to a new school, classroom or teacher. It can be helpful to rehearse heading into the new situation.
- Remind your child that teachers know that students may be nervous about the first day of school; they will make an extra effort to make sure everyone feels as comfortable as possible. If your child seems nervous, ask them what they are worried about and help them work through problem-solving to master the new situation. Point out the positive aspects of starting school to help your kids look forward to the first day of class. Talk about how they will see old friends and meet new ones, for example.
- Find another child in the neighborhood you child can walk to school or ride with on the bus. If you feel it is needed, drive your child (or walk with them) to school and pick them up on the first day. Get there early on the first day to cut down on unnecessary stress.
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Consider starting your child on their school sleep/wake schedule a week or so ahead of time so that time change is not a factor on their first couple of days at school.
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② Consider backpack safety.
- Choose a backpack with wide, padded shoulder straps and a padded back.
- Organize your child's backpack to use all of its compartments. Pack heavier items closest to the center of the back. The backpack should never weigh more than 10% to 20% of your child's body weight. Go through the pack with your child weekly and remove unneeded items to keep it light.
- Remind your child to always use both shoulder straps. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles. Adjust the pack so that the bottom sits at your child's waist.
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Plan for Safety
To and From School
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Review the basic rules with your student and practice any new routes or modes of transportation. | |
① Safely taking the school bus. | |
- Remind your child to wait for the bus to stop before approaching it from the curb. Kids should always board and exit the bus at locations that provide safe access to the bus or to the school building.
- Make sure your child walks where they can see the bus driver (which means the driver will be able to see them, too).
- Remind your student to look both ways to see that no other traffic is coming before crossing the street, just in case somebody does not stop as required. Encourage your child to actually practice how to cross the street several times before the first day of school.
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If the school bus has lap/shoulder seat belts, make sure your child uses one at all times when in the bus. (If your child's school bus does not have lap/shoulder belts, encourage the school system to buy or lease buses with lap/shoulder belts). See Where We Stand: Safety Restraints on the School Bus for more information. Your child should not move around on the bus.
- Check on the school's policy regarding food on the bus. Eating on the bus can present a problem for students with allergy and also lead to infestations of insects and vermin on the vehicles.
- If your child has a chronic condition that could result in an emergency on the bus, make sure you work with the school nurse or other school health personnel to have a bus emergency plan. If possible, do this before the first day of class.
| ② Safe driving and carpooling to school. |  |
- All passengers should wear a seat belt or use an age- and size-appropriate car seat or booster seat. Keep your child riding in a car seat with a harness as long as possible and then ride in a belt-positioning booster seat. Your child is ready for a booster seat when they have reached the top weight or height allowed for their seat, their shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat.
- Your child should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle's seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age). This means that your child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with their legs bent at the knees and feet hanging down and the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the thighs, not the stomach.
- All children younger than 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles. If you must drive more children than can fit in the rear seat (when carpooling, for example), move the front-seat passenger's seat as far back as possible and have the child ride in a booster seat if the seat belts do not fit properly without it.
- Remember that many crashes occur while novice teen drivers are going to and from school. Remind your teen to wear their seat belt, limit the number of teen passengers, and do not allow eating, drinking, cell phone conversations (even when using hands-free devices or speakerphone), texting or other mobile device use to prevent driver distraction. Familiarize yourself with your state's graduated driver's license law and consider the use of a parent-teen driver agreement to facilitate the early driving learning process.
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- Practice the bike route to school before the first day of school to make sure your child can manage it.
- Ride on the right, in the same direction as auto traffic and ride in bike lanes if they are present.
- Use appropriate hand signals.
- Respect traffic lights and stop signs.
- Wear bright-colored clothing to increase visibility. White or light-colored clothing and reflective gear is especially important after dark.
| ④ Safe walking to school. |
- Make sure your child's walk to school is a safe route with well-trained adult crossing guards at every intersection. If your child will need to cross a street on the way to school, practice safe street crossing with them before the start of school.
- Be realistic about your child's pedestrian skills. Because small children are impulsive and less cautious around traffic, carefully consider whether or not your child is ready to walk to school without adult supervision. Children are generally ready to start walking to school at 9 to 11 years of age.
- In neighborhoods with higher levels of traffic, consider organizing a "walking school bus," in which an adult accompanies a group of neighborhood children walking to school.
- Bright-colored clothing or a visibility device, like a vest or armband with reflectors, will make your child more visible to drivers.
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Child Passenger Safety Week | |
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September 17-23, 2023 (Child Passenger Safety Week)
September 23, 2023 (National Seat Check Saturday)
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Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children. On average, two children under 13 were killed:
- 710 children (under 13) were killed in passenger vehicles in 2021, and more than 100,000 were injured.
- In 2021, more than a third (36%) of children (under 13) who died while riding in passenger vehicles were unrestrained.
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5 Facts About Child Passenger Safety | |
① Road accidents kill children every day.
The United States Department of Transportation has reported that in the year 2019 alone, road accidents killed two children under the age of 13 and injured around 374 every day.
② Correctly installed car seats can reduce injury.
In a car crash, correctly installed car seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury in a car crash by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers.
③ Child safety seat laws have saved lives.
After being adopted by all states, seat laws have helped reduce fatal injuries to children by 35%.
④ A majority of seats are incorrectly installed.
More than 50% of car seats are still not used or installed correctly, thus increasing the risk of injuries to child passengers.
⑤ Car crashes cause the maximum deaths.
In the United States, car crashes are the leading cause of death among children.
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Why National Seat Check Saturday is Important | |
① It’s our responsibility to protect our children.
It is our responsibility to ensure the safety of the child passenger in our vehicle. This day is crucial to remind us to do our part and keep our kids safe.
② It makes traveling a safer experience for all.
Having the right car seat makes traveling a safe and enjoyable experience for all travelers. You and your child passenger can now relax a bit and sing along to your road trip playlist.
③ It reminds us to be cognizant.
National Seat Check Saturday is a very important reminder for us to be conscious of our surroundings at all times and never get too lax when driving on the road.
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How to Observe National Seat Check Saturday. | |
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① Look up safety instructions online.
The NHTSA website has a lot of information about child safety protocols. Make sure to go through them if you are traveling with a young passenger and implement the needful.
② Spread Awareness.
Awareness can save lives. Share safety instructions and information on social media to help educate others.
③ Remember to register the car seat.
Your car seats must be registered with the manufacturer either in person or online as they will send the repair service promptly in case of a defect.
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Be Prepared for These Upcoming Events! | |
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Drive Sober, Safe, and Happy!
from your
Friends at Oregon Impact
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