Letter to the Editor: Safe driving responsibility belongs to all drivers

In the week that has passed since your last issue of the Business Journal, approximately 155 Springfieldians have missed time at work, school or other activities due to traffic crashes. During the last year more than 8,000 traffic collisions on our city streets resulted in 4,000 injuries and 10 fatalities. The city estimates that the economic loss incurred from these crashes amounted to over $185 million.

No matter how stressful your drive to work this morning, Springfield really is not the worse city in which to drive. Nationwide, there are more than 6 million traffic crashes each year. Missouri had 193,778 collisions with an economic loss estimated to be in excess of $3 billion last year.

The National Safety Council reports that more than 50 percent of all highway deaths are workers, both on and off the job. The workplace is disrupted whether a worker is injured or killed on the job or off the job whether a worker's spouse or child is injured.

The fact is that violent traffic crashes are not inevitable.

When addressing efforts toward accident prevention, most solutions involve a combination of the 3 Es: engineering, enforcement and education. Education is often listed last, but it does not have to be a last resort. Successful national campaigns have raised awareness of the facts concerning child restraints, seat belt use and impaired driving. Informed citizens have been able to make responsible choices regarding these issues and the result has been a decrease in resulting injuries and deaths.

Until the public is informed of relevant facts, associating risks with behaviors is often a matter of perception. For instance, most adults agree that drinking and driving is a dangerous combination. The public has been made aware of the risks. Yet, while one Missourian is killed or injured every 1.3 hours in an alcohol-related crash, one person is killed or injured every 31.2 minutes in a speed-related crash on Missouri roads. Speed is a significant contributing factor in Missouri's traffic crashes according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Of all Missouri's fatal crashes, 36 percent were speed related, resulting in 437 deaths. Many drivers speed occasionally even though they have made the responsible choice not to drink and drive. One behavior is perceived as dangerous and socially unacceptable, the other is perceived as an acceptable risk.

The city of Springfield is counting on an informed public making responsible choices. A new traffic safety campaign will be launched Labor Day weekend. The traffic safety initiative began in October 2000, when representatives from Springfield's Traffic Engineering Division, the Traffic Advisory Board, and the Safety Council of the Ozarks met with Bob Noble and some of his staff at Noble & Associates. Noble challenged the citizens of Springfield to become a "safe city" by making a serious, concerted effort to reduce traffic crashes. With Noble's firm working pro-bono, the "Drive Responsible" theme was developed and adopted.

The initial phase of the new traffic safety campaign is designed to raise awareness regarding four common causes of Springfield motor-vehicle crashes: inattention, following too close, failure to yield and speed. Correcting these improper driving practices could reduce the number of accidents.

What can drivers do to mitigate the risks and drive to save time, money and lives? Pay attention. Distractions both inside and outside the car can significantly reduce the time you have to react in an unexpected event. Expect the unexpected.

Follow the three-second rule. Maintain at least the minimum safe following distance on dry pavement. Increase the distance at night, during inclement weather and at higher speeds. Remember, no one has yet invented a car that will stop on a dime. Yield the right-of-way. Be courteous and cautious. Between one-third and one-half of all collisions occur at intersections. Do everything reasonable to avoid a collision.

Slow down. Yes, it's difficult! We all experience stress or fatigue that may occasionally lead to mistakes when we're driving. The faster we are going when an error occurs, the farther our vehicle will travel while we're trying to recover.

If you are a mature driver, consider enrolling in the AARP's "55 Alive" course. If you have teen-agers, enroll them in a driver's education class. If you are an employer, distribute the city's new traffic safety campaign flyers and offer defensive driving courses periodically to your employees.

And everyone buckle up, just in case.

Paula Gleason

Director of driver improvement programs,

Safety Council of the Ozarks