Preliminary reports from the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center indicate 15 people died in traffic crashes over the recent Christmas and New Year’s holidays, with four of those deaths involving alcohol. Three of those killed were pedestrians and one was a 48-year-old snowmobiler in Antrim County. This is an increase over the 2010 holiday periods when 11 people died in traffic crashes. Four of those deaths were also alcohol-related.

Six deaths occurred Dec. 24-26, two of which involved alcohol. In three cases, drivers or passengers were not buckled at the time of the crash. Two of the fatal crashes occurred in Wayne County, while the others happened in Jackson, Ingham, Washtenaw and Macomb counties.

The other nine fatalities occurred between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, two of which were alcohol-related. The fatal crashes occurred in Antrim, Calhoun, Clare, Genesee, Gratiot, Kalamazoo, Lapeer, Mason and St. Clair counties.

More than 165 law enforcement agencies in 26 counties conducted drunk driving enforcement during extra patrols funded by the Office of Highway Safety Planning through federal traffic safety funds, Dec. 16-Jan. 2. Enforcement results will be available in the coming weeks.

Under pressure from a small but vocal group of people who ride motorcycles, the Michigan Legislature is considering a repeal of the state’s all-rider motorcycle helmet law, which has been in effect for over four decades. Michigan residents, Governor Snyder needs to hear from you that you are against the repeal of this lifesaving and dollar-saving law.

You can help save lives and save dollars by helping to head off repeal of our current all-rider motorcycle helmet law. Sign a petition asking Governor Snyder to veto any legislation that may reach his desk that would repeal or significantly weaken our state’s current all-rider motorcycle helmet law.

How can I help?

1.      Go to http://www.change.org.

2.      Enter (copy and paste or type) the following into the search field: Michigan Governor: Veto Helmet-Law Repeal to Protect Heads and Michigan’s Bottom Line

.      Fill out the petition fields.

4.      You may add a personal reason before signing the petition letter if you wish.

5.      SIGN. The petition letter with your information will be e-mailed to Governor Snyder.

NOTE: Your signature to the petition will be publically displayed and you will be sent e-mails to keep you updated on this campaign UNLESS you uncheck the default boxes below your information.

Do I need to create an account to sign petitions?

If you are a first-time petition-signer on Change.org, an account and user profile will automatically be created for you during the course of signing your first petition; you do not need to sign up first. Then when you return in the future to sign additional petitions, Change.org remembers your personal information and pre-populates the petition signature forms for you.

Who will see my name?

If you sign the petition, your name and e-mail address will appear on the petition letter sent to Governor Snyder. If you uncheck the “Display my signature publicly” checkbox on the petition, your name will not appear in the list of signers displayed on the site.

What can I do to help this petition succeed?

The best way to help this petition succeed is to tell others about the petition and why you care about the issue. Forward this notice to your e-mail contacts and place it on your social media sites.

Information in addition to what is contained in the petition can be found at www.smarter-usa.org
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SMARTER
P.O. Box 121
Scottville, MI  49454-0121
www.smarter-usa.org
All the Gear All the Time!

By Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

Comments  137  The encounter between a deer and a minivan last week on an Indiana highway was an all-too common occurrence with uncommonly deadly results.

An extended family of 10 was traveling from Chicago to New Jersey when their minivan hit a deer on the Indiana Toll Road and then stopped or slowed, authorities said. The van was then hit by a semitrailer going about 65 mph. Seven members of the family — three adults and four children — died in the crash. Three others were hospitalized.

The crash underscored an ongoing problem: The most dangerous animal in North America isn’t the bear or the shark, but may well be the deer, and the deadliest time of year is fall. On average, more collisions between cars and deer occur in November than in any other month, according to State Farm Insurance.

 This is because late October through early December is mating season for North American deer, reports Rob Found, a biologist from the University of Alberta, in Edmonton.

“Males are so focused on mating, they’re not thinking straight,” Found says. “They’re looking for mates and for other males to fight.”

The Blake family of New Ulm, Minn., learned the hard way that fall is a season of high risk for colliding with a deer.

Chris, Sue, and their 17-year-old daughter Olivia were headed out for pizza last November when an oncoming car struck a deer directly in front of them. The deer flew into the Blakes’ Pontiac Vibe with such force that “it came right through the windshield and actually T-boned me in the face,” Chris Blake says.

After being struck by a vehicle, this male deer crashed through the windshield of a pickup Oct. 28 in Maysville, Ky. Kentucky is a medium-risk state for deer crashes. 

The deer then went through the back window and out of the car.

 All three were seriously injured and are grateful to be alive. “I’m amazed we’re all still sitting here,” Blake said after the accident. “Just have to be thankful.”

 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are about 1 million car accidents with deer each year that kill 200 Americans, cause more than 10,000 personal injuries, and result in $1 billion in vehicle damage.

 By comparison, sharks have killed 10 people in the USA in the past 10 years, according to the International Shark Attack File. As for bears, a list of known attacks maintained by Bearplanet.org says about 28 people have been killed by bears the past decade.

 For the fifth year in a row, West Virginia tops the list of states where a driver is most likely to run into a deer, State Farm reports. The other states in the top 10 are Iowa, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Montana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wyoming.

 State Farm reports that the number of deer/car collisions has actually decreased the past three years, likely because of the economy and people driving fewer miles.

 However, over the five-year period 2005-09, 1,017 people died in vehicle-animal collisions, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In a 2004 study, IIHS found that 60% of people who died in such crashes in automobiles were not wearing seat belts.

 None of the family killed last week in the Indiana collision was wearing a seat belt, according to the Associated Press.

 In the USA, the average collision with a deer produces more than $3,000 damage, Found says.

 Found and his team of scientists from the University of Alberta have some potentially good news: A new study led by Found and published in September reported that when warning signs are placed specifically in a targeted location where deer are known to cross, they can reduce collisions by 34%.

 ”When you consider the amount of collisions that take place, it is treated almost as common knowledge that deer-crossing warning signs don’t work,” Found says. “Indeed, with all the technology available to us, there is skepticism that a sign stuck in the ground is able to reduce collisions with deer and save society millions of dollars.”

 The researchers focused their study on Edmonton, which borders dense forests. Using collision statistics from 2002 to 2007, the scientists identified 28 specific hotspots within the city limits before placing warning signs in 14 of these locations.

 Collisions dropped from 139 cases the previous year to 78 citywide once the signs were in place.

 ”Our study showed that warning signs really do reduce deer-vehicle collisions,” Found says.

 Contributing: Boyd Huppert, KARE-TV, Minneapolis; the Indianapolis Star; the Associated Press

New video on YouTube highlights

median cable guardrail success in Michigan

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) posted a new traffic safety message on its YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/MichiganDOT. This message, brought to Michigan motorists in partnership with the Michigan State Police, features testimonials from motorists and/or other family members who were saved by median cable guardrail strategically placed along nearly 300 miles of Michigan freeways.

            “This new video provides a snapshot of the benefits of median cable guardrail,” said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. “Median cable guardrail is doing exactly what it is designed to do – save lives and reduce injuries.”

            MDOT recently completed a three-year safety effort by installing median cable guardrail along segments of I-69, I-75, I-94, I-96, I-275, I-196, US-23, US-31, and US-131 – all freeways with a history of high crossover crashes.

            While the educational video shows damage to some vehicles, there were no serious injuries to drivers or passengers in each of the crashes, and all the drivers traveling in the opposite lanes were saved from any impact.

The Michigan Department of Transportation and Michigan State Police recently released a video on speed limit setting procedures. Watch it here

Published: Monday, July 04, 2011, 10:22 PM     Updated: Monday, July 04, 2011, 10:26 PM

The Department of Transportation is reeling over the loss of one of its West Michigan leaders in a scuba diving accident in Lake Michigan near Muskegon on Saturday.

Timothy Judge’s death is one of several Michigan drownings over the holiday weekend including a 9-year-old Wyoming boy.

“I can’t believe it,” said John Richard, communications representative for MDOT’s Grand Region. “I was just talking to him on Friday.”

The Allendale resident and Jackson native was the manager of MDOT’s Transportation Service Center in Muskegon where he managed the staff and oversaw projects.

Judge, 42, worked out of Muskegon office for several of his 20 years with MDOT.

“He will be greatly missed,” said Richard. “This is a huge loss for the organization.”

The married father of three daughters was a “great coworker and just a fun person to be around,” he added.

Judge was part of the leadership team for the 8-county Grand region which includes Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties.

The experienced scuba diver was exploring a sunken steam vessel in about 60 feet of water off the White Lake channel late Saturday afternoon with two other divers when he disappeared.

Shortly after the boat anchored, Judge went in with most of his dive gear on and his fins in hand. He sank as he struggled to put on his fins, the other divers told Muskegon County Sheriff’s dive team which responded to the call for help.

His body as found the next morning by the department’s dive team. Investigators are trying to determine if the accident was caused by a medical condition or equipment malfunction.

When rescuers found Judge’s body, they observed that his buoyancy-compensating vest was completely without air. It is possible that Judge had trouble inflating the vest when he entered the water and without flippers to help tread water was unable to stay afloat in his heavy gear, said Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Todd Dunham, the head of the Marine Division.

Funeral arrangements are pending.