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

Follow NETS on Twitter

Visit NETS Website

Message from NETS' Executive Director, Joe McKillips

Hard to believe we are mid-way through the year already! I hope this finds everyone having a safe 2019 and looking toward a safe and productive second half of the year as well. Reflecting on the past several months, 2019 has been one of the most memorable on record for NETS, highlighted by the successful completion of our first-ever NETS Latin America Road Safety Satellite Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica. Not only did the conference enable NETS to formally expand our reach outside the United States, it also set the stage for future conferences and global program expansion designed to help many of our multi-national members further refine and develop their road safety programs.  Also of notable mention was the re-design and release of our comprehensive 2Seconds2Click Employer Seat Belt Campaign . Through a cooperative agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the NETS 2Seconds2Click toolkit was specifically designed to serve as a tool for employers to establish or enhance employee seat belt initiatives within their organizations. This plan contains campaign highlights and step-by-step instructions for each week, including how to distribute the documents provided as well as instructions for the optional evaluation component. I encourage you to look carefully through the campaign materials and implement across your organization wherever feasible. Mid-year also finds us in full swing planning our annual NETS Strength IN Numbers ® Benchmark Conference scheduled for October 9th – 10th in Arlington, VA. Our final early-bird registration reminder was recently launched containing details on the conference as well as an impressive line-up of Keynote speakers . Regardless of the size or maturity of your company’s road safety program, this year's conference is expected to be another can’t-miss road safety event for members and non-members alike. Sign up before June 30th to lock-in our lowest registration rates of the year! Thanks again for your commitment to road safety and wish everyone continued success. Safe Driving!

NETS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Hurry! Early Bird Conference Registration Ends June 30th! Whether you are a full-time road safety professional, manage a fleet of vehicles, or serve in a support role with your organization's road safety program, the NETS 2019 Annual Conference is certain to have something for everyone! Read more trafficsafety.org Register Now Reserve a Hotel Room

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

NETS Releases 2Seconds2Click Employer Seat Belt Toolkit Are your employees buckling up? It takes about two seconds to buckle your seat belt to reduce your chances of injury or death in a serious traffic crash by nearly half. There is no better return on investment. launch a... Read more 2seconds2click.org

LATEST ROAD SAFETY NEWS

Do You Live In The City With The Nation's Worst Drivers? Perhaps the fully autonomous vehicles of the future will be immune to traffic accidents, but today's motorists of the human variety sure aren't. An estimated 6,452,000 U.S. drivers got into wrecks during 2017 (the latest year for which stats are... Read more www.forbes.com

Airbag Recall: Check if Your Vehicle Is Affected Tens of millions of airbags are dangerously defective. Sixteen people have died in the U.S. alone and hundreds have been severely injured. Even a minor collision can cause these airbags to explode during deployment, blasting sharp metal... Read more www.airbagrecall.com

WORKPLACE/ HOME ROAD SAFETY

New Illinois Texting While Driving Law To Take Effect July 1 A new legislative initiative will strength the consequences of drivers in Illinois caught texting while driving. A news release from Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White says the new law will classify first-time offenses of... Read more www.wpsdlocal6.com

Distracted Driving Q&A With Dr. Paul Atchley Paul Atchley, PhD, is the University of South Florida's Senior Associate Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Studies. As a Professor of Psychology, he specializes in research in cognitive factors, including the implications of multitasking... Read more www.edriving.com

Azuga Data Shows 10 Safest States for Fleet Drivers In celebration of National Safety Month, Azuga, a provider of connected vehicle and fleet technologies, shared data that shows the nation's top ten safest states for fleet drivers. The company ranked the safest states by leveraging six months of... Read more www.ccjdigital.com

Road Safety Matters Training, infrastructure improvement and capacity building: this report highlights some of the safety investments FedEx believes will go a long way toward putting safety above all for millions of people around the world. Read more fedexcares.com

Safety Blog: How to Protect Yourself From Impaired Drivers Remind your drivers how to spot drivers under the influence as well as what to do when they encounter one. Read more www.automotive-fleet.com

AAA: Motorists Believe Texting as Dangerous as Driving Drunk Nearly 97 percent of motorists believe texting or emailing on a cellphone while driving is an extremely or very dangerous behavior, about the same number (95.1 percent) that perceive driving while intoxicated to be extremely or very dangerous.... Read more www.nkytribune.com

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Michelin, GM Show Airless Tire Prototype Michelin and General Motors presented a new generation of airless wheel technology for passenger vehicles - the Michelin Uptis (or Unique Puncture-proof Tire System) prototype - at a sustainable mobility event. Read more www.automotive-fleet.com

How Will New Vehicle Tech Impact Auto Insurance Rates? Technology is rapidly progressing at an unstoppable rate, affecting many industries that were previously depended on a large number of human resources. The insurance industry is one of these sectors. This impact can be felt with online shopping,... Read more southfloridareporter.com

Intelligent Parking: A Tale of Five Cities Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities. By 2050, the UN projects that figure will increase to about 70%. Whatever the actual percentage ends up to be, one thing is uncontestably true: all of those cars and people will... Read more medium.com

Danish Logistics Firm to Trial Volvo's Self-Driving Truck Volvo Trucks is collaborating with Danish logistics company DFDS to test its fully electric autonomous truck, Vera, in a real-world application. The trial will involve several Vera vehicles transporting goods from a DFDS logistics center to a... Read more www.autonomousvehicleintern...

GOVERNMENT AND NON-PROFIT AGENCY NEWS

NIOSH Newsletter: Reduce Risks of Driver Fatigue You may remember when we discussed the difference between fatigued driving and drowsy driving in a previous newsletter. In this month’s newsletter, we’re sharing tips for how employers can reduce the risks of driver fatigue. Read more www.cdc.gov Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first 9 months of 2018 shows that an estimated 27,100 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents a decrease of about 2 percent as compared to 27,663 fatalities that were... Read more crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov

NHTSA Drowsy Driving Materials Drowsy driving kills - it claimed 795 lives in 2017. Yet falling asleep at the wheel is preventable. Learn about three factors commonly associated with drowsy-driving crashes and pick up some helpful tips to avoid falling asleep at the wheel. In... Read more www.nhtsa.gov

Micromobility in Cities: A History and Policy Overview The past year has been marked by a race toward micromobility, where bikes and electric scooters provide a new way for residents to move throughout their communities. While there is a great deal of promise with these innovations, the emergence of... Read more www.nlc.org

ASSP TR-Z15.3-2019 Technical Report Released The American Society for Safety Professionals (ASSP) recently released the ASSP TR-Z15.3-2019 Technical Report: Management Practices for the Safe Operation of Partially and Fully Automated Motor Vehicles. The final report was a collaboration of safety professionals including members of NETS' staff and NETS' government liaison NIOSH. With all of the changes to motor vehicle technology, this technical report will help safety professionals make educated decisions about their fleet. To order the report: ASSP TR-Z15.3-2019 Technical Report: Management Practices for the Safe Operation of Partially and Fully Automated Motor Vehicles (digital only)

INTERNATIONAL ROAD SAFETY

Latin America: Vehicle Safety Could Save 25,000 Lives A new report commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies reveals that more than 25,000 Latin American lives could be saved and over 170,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030 if United Nations (UN) vehicle safety regulations were applied by four key... Read more www.globalncap.org

DfT Report: Public Attitudes to Drink Driving People are more confident about their own drink driving limits than about others', according to the National Travel Attitudes Study (NTAS) published by the Department for Transport (DfT). The report reveals that 59 percent of people think they... Read more www.edriving.com

Safer Roads, Safer Cities: How To Improve EU Road Safety Cities and towns are home to 72% of the population of the European Union. These are the places where the majority of journeys begin and end. The nature of these challenges is also evolving. Read more etsc.eu

European Commission To Hold a Round the World Roundtable As part of the official launch of this year's European Mobility Week on 16 September 2019, European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, will be hosting a European Road Safety Roundtable as part of the series of Round the World Roundtables... Read more www.roadsafetyngos.org

Ireland's Road Safety: Model for the European Union Ireland is the winner of this year’s European Transport Safety Council Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) award. The annual award is presented to a European country that has demonstrated continued progress on road safety combined with... Read more us3.campaign-archive.com

UPCOMING TRANSPORTATION SAFETY EVENTS AND CAMPAIGNS

GHSA Annual Meeting: Anaheim, CA August 24-28, 2019 The traffic safety landscape is rapidly evolving, presenting both challenges and opportunities to reach zero traffic deaths. General Sessions will consider how states and their partners can harness the potential of technological advancements and engage innovative strategies to reduce crash injuries and fatalities. Breakout workshops will examine hot topics in safety, including law enforcement engagement, alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, bicyclist and pedestrian safety, and autonomous vehicles. Attendees will come away with concrete ideas to implement in their own work. For more information or to register: https://www.ghsa.org/events/Annual-Meetings/2019 

RoadSafe: UK Road Safety Week 2019 UK Road Safety Week 2019 will take place between 18th -24th November and will encourage road users to 'step up' and play a part in the creation of a safe and healthy future. Read more www.roadsafe.com

2019 NSC Congress & Expo: San Diego, CA Sept. 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 2019 Traffic Records Forum - Aug 4-7, 2019 | Austin, Texas 45th Annual Traffic Records Forum Registration for the 45th Traffic Records Forum is now open! Prepare your plate for tasty barbeque and Smoking Hot Data as the Traffic Records Forum goes to Austin, TX, the "Live Music Capitol of the World"! Read more www.atsip.oracle-cloud-db.com

July Is Vehicle Theft Prevention Month Motor vehicles are the primary mode of transportation for most of us, and often, an indispensable part of our lives. But what would happen if yours suddenly disappeared? Vehicle theft is a very expensive... Read more www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov

4th of July: Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving Americans love to celebrate the 4th of July with family, friends, food, and fireworks. But all too often the festivities turn tragic on the nation's roads. This iconic American holiday is also one of the deadliest... Read more www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov

Heatstroke Prevention | Traffic Safety Marketing May 27 - August 11, 2019, National Heatstroke Prevention Campaign (National Heatstroke Prevention Day is July 31) Find and share campaign information for parents, caregivers, schools and organizations, and remind everyone to "Look Before You Lock". Read more www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov

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.

Network of Employers for Traffic Safety 344 Maple Ave. West #357 Vienna, VA 22180 703-755-5350 www.trafficsafety.org nets@trafficsafety.org

© 2019 Network of Employers for Traffic Safety  NETS is registered by the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(C)3 non-profit organization