RSF CALLS 661,000 PREVENTABLE FUNERALS "A NATIONAL TRAVESTY"
CALLS ON NATION TO SUPPORT ROADWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS

Non-Profit Educational Group Joins Call To "Put the Brakes on Fatalities"

Mary Peters, Federal Highway Administrator

On Wednesday, October 10, the Roadway Safety Foundation was invited to speak at the inaugural event commemorating "Put the Breaks on Fatalities Day." Joining RSF at the podium was a distinguished group: Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Dr. Jeffrey Runge, House Highways & Transit Subcommittee Chairman Tom Petri (R-WI), and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Chairman and Kansas DOT Secretary Dean Carlson.

As an RSF Trustee, my remarks included the following points: More than 2.2 million Americans have lost their lives in roadway crashes over the past 50 years. Safety experts agree that outmoded road designs or roads that are carrying many times the traffic they were originally designed to carry contributed to 30% of those deaths, or 661,000!

• America must rededicate itself to making all U.S. roads safer. A good place to start would be to take a lesson from the safer road design standards of the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
• A study conducted for the American Highway Users Alliance found that the superior safety design of the Interstate Highway System had prevented 188,000 deaths and over 12 million injuries from 1956-1996. The study concludes that nearly every Interstate design feature has a safety purpose. Among them:

  William D. Fay president & CEO of The Highway Users, RSF Trustee

  1. Wider lanes and shoulders provide greater margins of safety for motorists, trucks, and disabled vehicles,

  2. Medians prevent head-on collisions,

  3. Gentle off-road slopes prevent roll-overs,

  4. Guardrails and clear spaces off-road prevent collisions with pillars and other fixed objects,

  5. Signs and pavement markings are more reflective, plentiful, and informational.

• We can significantly reduce crash-related fatalities by employing these and other safety features, such as dedicated turning lanes, installing rumble strips and removing ice and snow in a timely manner.

Next on RSF's agenda is the 1st Annual Roadway Safety Foundation/Federal Highway Administration Safety Awards, scheduled for November 8. Mark your calendar and plan to participate.

Reproduced with permission -- emphasis added