"We're asking for pedestrians to
take the extra time to walk down to a intersection and cross safely in marked
or unmarked crosswalks. We're also asking vehicles to be more aware of pedestrians
crossing the roadway, and to yield to them
properly," says Phoenix Police Lt. Matt Giordano.
The campaign reminds people not to cross in
the middle of the block and to be careful around bus stops and the light rail. It
also reminds drivers to yield for people in crosswalks.
"Every year the city of Phoenix
responds to more than 500 collisions involving pedestrians. More than 300
involve injuries to pedestrians and over 40 of those involve fatal injuries to
pedestrians," says Giordano. "They
see their bus, their train over there, quick little jog over there. They are
mistaken. What they don't see is a car about to turn that we don't see and that
car isn't expecting to see pedestrians 10 feet in front of them in the
road," says Phoenix Police Lt. Adrian Ruiz.
The three week program starts June 17
with a week of educating pedestrians and drivers. It will be followed
with two weeks of enforcement efforts.
What a great
program! I cannot tell you how many times I see people crossing the road,
less then 100 feet from the intersection/marked crosswalk. I want to
scream at them!! I point it out to my wife and kids every time I see it,
“Don’t ever do that!!”
Drivers are not
trained to look for people in at mid-block. They are much more tuned in
to the corners and at crosswalks. Let’s hope this new program makes a
difference.
Using voice commands to send text messages and emails from
behind the wheel, which is marketed as a safer alternative for drivers,
actually can be more distracting and dangerous than simply talking on a
cellphone, a new AAA study found. Does it also rank as high as those who are disctrated by texting and driving?
Automakers have been trying to excite new car buyers, especially younger ones,
with dashboard "infotainment systems" that let drivers use voice
commands do things like turning on windshield wipers, posting Facebook messages
or ordering pizza. The pitch has been that hands-free devices are safer because
they enable drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the
road.
But talking on a hands-free phone isn't significantly safer for drivers than
talking on a hand-held phone, and using hands-free devices that translate
speech into text is the most distracting of all, researchers found.
Speech-to-text systems that enable drivers to send, scroll through, or delete
email and text messages required greater concentration by drivers than other
potentially distracting activities examined in the study like talking on the
phone, talking to a passenger, listening to a book on tape or listening to the
radio.
The greater the concentration required to perform a task, the more likely a
driver is to develop what researchers call "tunnel vision" or
"inattention blindness." Drivers will stop scanning the roadway or
ignore their side and review mirrors. Instead, they look straight ahead, but
fail to see what's in front of them, like red lights and pedestrians.
"People aren't seeing what they need to see to drive. That's the scariest
part to me," said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation
for Traffic Safety, the group's safety research arm. "Police accident
investigative reports are filled with comments like the `looked, but did not
see.' That's what drivers tell them. We used to think they were lying, but now
we know that's actually true."
There are about 9 million cars and trucks on the road with infotainment
systems, and that will jump to about 62 million vehicles by 2018, AAA
spokeswoman Yolanda Cade said, citing automotive industry research. At the same
time, drivers tell the AAA they believe phones and other devices are safe to
use behind the wheel if they are hands-free, she said.
"We believe there is a public safety crisis looming," Cade said.
"We hope this study will change some widely held misconceptions by
motorists."
AAA officials who briefed automakers, safety advocates and the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration on the study's findings said they want to limit
in-vehicle, voice-driven technologies to "core driving tasks."
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers was skeptical. "We are extremely
concerned that it could send a misleading message, since it suggests that
hand-held and hands-free devices are equally risky," the association said
in a statement.
The automakers' trade group said the AAA study focuses only on the mental
distraction posed by using a device and ignores the visual and manual aspects
of hand-held versus hands-free systems that are integrated into cars.
Other studies have also compared hand-held and hands-free phone use, finding they
are equally risky or nearly so. But a recent National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration study of drivers' real world driving experiences found hand-held
phone use was less safe than hands-free.
Researchers at the University of Utah who conducted the study for the AAA
measured the brainwaves, eye movement, driving performance and other indicators
of 32 university students as they drove and performed a variety of secondary
tasks, ranging from listening to music to sending emails. Cameras were mounted inside
the car to track drivers' eye and head movements. A device that drivers pressed
was used to record their reaction time to red and green lights introduced to
their field of vision. Drivers were fitted with a special skull cap to record
their brain activity.
The students were tested while not driving, while driving in a simulator and
while driving a car on a 3-mile loop through a suburban Salt Lake City
neighborhood with stop signs and stoplights. A researcher with a backup braking
system accompanied the students in the test car.
One reason using voice commands is so much more distracting for drivers, even
though they aren't using their hands, is that they often require more
concentration than simply speaking to another person, said University of Utah
psychology professor David Strayer, an expert on cognitive distraction and lead
author of the study. Talking to a computer requires far greater precision than
talking to a person, he said. Otherwise, "Call home" may get you Home
Depot.
Synthetic computer voices can be harder to understand than human voices, also
requiring more attention. The computers used in the study were exceptionally
high-fidelity systems that made no errors, but the systems in cars aren't as
good, Strayer said. He said that means the study probably underestimates the
concentration required of drivers, and thus the ability of speech-to-text
systems to distract them.
Another difference: In phone conversations, a person who is listening will give
indications that they agree with what the speaker has said or have heard what
was said. Computers don't provide that feedback.
"The complexity of trying to say something that is coherent when there is
no feedback is much more difficult," Strayer said.
A simple, quick voice command to turn on windshield wipers isn't very
distracting, he said. But concentrating on creating a text message and trying
to get it right takes a great deal more mental effort and time.
"The more complex and the longer those interactions are, the more likely
you are going to have impairments when you're driving," Strayer said.
Children of all ages love the water. When you spend time
with them in the backyard pool or at the lake, you are making memories together
that will last a lifetime. Sadly, across the United States, child
drownings are still a leading cause of injury and death. The risk is even
higher in Arizona, a state ranked second in the nation for child drownings.
Below are some very important tips in helping keep you and your
loved ones safe at all times while enjoying the water. Supervision is the best
defense to drownings, but the tips below can also help.
Barriers
Make sure your pool or spa has an effective barrier, such as a
fence to help guard against unauthorized access.
Your pool or spa should have a barrier regardless of whether they
are covered.
Door and windows leading to the pool areas should be locked.
Fence gates should have self-closing, self-latching
mechanisms. Latches need to be out of reach of young
children.
Watch
Never leave your child unattended in or near a swimming pool, hot
tub, spa, not even for a second.
Keep toys, tricycles, and other children's play things away from
the pool or spa.
Don't consider your children to be "drownproof" because
they have taken swimming lessons.
Don't allow barriers, such as fences or walls, give you a false
sense of security regarding your child's safety. There is No substitute
for adult supervision.
Learn
Learn how to administer CPR, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and
other lifesaving techniques. To administer CPR correctly you must be
properly trained.
Know how to contact your local emergency medical
services. Install a phone or keep a cordless phone in the pool or spa
area. Post the emergency number in an easy to see place.
Learn to swim and teach age appropriate children to swim.
Other Pool
Safety Tips
Do not allow children to play in or around the pool area.
Mount life saving devices near the pool.
Keep tables, chairs and ladders away from pool fences.
Check placement of doggie doors for direct access to pool area.
Post your local emergency number on the phone. Think about
installing a phone near the pool area.
If you
find a child in any source of water...
Yell for help and pull the child out of the water.
Call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number immediately!
Begin CPR if you are trained.
If you are not trained to administer CPR, follow the instructions
from the 9-1-1 operator until help arrives.
With the weather on the rise, and summer break is in session for most children, it is very important that we mantain a safe communication with them regarding the rules of swimming. Pool drownings in Arizona happen more often than almost every other state in America. Let's be sure to stay aware of where our children are at all times when the pool gates are open.
