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Your Monthly Update
April/May 2024
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OTS, State and Local Partners Launch 'Go Safely PCH' Campaign to Improve Safety on Deadly Malibu Highway | |
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State and local officials are working together to make a 21-mile stretch of road in Malibu safer. The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) has been notoriously dangerous, with 59 fatalities reported since 2010. At a news conference held at the Ghost Tire Memorial in Malibu, California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin, along with OTS Director Barbara Rooney and other leaders, unveiled the new “Go Safely PCH” campaign and detailed the ongoing efforts to make the corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers.
The campaign includes road upgrades, increased enforcement against speeding, and a public education effort to inform locals and visitors about road safety. To support these efforts, the OTS has provided approximately $555,000 in additional funding to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles Police Department, and Santa Monica Police Department for increased enforcement on PCH.
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GHSA, Michelin Mobility Intelligence Award $300,000 for Advanced Traffic Safety Data Analysis | |
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The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) has teamed up with Michelin Mobility Intelligence (MMI) to provide three states - California, Minnesota, and Washington - with $100,000 worth of Michelin data services each. These grants will be utilized by the State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) to enhance advanced traffic safety data collection and analysis. The aim is to gain a better understanding of traffic safety issues, their underlying causes, and possible solutions.
In California, the data supplied by MMI will help the OTS and its partner agencies evaluate the effectiveness of recent traffic enforcement increases, education campaigns and infrastructure improvements along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. They will be able to pinpoint areas where additional resources may be required to deter dangerous driving behaviors, with the goal of reducing fatalities and serious injury crashes.
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Corona Family Affected by Distracted Driving Share Son's Tragic Story in New PSAs | |
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A family from Corona that has personally experienced the tragic consequences of distracted driving shared its story to raise awareness as part of a new public awareness campaign by the OTS and Caltrans. The campaign ran in April, which is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, with new public service announcements (PSAs) featuring the parents of Benjamin “Bean Dip” Montalvo. Benjamin was a 21-year-old native of Corona who was killed in June 2020 while riding his bike after being struck by a distracted and impaired driver. The PSAs aim to raise awareness about the serious consequences of texting and cell phone use while driving. The campaign also highlights the bravery of Kellie and Eddie Montalvo in sharing their personal tragedy to warn others against making the dangerous decision to drive distracted.
In 2022, 3,308 people were killed in distracted driving-related crashes throughout the country. The numbers are likely underreported because law enforcement officers may not always be able to determine that distraction was a factor in a crash. According to the 2023 California Statewide Public Opinion Survey, more than 74% of drivers surveyed said that distracted driving due to texting was their biggest safety concern.
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Check to Protect: State, Federal Agencies Encourage Californians to Fix Urgent Vehicle Safety Recalls | |
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The OTS, New Motor Vehicle Board (NMVB), California New Car Dealers Association and National Safety Council (NSC) joined forces to hold news conferences in the Sacramento and Los Angeles areas on May 13 and 14 to alert vehicle owners of the urgent safety risks of unchecked recalls. The NSC’s Check to Protect program allows you to determine if your vehicle is eligible for a free and potentially lifesaving repair by entering the license plate or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) at CheckToProtect.org.
California has more vehicles with defective airbags than any other state – roughly 700,000 vehicles, according to the NSC. Later this month, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will also start issuing notices to the last known registered owners of vehicles on file with defective Takata airbags that have not been fixed. The notice provides resources for scheduling a free repair and information on how to check for any open vehicle recalls. In February, the DMV started including vehicle safety recall information on vehicle registration renewal notices for vehicles with open recalls.
All recalls are repaired for free at authorized dealers, regardless of where the vehicle was purchased.
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New Traffic Fatality Estimates Project Decline for 2023 | |
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released its early estimates for traffic fatalities in 2023. According to these projections, approximately 40,990 people died in motor vehicle crashes last year, marking a 3.6% decrease from the reported 42,514 fatalities in 2022. In California alone, there were 4,013 traffic fatalities in 2023, representing a 9.4% decrease from the 4,428 reported fatalities in 2022.
This decline in national and state-level fatalities represents the second consecutive year of decreased fatalities. The agency attributes this trend partly to an increase in miles driven but also to a lower fatality rate, which dropped to 1.26 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled compared to 1.33 in 2022. Additionally, the data indicates a 2.1% increase in vehicle miles traveled in 2023 compared to the previous year. The fourth quarter of 2023 continued the trend with a seventh consecutive quarterly decline in fatalities since the second quarter of 2022.
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NHTSA Recognizes California's TRACE Program for Combatting Impaired Driving | |
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recognized the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) with a Public Service Award for its Target Responsibility for Alcohol Connected Emergencies (TRACE) Program, aimed at curbing impaired driving fatalities. This acknowledgment was part of the 2024 NHTSA Public Service Awards presented during the Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities in Denver last month, the largest annual gathering of traffic safety professionals in the U.S.
The TRACE program involves immediate notification to ABC by first responders attending alcohol-related emergencies resulting in severe injury or death, or involving individuals charged with vehicular manslaughter under the influence of alcohol, regardless of age. It was established in 2004 by a coalition of law enforcement agencies and stakeholders to address the growing issue of youth access to alcohol.
The award specifically commended ABC's diligent data collection and information-sharing efforts within the TRACE protocol. This recognition underscores the program's critical role in preventing alcohol-related fatalities and its continued operation, supported by grant funding from the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).
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Emergency Room Visits for Pedestrians Injured in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes | |
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A recent report revealed disparities in traffic-related pedestrian injuries, showing non-white pedestrians had higher Emergency Room (ER) visit rates than white individuals. Between January 2021 and December 2023, over 137,000 pedestrian injuries led to ER visits nationally. Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial individuals had 1.7 to 2.47 times higher visit rates compared to whites, the report found. Men, especially in the 15-24 and 25-34 age groups, were nearly twice as likely as women to require treatment.
This data, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comes amid a surge in pedestrian deaths, which reached a 40-year peak in 2021. The report underscores the importance of real-time data for monitoring trends and disparities to inform strategies for preventing traffic injuries, aligning with the Safe System approach, the new guiding principle for federal, state and local partners.
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California Putting More Than $40 Billion in Transportation Funding to Work for Safety, Equity, Climate Action and Economic Prosperity | |
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The California State Transportation Agency announced in a news release that California is making transformative upgrades to the state’s transportation infrastructure by putting more than $40 billion to work since the start of 2022.
Roughly halfway through the five-year Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) – also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) – California has received nearly $30 billion in federal infrastructure funding to upgrade the state’s roads, bridges, rail, public transit, airports and seaports, and electric vehicle charging network. These federal transportation investments alone have already created more than 87,000 jobs. The influx of federal funding is on top of more than $10 billion in unprecedented state investments in transit and intercity rail projects, safe walking and biking options, and upgrades to the state’s economy-powering supply chain in the past two years as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s aggressive agenda to build more, faster.
Leveraging the historic levels of funding from BIL, the OTS allocated a record-breaking $127.3 million across 442 grants in October to promote safety. The unprecedented funding includes approximately $2.2 million for the University of California, Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) to conduct over two dozen assessments and training sessions on walking and biking safety. These initiatives aim to implement infrastructure improvements to encourage active transportation and promote safety.
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NHTSA Finalizes Key Safety Rule to Reduce Crashes and Save Lives | |
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it finalized a new rule that mandates automatic emergency braking (AEB), including pedestrian detection, in all passenger cars and light trucks by September 2029. This move aims to significantly reduce rear-end and pedestrian crashes. NHTSA projects the new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard will save at least 360 lives a year and prevent at least 24,000 injuries annually.
AEB systems, utilizing sensors, automatically apply brakes when a crash is imminent. Pedestrian AEB operates in daylight and low-light conditions, enhancing safety. The standard requires vehicles to avoid crashes up to 62 mph and apply brakes autonomously at speeds up to 90 mph for vehicles and 45 mph for pedestrians. As part of the Safe System approach, this new vehicle safety standard highlights safer vehicles and efforts to expand vehicle systems and features to help prevent crashes.
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New Employee Spotlight: Thuy Marshall | |
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The OTS is excited to welcome Thuy Marshall as a new Grant Coordinator. Before joining the OTS, Thuy worked as a Maintenance Personnel Liaison for the Division of Maintenance at the Department of Transportation (Caltrans). In this role, she provided guidance, direction, and support to division staff and management regarding personnel-related actions. Before joining Caltrans, Thuy was a Grants Analyst in the Grants and Solicitations Unit for the Employment Development Department within the Workforce Services Branch. As a Grants Analyst, she assisted in developing and implementing Solicitations for Proposals, researched applicant backgrounds, analyzed applicant performance and prepared recommendations to senior branch management, the EDD Directorate, California Workforce Development Board, and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. On a personal note, Thuy grew up in Sonoma County and lived there for over 30 years. She loves to travel and take drives to sightsee.
We asked Thuy a few questions to get to know her. Answers may have been edited for length and clarity.
What are you looking forward to most in your new role?
I look forward to contributing to the OTS’ aim to enhance road safety through proactive measures and community engagement.
What is your favorite movie?
I really enjoy watching the documentary television series “Life Below Zero” and the “Game of Thrones” series.
One day to unplug. No strings attached. What would that day look like?
I love to cook, preparing homemade meals from scratch for my family. Gardening is another passion of mine; I can spend hours outdoors digging in the dirt and planting vegetables and flowers in my yard.
What or who inspires you?
My parents are my greatest inspiration in life. They were refugees from Vietnam who started their lives in America from humble beginnings. Through their extremely strong work ethic, they were able to provide a great life for me and my siblings. They inspire me to be humble, compassionate, hardworking, and empathetic.
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AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: Fast on the Freeway Can Lead to Fury on the Side Streets | |
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New research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety highlights a concerning trend: increasing speed limits on highways may trigger more crashes on adjacent roads. This ripple effect, dubbed the "spillover effect," poses unforeseen safety risks for local communities, often excluded from decisions about highway speed limits. According to NHTSA, speeding stands out as a major threat, contributing to nearly a third of road fatalities over the last two decades.
The AAA Foundation conducted a study to investigate whether increasing speed limits on highways could lead to reckless driving on nearby streets. Researchers examined crash data before and after speed limit adjustments on interstates in Georgia, Michigan, and Oregon, focusing on roads within a one-mile radius of these highways. The study revealed a significant increase in speed-related crashes on adjacent roads after the speed limit adjustments. This indicates that drivers who are used to driving at higher speeds on the highway often continue to drive at those speeds on local streets, which can be dangerous.
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The OTS administers traffic safety grants that deliver innovative programs and strives to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries on California roadways. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). | | | |
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