Back-to-School Safety Reminders

With school starting up again, we encourage you to remind students in your classes to take extra care when driving in school zones and when encountering school buses. Children are small, unpredictable, and quick. Worse yet, they don't always exercise the best judgement. They depend on adult drivers to exercise greater caution for their protection.

The laws that regulate the operation of motor vehicles in school zones vary slightly from state to state (you can find the specifics in your lesson plans), but they always involve slowing down. Motorists should always obey posted reduced-speed limits in these areas, and should always follow the instructions of crossing guards. Codified regulations are no substitute for good, old-fashioned common sense, however: In these situations, drivers simply need to slow down and watch carefully for kids darting in front of the vehicle!

Likewise, the requirements for yielding to school buses, and the punishments for non-compliance, vary by state (again, refer to your lesson plan for the complete details):

• California: When approaching from any direction a school bus that is loading or unloading schoolchildren and has its flashing red lights (and stop signal arm, if so equipped) displayed, drivers must bring their vehicles to a complete stop before passing the bus. Drivers may not proceed until the flashing red light signal (and stop signal arm, if so equipped) cease operation. Drivers who approach a school bus while traveling in the opposite direction on a divided highway or multi-lane (two or more lanes in each direction) highway do not need stop for the bus, but should proceed with extreme caution.
• Florida: When approaching from any direction on a public or private road a stopped school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop arm, drivers must bring their vehicle to a stop and remain stopped until all children are clear and the bus has resumed forward motion. Drivers who are traveling on the opposite side of a divided roadway (separated from the bus by an unpaved space of at least five feet, a raised median, or a physical barrier) are not required to stop.
• Michigan: Drivers should be extremely careful around a school bus that has stopped to load or unload children:
  • When a school bus's overhead lights are flashing yellow, motorists should prepare to stop.
  • When a bus's overhead lights are flashing red, motorists must come to a full stop no closer than 20 feet from the bus until the bus resumes motion or the red lights are deactivated.
  • When a bus's yellow hazard lights are flashing, motorists should proceed with caution.
  It is not necessary to stop for a school bus that is stopped on the other side of a divided highway where the road is separated by a barrier, such as a concrete or grass median, island, or other structures that separate the flow of traffic. At an intersection where traffic is controlled by an officer or a traffic stop-and-go signal, a vehicle need not be brought to a full stop before passing a stopped school bus, but drivers must slow to a reasonable and safe speed no greater than 10 mph.
• New Jersey: When approaching from any direction on a public or private road a stopped school bus that has its red signal lights flashing and is loading or unloading passengers, drivers must stop at least 25 feet away and remain stopped until all children are clear and the bus has resumed forward motion. Drivers traveling on the opposite side of a divided highway (separated from the other side by a safety island or other physical barrier) are not required to stop, but should proceed at no more than 10 mph until they are clear of the bus and any children.
• New York: When approaching from any direction on a public or private road a stopped school bus that has its red signal lights flashing and is loading or unloading passengers, drivers must stop at least 20 feet away from the bus and remain stopped until all children are clear and the bus has resumed forward motion.
• North Dakota: When a school bus is stopped to load or unload passengers, and its flashing red lights and/or stop sign control arm are activated, drivers approaching from both directions must stop before reaching the bus. Drivers should remain stopped until the bus has resumed forward motion, until the bus driver signals other vehicles to pass, or until the bus's red lights are deactivated. Drivers traveling on the opposite roadway of a divided highway are not required to stop, but are advised to proceed with caution.
• Virginia: When approaching from any direction on a public or private road a stopped school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop arm, drivers must stop and remain stopped until all children are clear and the bus has resumed forward motion. Drivers traveling on the opposite side of a divided highway (separated from the bus by a physical barrier or an unpaved median strip) are not required to stop.

Make sure your students know the law so they can avoid citations and keep children safe!

New Florida Laws for 2012

The latest legislative session produced changes to a number of driving-related laws. The good news is that the vast majority of these changes were administrative edits and will minimally impact how driver education and driver improvement courses are presented to the public.

Nonetheless, revised insert sheets are available for the booklet and video/DVD version of Traffic Safety Consultants' 4-Hour Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) Course. Please include a copy of the appropriate insert sheet with each product that you ship. Note that the insert sheets are cumulative; if you've previously been shipping insert sheets, you may replace your old stock with this new version.

Please click on the links below to access the files you need. You may read/print them online or download them to you local computer for easier access whenever you need them.

• 4-Hour Booklet insert - English
• 4-Hour Booklet insert - Spanish
• 4-Hour Video/DVD insert

Make sure that you ship the latest home study inserts, as you will be responsible for teaching this new material to students!

With seasonal temperatures nearing their peak, now is also a good time to emphasize one of the legislative changes. The law regarding parents who leave young children unattended in the vehicle has been modified as follows:

A parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for a child younger than 6 years of age may not leave that child unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle for a period in excess of 15 minutes, or for any period of time if the motor of the vehicle is running or if the health of the child is in danger or the child appears to be in distress. (FSS §316.6135; emphasized text added)

Children (or pets, for that matter!) should never be left in a vehicle on a hot day—whether accidentally, or consciously and negligently while their parents run errands. While anyone can experience a memory lapse and forget a child (it's the most common reason children are left behind), that little slip could be deadly. Vehicles heat up quickly on a hot day, and a child might die of hyperthermia in just minutes!

Share with your students these helpful tips for avoiding a hot-vehicle mishap:

• Place your cell phone, purse/briefcase, etc., on the floor of the vehicle's rear seating area. When you retrieve them at the end of your trip, you'll notice your child as well.
• Seat the younger (or quieter) child behind the front passenger seat, where he or she is most likely to catch your eye.
• Keep a teddy bear or other stuffed animal in the car seat when it's empty. When you put your child in the seat, move the toy to the front passenger seat as a reminder.
• Make a habit of always opening the back door of your vehicle after you park to make sure there's no child back there.
• Ask your child's babysitter or day care provider to always phone you promptly if your child isn't dropped off as scheduled.

Youth Traffic Safety Month Reinforces Improved Awareness this May

by guest contributor Lillian Sanders

There are many different traffic related campaigns and causes conducted annually, but perhaps one of the most important involves road safety relating to teenagers. Good techniques instilled at an early age can become lifelong safe driving habits. This May, Youth Traffic Safety Month is being recognized throughout the United States as an opportunity to help young drivers toward safer practices on the road.

Youth Traffic Safety Month is presented by the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), a group of youth-based organizations that work together to promote safety for children and teenagers. The need for improved road safety for teenagers will be met with numerous different campaigns and rallies throughout the month of May. Many high schools are set to have guest speakers on the topic of driving safety, while a number of celebrities and leaders from the automobile industry are also set to speak up for traffic and safety relating to teenagers.

The integration and growth of technology has certainly had an adverse affect on safe roads over the past few years, and the effort to improve teen driving safety comes at a time when distracted driving is in the spotlight more than ever. Many agencies and groups are aiming to improve the roads through new laws and education that serves to influence young drivers' behavior behind the wheel.

The figures related to teen driving and distractions over the past few years are quite telling. In a recent survey by AT&T, it was found that nearly half of today's teenagers are likely texting and driving behind the wheel. The statistics sank in even more when the survey revealed that over 90% of those teenagers were regularly texting and driving—even though they knew the practice to be dangerous!

Efforts like Youth Traffic Safety Month are strong reminders that there's plenty to be done with regard to making our roads safer, especially for younger drivers. Enhanced awareness, good education, and proper training can lay the groundwork for safer drivers in the future and help to reverse these troubling statistics. Products like Teach Your Teen to Drive…and stay alive can help parents to help their teens become safer drivers. To get yours today, visit Amazon.com, or contact TSC's Director of Affiliate Operations, Gloria Verver, (via email or by calling 800 . 252 . 9488) for affiliate pricing and bulk-purchase discounts.

Parent-Teen Book: Hot for the Summer!

We at Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., would like to remind you about our great new product, Teach Your Teen to Drive…and stay alive. This parent-teen driving guidebook covers the supervised driving requirements in all 50 states (for up to 60 hours of behind-the-wheel practice). It's the perfect teaching tool for parents, and helps to eliminate the stress and anxiety associated with training a new teen driver. And it makes a great gift idea for family members and friends who have teenagers. This is a highly recommended product—especially for all driver training schools and traffic schools that offer classes to first time drivers. Give your business a bump and keep your students from a fender-bender: Order your stock of this outstanding new product today!

If you are interested in offering Teach Your Teen to Drive—and stay alive to your students, or via a link on your website, please contact our Director of Affiliate Operations, Gloria Verver, (via email or by calling 800 . 252 . 9488) for inexpensive affiliate pricing and bulk-purchase discounts!

Outstanding Parent-Teen Driving Guide Available

Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) has been hard at work, and we're getting ready to roll out several exciting new products in the upcoming months. The first of these, available immediately, is our fantastic parent-teen driving manual!

Teach Your Teen to Drive…and stay alive

The process of learning to drive can create a great deal of anxiety for both parents and teens. A good professional driving school can help to prepare young motorists to take to the road safely, of course, but licensing regulations in all 50 states still require parents/guardians to supervise their children during practice driving sessions—for up to 60 hours behind the wheel, depending on the jurisdiction. Teach Your Teen to Drive…and stay alive provides life-saving tips and easy-to-follow, structured exercises to reduce stress factors for everyone. Ten years in the making, this is undoubtedly the best—and easiest—parent-teen driving guide ever written.

The book features:

• Rave reviews from law enforcement, traffic safety professionals, authors, and readers alike.
• Eight simple, life-saving lessons that employ innovative teaching techniques: Parents demonstrate each drill three times, followed by the teen performing the drill three times.
• At the end of each lesson, the teen performs a culmination of the drills; then parents and teens celebrate with our famous "ice cream social," creating an experience both will cherish forever.
• Entertaining and insightful writing by Bruce and Brett Elkins for Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., the nation's preeminent authority on driver safety.
• The book makes an educational gift for teen birthdays, or for friends, parents, or grandparents who know a young driver-in-training.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds, and 1 in 4 licensed drivers age 16 and 17 is involved in a collision. Teach Your Teen to Drive…and stay alive is a natural complement to any driver education, driver training, or traffic safety course that you offer, and it presents a great opportunity to make a supplemental sale. Your relieved customers will be grateful, and this book will have a dramatic impact on many of your students' families. It might even save a life!

Place Your Order Now!

If you are interested in offering Teach Your Teen to Drive…and stay alive to your students, or via a link on your website, please contact our Director of Affiliate Operations, Gloria Verver, (via email or by calling 800 . 252 . 9488) for inexpensive affiliate pricing and bulk-purchase discounts!

New DHSMV Curriculum Requirements for 2011

We at Traffic Safety Consultants (TSC) have encouraged you many times over the years to talk with your students about the severe hazards of distracted driving—especially texting while driving. Now the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), anticipating that legislation calling for this instruction will soon be forthcoming, is requiring discussion about these topics to be included in all traffic safety education programs provided throughout the state. This new material should be incorporated into lesson delivery immediately.

Live-classroom instructors should take care to include in their lecture the material already in TSC's curricula regarding distracted driving and the use of mobile phones. In particular, make sure that students are made aware that it is extremely dangerous to talk or text on a cell phone (or other handheld electronic or mobile communications device) or to tune the radio, program the GPS, etc., while driving.

The following information should also be incorporated into the classroom presentation on cell phone use/distracted driving:

A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that, unsurprisingly, it was texting that caused the real problems. The study found that truckers who send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or to get into a near-wreck than undistracted drivers. The reasons are obvious: Good luck paying attention to the road when you're staring at the display of your mobile device while mentally composing a message and manipulating a tiny keyboard! Of course, it goes without saying that gaming, emailing, and other tasks should be avoided as well. To stay safe behind the wheel, refrain from using any handheld electronic devices while you're driving.

If your traffic school employs multiple teachers, make sure that they are all aware of this new curriculum requirement.

Insert sheets are also available for the booklet and video/DVD versions of TSC's 4-hour course. Please include a copy of the appropriate insert sheet with each product that you ship. The insert sheets are cumulative; if you've previously been shipping insert sheets, you may replace your old stock with this new version.

Please click on the links below to access the files you need. You may read/print them online or download them to your local computer for easier access whenever you need them.

• 4-Hour Booklet insert - English
• 4-Hour Booklet insert - Spanish
• 4-Hour Video/DVD insert

Make sure that you familiarize yourself with this update and ship the latest home study inserts, as you will be responsible for teaching this new material to students.

Internet-based curricula have been revised to reflect these modifications, and no action is required on your part to address the updates for this format.

If you have any questions about the updates, please feel free to email Donna, or call her at 800 . 252 . 9951.

ADA Compliance

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) does its best to ensure that all Floridians who want a driver license are afforded the privilege of operating a motor vehicle. Persons will be denied a license if they are incapable of safely operating a vehicle, of course. But the public's perceptions of the capabilities of those with disabilities has shifted considerably over the years, and mechanical and technological improvements make it possible for persons with a wide range of disabilities to compensate for those disabilities and drive safely.

Since persons with disabilities are out on the roadways, they—like any other driver—may receive a citation; and if persons with disabilities are cited, they may elect to attend traffic school. The DHSMV recently issued a letter (click here to view) affirming their commitment to ensuring that Florida traffic schools are in compliance federal law and operating in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Traffic schools should have in place a process to provide auxiliary aids and services, without charge to students, to those attendees who require assistance due to a disability. As well, schools should takes steps to ensure that students are aware of the procedures by which accommodations may be requested. The DHSMV's letter provides some guidance, and directs readers to the U.S. Dept. of Justice's ADA Home Page for more information.

Safety Tech Could Make Drivers...Less Safe?

Could the incredible, high-tech safety systems that manufacturers are now building into their vehicles actually make drivers less safe? An article from Wired's Autopia website questions how the rapid adoption of semiautonomous vehicle safety systems could affect overall motor vehicle safety--and suggests that it may fundamentally affect the kinds of crashes we see and whether active safety systems gain widespread acceptance.

Essentially, the thesis is that the human brain requires a certain level of arousal in order to keep functioning at an optimal level. (We already see this phenomenon with highway hypnosis.) Because semiautonomous safety systems can lull drivers into thinking that they can "zone out" behind the wheel, these systems could actually make drivers less safe in situations in which they encounter hazards the safety systems weren't designed to handle.

The article posits that, while semiautonomous safety systems will reduce certain types of collisions, we may see a rise in other types of collisions as drivers fail to adapt their driving to the needs of the new safety systems. The article also suggests that we may have to abandon the American tradition of driver education only for new drivers and, instead, institute ongoing, lifetime driver training to ensure that motorists are up-to-date with the latest safety technologies.

Check out this interesting read!

New New York Laws for 2011

New York's Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently signed a new law that strengthens the penalties for drivers who are cited for using handheld electronic devices while the vehicle is in motion. Accident Prevention Courses are required to present information about this new situation, and updated classroom materials will be distributed to instructors shortly.

Under the new law, the use of handheld electronic devices joins handheld cell phone use as a primary enforcement violation, meaning that a law enforcement officer may stop a driver and issue a citation for that violation alone. The monetary penalty for a violation of this law continues to be a fine of up to $150. And, as before, exemptions cover emergency services personnel who are engaged in their duties, as well as drivers who are engaged in communication about an emergency situation. This change is effective immediately.

Governor Cuomo also announced that he will increase the penalty for using a cellular phone without a hands-free device while driving, or for using a handheld electronic device while driving, from two to three points through changes in state regulations. Note that the new point assessment will go into effect "this Fall," according to representatives from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles; a subsequent blog post will inform you of the exact date when it has been determined. For now, you might simply point out to students that this change is "coming soon to a law enforcement stop near them."

Gadgets Tied to 25 Percent of Collisions

MSNBC recounts that 25 percent of motor vehicle crashes are tied to distracted driving caused by in-vehicle gadget use. Reporting on a comprehensive review of distracted driving research by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the MSNBC story notes that drivers may be distracted up to half of the time! The GHSA study (link here) considers past research, recommends areas for further investigation, and offers recommendations about how state lawmakers might best proceed based upon the latest scientific data.

In the end, we all know that distracted driving is problem on our roadways. Mobile phone use—and especially texting—while driving can take a motorist's attention completely away from the road. Remind your students to "keep their heads in the game" while driving. Distracted driving is extremely dangerous—and it's probably the most easily preventable cause of collisions!