Local traffic safety expert Mike Hoeker answers a question about traffic lanes on this confusing stretch of road here.

The Muskegon County Sheriff Department and Norton Shores Police Department were recently recognized by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety for excellence in traffic safety. Read the full story here.

The Michigan State Police host a winter travel advisory, updated daily by law enforcement and public safety personnel. Visit the website at http://www.ohsp.state.mi.us/rw/home.htm

Keep emergency supplies in your

car’s trunk during winter driving

season

By Heidi Fenton | Muskegon Chronicle

December 09, 2009, 7:12AM

MUSKEGON — Staying home is the ultimate way to ensure safety when winter weather makes driving a dangerous adventure.

But for those who must head out, take extra caution to make sure you, as well as fellow drivers, have a safe commute, officials say.

Weather forecasters say a big storm could dump between 6 inches and 12 inches of snow by week’s end, and high winds may cause periodic whiteout conditions.

AAA Michigan officials recommend keeping a variety of emergency supplies in your vehicle’s trunk at all times, including boots, gloves, a blanket, and “a coffee can heater” — a coffee can with a candle inside. Once lit, the candle will emit light and the can provide much-needed warmth should a motorist be stranded on the side of the road.

AAA officials advise drivers in snowy conditions to use low-beam headlights and look farther ahead in traffic for other vehicles’ actions.

Mike Hoeker, a retired Norton Shores police officer and traffic safety consultant who writes a traffic column for The Chronicle, advises drivers to make sure all windows, headlights and taillights are brushed off before leaving the driveway.

In many cases, Hoeker said, if a car starts down the road and snow is blowing off the back, it inhibits the visibility of the driver behind.

“You can’t see if they’re braking, and their turn signals, and all that snow is going to blow on you also,” he said.

Additionally, Hoeker warns motorists to know the limitations of their four-wheel-drive vehicles. Although the feature may be nice when traveling through patches of heavy snow, it won’t increase braking efficiency, he said.

In instances where roads are icy and the snow isn’t deep, it’s best to stick with front-wheel drive, Hoeker said.

When it comes to cruise control, officials are especially wary.

Should a nearby vehicle catch a patch of ice and move over in the lane, quick braking to disengage a cruise control function often results in accidents, Hoeker said.

“Some slippery spots can pop up, you could have some black ice, then when your car does react to the sudden extra slipperiness, you have to hit the brakes,” he said. “Just that sudden hitting the brakes to slow down can cause you to go into a fishtail or really turn around.”

Should a vehicle slide off the road, it’s best to call a tow truck and have it removed as quickly as possible.

“It’s a huge traffic safety and liability issue,” Hoeker said, noting how some motorists will call for a ride and abandon their vehicle on the side of the road.

He advises drivers to leave extra room — five seconds of driving distance or more — between themselves and other motorists.

“The road is never at fault for a crash,” he said.

This edition answers questions about lane markings on Marquette Ave. and proper use of turn signals (via www.mlive.com).

The Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA) issued a list of the state’s worst roads. Locally, Oceana County ranked 10th worst in the state with 534 miles of roads in poor condition.

Read the MITA report here

Oceana County reaction here

The Office of Highway Safety Planning has been asked to update an April 2004 analysis of the estimated effects of repealing Michigan’s mandatory helmet law. That analysis estimated a 26% increase in motorcyclist fatalities, a 17% increase in incapacitating injuries, and a 20% increase in economic costs in the event of a repeal. Two things have changed since then:

Michigan has seen an increase in the number of motorcyclists, motorcycle crashes, and motorcycle fatalities, thereby increasing the number of motorcyclists potentially affected by a repeal; Louisiana, the state seeing the highest increase in post-repeal motorcyclist deaths, re-instituted its mandatory helmet law.

A higher baseline for fatalities and crashes means that applying the same percentage increase will produce a larger impact. The expected effects of a repeal are now larger than they were in 2004. From 2005-2006, Michigan motorcyclists annually suffered 116 fatalities, 746 incapacitating injuries, 2,057 other injuries, at a total economic cost of $628 million. If Michigan’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law were to be repealed, the state should expect to see an annual increase of at least 30 fatalities, 127 incapacitating injuries, and $129 million in economic costs. This estimate is based solely on decreased helmet use and does not include any increases in motorcycle use. If motorcyclists are expected to ride more miles without helmets or new motorcyclists are expected to start riding, these estimates should be multiplied to include that increase. Notably, new motorcyclists will have more crashes per mile or hour of riding, and therefore a disproportionate impact on crash totals, even if they have a (secondary) requirement to wear helmets.

The authoritative report on motorcycle helmet effectiveness remains Motorcycle Helmet Effectiveness Revisited, which estimates that motorcycle helmets are 37% effective at preventing motorcycle fatalities. This comes from actual crash outcomes involving motorcyclists wearing helmets or not, not on theoretical or design-based analysis.

Researchers at the University of Michigan trauma center found that hospitalized unhelmeted motorcyclists had average care costs of $37,317 (20% higher than helmeted motorcyclists) and were 6% less likely to have insurance.