February 2019 Summaries of timely road safety news, events, and alerts

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Message from NETS' Executive Director, Joe McKillips

While the first few months of the year are not typically viewed as heavy conference planning months, nothing could be further from the case here within NETS. For those of you who have been following, we are just over a month away from hosting our first ever NETS regionally based satellite conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica April 2-3, 2019. Of course, the cornerstone to any conference is the caliber of agenda and it is safe to say proceedings in Costa Rica will not disappoint. Led by three outstanding keynote speakers: Alejandro Furas: Latin America NCAP; Roy Rojas: COSEVI; and Gonzalo Peon Carballo, ITDP an array of timely Latin America road safety initiatives will highlight the conference. Complementing the proceeding’s keynote remarks will be a variety of plenary and sponsor presentations highlighting “real-world” SOLUTIONS and TECHNICAL DIRECTION to some of the region’s most pressing road safety challenges. Whether your organization carries a direct presence within Costa Rica or has operations across surrounding countries, the conference is sure to address a number of unique road safety issues while at the same time providing invaluable networking opportunities with others across the region.  Conference and hotel registration is open so register NOW! Switching gears, here within the U.S. early planning efforts were recently launched via our official SAVE-THE-DATE communication announcing our annual NETS Strength IN Numbers ® Benchmark Conference October 9-10, 2019 . For the first time ever we will be hosting our conference in Washington, D.C. at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel representing a convenient location for members and non-members alike. After a record setting conference in 2018, the bar is set high for yet another memorable conference event. Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for additional information! Thanks again for your continued efforts and commitment to road safety. Drive safely! Joe

NETS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Speakers Announced for NETS Latin America Conference! Speakers and agenda have been announced for NETS Latin America Conference April 2&3, 2019 in Costa Rica! Register today- this is a valuable opportunity to learn about a variety of road safety initiatives and challenges specific to the region! Read more trafficsafety.org

NETS is proud to partner with the following PLATINUM Fleet Safety Sponsor: www.edriving.com eDriving’s global FLEET division serves 1 million drivers, providing a complete continuum of award-winning risk management and training solutions with proven results and ROI. NETS Fleet Safety Sponsors

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Save the Date for NETS Annual Fleet Safety Benchmark Conference! NETS Annual Strength IN Numbers® Fleet Safety Benchmark Conference will take place October 9-10, 2019 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel In Arlington, Virginia (Washington D.C. metro area). More information coming soon!

LATEST ROAD SAFETY NEWS

Best & Worst States to Drive in Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. It makes you late, and causes many people's tempers to flare up. But it's also quite bad for your wallet - in fact, congestion costs the average driver over $1,400 per year in the U.S., which has 10 out of... Read more wallethub.com

WORKPLACE/ HOME ROAD SAFETY

How to Safely Share the Road with Big Rigs Sharing the road with trucks and semi-trailer trucks can be very dangerous - especially as some semis weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. Read more www.automotive-fleet.com

Dangers of Leaving a Warming Up Vehicle In the chilly winter weather many drivers think warming up their car by leaving the engine idling makes smart sense. Actually, it can be dangerous in a number of ways. Read more www.automotive-fleet.com North Dakota House Passes Bill Outlawing DUI Checkpoints North Dakota House lawmakers approved a bill prohibiting law enforcement from using checkpoints to catch drunk drivers Tuesday, Feb. 12. House Bill 1442 would require police to have "reasonable suspicion" for halting a driver,... Read more grandforksherald.com

Vehicle Safety and Performance The good news about shopping for a safe car is that you don't need to think in terms of price-boosting extras. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics, many effective safety features are now standard on... Read more exchange.aaa.com Why You Absolutely Need Winter Tires Short of a conspiracy theory by tire companies, I couldn't imagine a scenario where a seasonal set of tires would do the job an all-wheel drive system couldn't. Of course, I was much younger then, and much less sensible. Read more www.autoguide.com

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Why Don't We Use Technology to Keep Drivers From Speeding? We have the technology to prevent cars from speeding and make driving safer, but is it something we're willing to allow the government to regulate? The technology already exists and is cheap. It would make our roads safer, reduce congestion... Read more www.bellinghamherald.com

When the Winter Winds Run Cold, Electric Vehicles Run Less Among growing pains with electric vehicle technology, extreme weather is the worst environmental offender. It can produce a significant drop in driving range, which increases the cost to operate the vehicle. After years of being praised as the... Read more www.washingtonexaminer.com

Singapore Wants Self-driving Cars to Help its Aging Society Self-driving cars are still a rarity on our roads, but the speed at which the technology is developing has researchers racing to get ahead of what could one day develop into a major industry. Read more www.cnn.com

A Step Closer to Automation: AEB and Driver Assist Systems It's a safety technology that monitors the road ahead and will automatically brake the car if the driver fails to respond to a collision threat. Think of it like an extra pair of eyes on the road and an extra foot over the brake pedal, ready to... Read more www.roadsafe.com

GOVERNMENT AND NON-PROFIT AGENCY NEWS

New Ratings Address Pedestrian Crashes Reducing pedestrian crashes is the goal of new IIHS ratings of automatic emergency braking systems that can detect and brake for people on foot. In the first tests of 2018-19 vehicles with this crash avoidance feature, 9 of 11 small SUVs... Read more www.iihs.org

Reaching for Objects While Driving May Raise Teen Crash Risk NIH study also suggests that handling a cell phone doubles teen driver crash risk. Teenagers who reach for objects, such as food or makeup, while driving increase their risk of crashing nearly seven times, according to researchers at the National ... Read more www.nih.gov

INTERNATIONAL ROAD SAFETY

Join the UN Global Road Safety Week Campaign May 6-12, 2019 It is widely acknowledged that stronger leadership for road safety is needed to save lives. The progress we are able to make hinges on the political will of our decision-makers to act. Leadership is needed ... Read more www.unroadsafetyweek.org

Reducing Speeding in Europe Speed is a major factor in overall road safety performance. Excessive and inappropriate speed is accountable for about one third of fatal collisions and is an aggravating factor in most collisions. 2,100 ... Read more etsc.eu

Global Fleet Champions: Reduce Road Deaths Global Fleet Champions is a not-for-profit global campaign to prevent crashes and reduce pollution caused by vehicles used for work purposes. More than 1.3 million people die on roads every year. Many road deaths involve a vehicle being driven... Read more globalfleetchampions.org

Mandatory Speed Limiters for All New Cars in Europe Sitting among a range of new safety features due for all new cars, the mandatory speed limiters come as part of a proposal from the European Transport Safety Council, recently approved by a group of key MEPs. Read more www.evo.co.uk

UPCOMING TRANSPORTATION SAFETY EVENTS AND CAMPAIGNS

IIHS/GHSA National Forum on Speeding DO YOU KNOW HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING? IIHS and GHSA present a national forum to address the neglected problem of speeding Speeding is a factor in the deaths of approximately 10,000 people each year in the U.S, but this problem is not being... Read more www.eventbrite.com

GHSA 2019 Annual Meeting: August 24-28 2019 The GHSA 2019 Annual Meeting, "Imagine the Future: Advancing Traffic Safety through Technology and Innovation," will address the challenges and opportunities presented by a rapidly evolving traffic safety landscape. Read more www.ghsa.org

2019 NSC North Eastern Safety Conference & Expo NSC Northeast Conference & Expo, a new regional event coming to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh on May 1-3, 2019. You'll find the same great educational and networking opportunities you've come to expect from NSC. Read more nece.nsc.org

2019 NSC Congress & Expo: San Diego, CA September 7-13, 2019 The NSC Congress & Expo is the world's largest annual "must attend" event for safety, health and environmental professionals. For more than 100 years, professionals have turned to this safety conference for industry-leading technology, education... Read more congress.nsc.org

Saint Patrick's Day: Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving Each year, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with city parades, funny leprechaun hats, and plenty o’ green beer. Unfortunately, it often ends with risky drunk drivers taking to the streets when the parties end. Drunk driving accounts for... www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month Texting and driving is one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving. At any given moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. Distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic on America’s roadways. www.trafficsafetymarketing.org

Do you have a particularly successful road safety example to share? NETS Members are encouraged to share best practices, ask questions or contribute their expertise to the NETS Road Safety Leaders Forum, an online discussion forum exclusively for NETS Members and Sponsors. Not yet a member? Check out the benefits at  www.trafficsafety.org/Membership .

Note from the editor: All links to stories have been tested and are active 24 hours prior to distribution; however, links may become inactive over time at the discretion of the publication source.

About NETSWork® NETSWork is published electronically each month by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, Susan Gillies, editor, and Joe McKillips, Executive Director.

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