How much do parents influence their teen driver’s safety?
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, states that have adopted Graduated Drivers Licensing programs (GDL) have seen accident rates drop anywhere from 10 to 30 percent among... Read More
The 10 Most Dangerous Roadways in California
While car, truck, and motorcycle accidents can happen anywhere, there are some roads that are significantly more dangerous than others. Read More
Safest Cars for Teenage Drivers in 2022
There are so many safety factors to consider when your teenager begins driving. When it comes to teen brain development, distracted driving, and graduated license laws, parents have a... Read More
15 Back to School Safety Tips for Kids and Drivers
Summer vacation is coming to an end and the back to school blitz is officially here. With kids getting set to resume their daily commute, and some younger children... Read More
Who is responsible for self driving car accidents?
It is clear that the object of romantic interest in the Beatles’ song never anticipated a self-driving (“autonomous”) car; but as that technology gets closer to becoming a commercial... Read More
San Jose Alcohol Related Injuries Are Up
Compared to other population centers in California, the San Jose area appears to be doing well at limiting alcohol-involved injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol’s latest report on... Read More
San Jose bicycling is more dangerous than we thought
The latest annual report on motor vehicle collisions from the California Highway Patrol has a ton of information about what’s happening on California roads and highways, with extensive datasets... Read More
Should self-driving cars still have steering wheels and brake pedals?
Earlier this week, GM CEO Mary Barra said she believes self-driving vehicles should continue to include steering wheels, brake pedals and accelerators as the technology develops. The state of... Read More
Signs of Road Rage: What You Can Do To Make Roads Safer
What Is Road Rage? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines road rage as “criminal act[s] of violence,” a product of aggressive driving, like tailgating, speeding, and running red... Read More
The perils of driving in Los Angeles rain
Los Angeles is famous for freaking out when it rains. Recently, Noah Deneau, an electrical engineer from Austin, Texas, graphically illustrated the effect of rain on the rate of... Read More
Christmas and New Year’s among most dangerous days to drive
It should come as no surprise that the holidays are one of the most dangerous times to head out on the road. Not only are more people driving–some estimates suggest... Read More
Signal timing: a critical element of safe, livable streets
For the vast majority of people, signal timing is not an exciting subject. Apart from traffic engineers and a select group of superwonks, few people pay attention to or... Read More
What is the cost of traffic crashes?
In discussions of traffic safety, it’s all too common to desensitize ourselves from the striking numbers of roadway crashes that occur: 32,999 fatalities, 3.9 million non-fatal injuries, and 24... Read More
Is traffic violence sufficiently prosecuted?
A year ago, 17 year old Hanren Chang was hit and killed by a drunk driver while crossing Sloat Boulevard in San Francisco. Hanren, a student at Lowell High... Read More
Required viewing for drivers everywhere: ‘From One Second to the Next’
Famed director Werner Herzog’s powerful new documentary about texting and driving has already reached more than 1.5 million views on YouTube and is bringing even more attention to the... Read More
Robert Redford is too cool for speed limits
As proof that it’s not just young celebrities who can be terrible role models, 76-year-old screen icon Robert Redford recently boasted he drives at speeds in excess of 120... Read More
National Safety Council reports increase in traffic fatalities for the first time since 2005
According to a preliminary report from the National Safety Council, the number of traffic fatalities during 2012 increased by 5 percent over the previous year. This marks the first... Read More
Don’t Drive Drowsy: Tips to Avoid Driving While Fatigued
When it comes to making poor decisions behind the wheel, drunk driving and distracted driving get the bulk of the attention, but numbers show drivers impaired by fatigue account... Read More
What does marijuana legalization mean for drivers in Washington and Colorado?
With the recent legalization of marijuana in both Washington and Colorado, police are in the process of determining how to enforce DUI laws in light of legislation that could... Read More
Unsafe driving leads to unusual punishment for ‘idiot’ motorist
It may seem like a punishment right out of a sitcom, but a Cleveland Municipal court judge has sentenced a Cleveland woman to wear a sign that says, “Only... Read More
Motorist strikes cyclist, threatens to sue for damage to vehicle
The battle between cars and bikes rages on, as the insurance company of a New Zealand motorist attempted to sue a cyclist for vehicle damage occurring after the driver... Read More
Bridgestone’s ‘Teens Drive Smart’ campaign is stopping in Alameda this weekend
This weekend, Bridgestone’s “Teens Drive Smart” campaign will be at the Alameda Point Naval Air Station on Saturday, September 22nd and Sunday, September 23rd. The free half-day program is... Read More
What can employers do to prevent distracted driving?
In the six states where texting and driving is still legal, employers are being placed in the unenviable position of having to discourage those driving on their behalf from... Read More
Should SF Police set up distracted driving stings?
Texting and driving is against the law, but enforcing distracted driving laws is easier said than done. Last week in Fargo, North Dakota, police setup a sting operation designed... Read More
Poor condition of Bay Area roads often contribute to deadly accidents
Reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that between 2001 and 2010 nearly 70 people were killed in Bay Area car crashes resulting from problems with... Read More
California relaxes texting while driving laws, other states may not follow suit
Beginning next year, texting while driving will be legal in California…as long as you keep your hands off the phone. On Friday, July 13th, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a... Read More
Transportation secretary encouraging feds to pressure states to crack down on distracted driving
Today U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a “Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving.” His new initiative pressures 11 states that currently do not have distracted driving laws to adopt... Read More
California Senate unanimously approves bill in support of self-driving cars
By a margin of 37-0, the California State Senate voted to approve a bill that will allow self-driving vehicles on California streets and highways. The bill (SB1298) was designed... Read More
Statewide ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign ramps up in California
There’s no good excuse for not wearing a seatbelt, but in case you needed yet another reason to buckle up, California Highway Patrol has begun taking a “zero tolerance”... Read More
New studies reveal cell phone use while driving is on the rise
According to an observational survey recently released by The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), the number of drivers using cell phones while in transit jumped from 7.3 percent... Read More
Napa and Sonoma lead Bay Area counties in traffic fatality rate
According to new federal statistics, Napa and Sonoma have the highest traffic fatality rates of any Bay Area counties. However, due to the massive amount of tourism and the... Read More
Pair of celebs set poor example when it comes to distracted driving
Celebrities Amanda Bynes and Lisa Lampanelli both made headlines over the past couple days with reports surfacing they’d each been guilty of distracted driving. While Celebrity Apprentice and frequent... Read More
Tax Day driving may be riskier than normal, traffic deaths six percent higher
With Tax Day fast approaching, it might pay to take a few deep breaths, squeeze a stress ball, or do whatever else calms your nerves before hopping in a... Read More
Colorado high school students compete to promote seat belt usage
A handful of Colorado high schools are competing against each other in an effort to see who can have the biggest impact on boosting seat belt usage. The inter-school... Read More
30% of teen drivers involved in car accidents suffer some type of head injury
Researchers from State Farm and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia studied injury data from over 55,000 teenage drivers and their passengers who had been in car accidents and discovered... Read More
Safety experts disagree on whether voice controls are really an improvement
Despite proposing guidelines for in-car technology back in February, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn’t plan to address voice controls until at least 2014. However, in the meantime,... Read More
Distracted Driving: Not Just a Teen Problem
Modern life is increasingly full of diversions, and some have even crept into the drivers’ seat—phone calls, text messages, on-board video displays, fast food—all can cause accidents by distracting... Read More
New cars walk the line between integrating technology and adding more distractions
Does integrating a 17-inch monitor into the dashboard of a car make the vehicle safer or just provide the driver one more giant distraction? Regardless of the answer, automobile... Read More
SFpark tries to curb distracted driving by making street parking easier
Finding street parking can be a massive headache. Drivers circle the block repeatedly; slowing to a near crawl whenever a space looks like it might be available, all while... Read More
Can Distracted Driving Reduce Car Accidents?
The short answer to the question above is a definitive “no.” With the rise of technology, distracted driving has become a serious problem on US roadways, contributing to nearly... Read More
Report: Volvo Technology Reduces Low Speed Car Accidents
How great would it be to drive to work without having to think about accidental low-speed car accidents? For years now, car companies have been researching collision avoidance systems,... Read More
Distracted Driving Technology Not Enough to Reduce Car Accidents
Automaker Ford has rightfully been praised in recent weeks for supporting New York legislation to ban distracted driving. This week, the auto giant became the first of it’s industry... Read More
Teen Driver Safety Week & Summer Safety
This week is the National Safety Council’s Teen Driver Safety Week, and it comes right in time for summer, the most dangerous set of months for teens behind the... Read More
Anti Distracted Driving Accident Campaign Targets Auto Technology
Everyone knows that distracted driving is dangerous. There’s simply no safety replacement for staying focused on the road at all times. But when it comes to improving road safety,... Read More
California Teen Drivers Face Daunting Summer Safety Statistics
We’re constantly reminded that teen drivers are the demographic most likely to cause car accidents. Scientific studies on teen brain development show that the brain doesn’t even reach full... Read More
California Teen Driver Summer Safety Statistics & Resources
Teen drivers throughout the country are faced with countless dangers on city streets and highways. Teens are the demographic most likely to cause car a accident, technology poses the... Read More
Would Automotive Black Boxes Clarify Car Accident Lawsuits?
There are certain procedures that car accident attorneys use to learn the full story of a collision. An investigator typically speaks to the drivers involved and eye witnesses, accident... Read More
Senior Drivers May Cause More Car Accidents
Taking away the keys from senior drivers is a difficult decision that often causes conflict between family members and friends. But scientists and safety advocates have repeatedly shown that... Read More
Infrastructure Spending Could Reduce California Car Accident Costs
California is broke, and with budgets stretched thin across the board, it’s difficult to make an effective argument for increasing spending, even if the result is increased safety on... Read More
5 Great Cell Phone Apps to Prevent Distracted Driving
With the rise of distracted driving, cell phones are often cited as villains that facilitate dangerous driving practices. But while distracting phone calls, text messages, and games are certainly... Read More
Parents Rate Safest Cars for Teen Drivers
The discussion of what car to buy a new teenage driver is always touchy. Teens want something that looks cool and isn’t too slow, while parents want something affordable... Read More
DOT Boasts Drop in Car Accident Deaths
Based on preliminary data, the Department of Transportation estimated last week that 32,788 people were killed in car accidents in 2010, the lowest number in more than 60 years.... Read More
Congress to Consider Federal Teen Driving Law
Teenagers here in California eagerly await their 16th birthday, that all-important landmark that means they can now drive a car. In South Dakota, the situation is much different, since... Read More
Distracted Driving Awareness Videos Stress Human Connections
Just about everyone knows that distracted driving is dangerous, but almost no one knows how to stop it. Technology is only growing more prevalent, and although cell phone and... Read More
Senior Driver Safety Checklist Highlights Eyesight and Motor Skills
It’s fortunate for road safety that every state has a minimum age at which teenagers receive their drivers’ license. Before teenagers reach that age, they are simply not developed... Read More
Senior Driver Safety Checklist & Self Assessment
There are many factors senior drivers should consider before getting behind the wheel. The topic areas below are subject to each individual and may not apply to everyone. But... Read More
National Bike Summit Highlights Crossroads for Bicycle Safety
Bicycle use is in the midst of a major national resurgence. Due to crowded city streets, troubling environmental problems, and a call for healthier lifestyles, more people are choosing... Read More
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to Advocate Federal Distracted Driving Law
Like drunk driving and wearing a seat belt, avoiding distracted driving is becoming more and more of a no brainer. The Department of Transportation has reported that there were... Read More
Are California Traffic Tickets Too Easy on Dangerous Drivers?
Most penalties for dangerous driving tickets are designed to prevent the perilous behavior from reoccurring. If you’re fined for driving 80 miles per hour in a 60 mph zone,... Read More
SCOTUS Clears Way for California Defective Seat Belt Lawsuits Against Mazda
For the past twenty years, car manufacturers were faced with a choice: install lap-only seat belts, or “type 2” seat belts, which include a shoulder strap and have been... Read More
Motorcyclists and Pedestrians are Most Vulnerable on California Streets
Whether you’re driving a passenger car, a motorcycle, or simply walking on the sidewalk, individuals don’t have much control over whether they will be involved in a deadly car... Read More
Senators Join Plan to Reduce Car Accident Deaths
For the past decade, many states across the country have worked hard to implement auto safety laws designed to reduce the number of car accident deaths. On the national... Read More
Avoid Kissing and Driving on Valentines Day
Everyone knows that texting or typing on your cell phone while driving is very dangerous. Last year, distracted driving accounted for 5,500 traffic fatalities and nearly 500,000 injuries nationwide.... Read More
Safety Record of Older Drivers Scrutinized After Freeway Accident
Have you ever turned the wrong way on a one-way street? How about entered the freeway going the wrong direction? That’s what happened to 83 year-old Clarence Kinney yesterday,... Read More
Does New Distracted Driving Study Stretch the Facts on Auto Safety?
Over the past year, the national consensus about distracted driving has solidified as safety advocates, cell phone companies, and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, agree that it is a dangerous... Read More
Toyota Launches Safety Institute to Reduce Car Accidents, Boost Sales
In 2010, Toyota was the only major auto brand to post reduced sales in the American marketplace, due largely to the company’s failing safety record following a string of... Read More
Airbags, Economy Praised for Major Decrease in Car Accident Fatalities
A report released this week in the Journal Traffic Injury Prevention found that over the past five years, the United States has enjoyed the greatest decrease in car accident... Read More
Can Congress Pass Auto Safety Overhaul in 2010?
For months, national lawmakers have been sparring over the benefits of a proposed auto safety overhaul, potentially the largest update for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since it... Read More
Supreme Court Defective Seat Belt Decision Will Impact Future Auto Safety
Sadly, vehicle seat belts do not represent a catchall solution to end car accident deaths. In fact, a recent Supreme Court case indicates that one victim may have “jackknifed... Read More
Teen Driving Laws and Recession are Saving Lives
To round out National Teen Driver Safety Week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an optimistic study showing that car accident deaths caused by teenagers has dropped... Read More
Toyota Recalls 1.5 Million Vehicles for Potential Safety Defects
Regardless of how you feel about Toyota, the embattled auto giant that has recently recalled nearly 9 million vehicles worldwide, the company can be credited taking the crisis and... Read More
Parents Are Focus for National Teen Driver Safety Week
It's natural that National Teen Driver Safety Week would ignite discussions about teen safety issues related to distracted driving, reckless actions, and graduated licensing laws. What's unusual about this... Read More
National Transportation Safety Board to Host Forum on Aging Driver Safety
Although it's an incredibily difficult discussion to have, safety experts nationwide are beginning to question when aging drivers should begin to consider cutting down on the amount that they... Read More
Self-Driving Car: Safety Hero or Distracted Driving Foe?
Over the past year, Internet giant Google has grown closer to developing a car that can drive itself. The company, which has overseen seven cars traveling more than 140,000... Read More
NHTSA to Require Seat Belts on Commercial Passenger Busses
"Click it or Ticket," is the threat that has prompted thousands more Americans to buckle up since the punitive campaign launched two years ago. Since more than 15,000 people... Read More
Alabama eCrash System: Distracted Driving Causes 100 Car Accidents Per Month
Part of the auto safety overhaul languishing in Congress would require the addition of black box recording devices that would indicate the cause of car accidents. While Senators try... Read More
VIDEO: Rewarding Good Drivers Improves Auto Safety
There are a handful of great reasons to drive safely. If you want to avoid vehicular injuries, car damage, or just dodge tickets from police officers, obeying traffic signs... Read More
Do Past Unintended Acceleration Suits Mean Anything for Toyota?
A front-page story in the San Francisco Daily Journal yesterday predicted that plaintiffs filing lawsuits against Toyota based on unintended acceleration problems could be disappointed by the results. The... Read More
Congress Uses Carrot, Not Stick, For Auto Safety Overhaul
Reacting to the growing public denunciation of distracted driving and consumer distrust of the auto industry following Toyota's massive worldwide safety recall, an auto safety overhaul is moving rapidly... Read More
Congress Pushes for Auto Safety Overhaul: Will Detroit Fight Back?
Until recently, Toyota has done everything it can to minimize the impact of its embarrassing string of safety violations and product recalls by admitting fault and forking over government... Read More