Oregon, Washington Take on Distracted Driving Epidemic with New Campaigns, Tougher Laws

In Oregon, 75 percent of drivers admit to driving distracted. Nationally, at least that many drivers are eating, shaving, putting on makeup, texting, reading the newspaper … while driving a vehicle.

“As a culture I think we’re ready for a change,” said Tom Fuller, Oregon DOT communications manager, in a recent news release announcing a new statewide campaign there intended to help people drive more safely.

“The stories of deaths and injuries from distracted driving are as horrific as they are preventable,” Fuller added.

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Reversing the Trend: How Will U.S. Reduce, Eliminate Fatal Traffic Crashes

State transportation departments use message signs to encourage people to drive safely. In 2015, Utah began a “100 deadliest Days” effort to highlight how the summer driving season is traditionally the most dangerous.  Photo courtesy Utah DOT.

It was not much of a surprise to the people who work to make the nation’s transportation system safer when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released preliminary numbers showing traffic deaths had increased nearly 8 percent in 2015 to 35,200.

 

According to the official NHTSA news release, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “We are analyzing the data to determine what factors contributed to the increase in fatalities and at the same time, we are aggressively testing new safety technologies, new ways to improve driver behavior, and new ways to analyze the data we have, as we work with the entire road safety community to take this challenge head-on.”

Tuning In: Pokemon Go #Safety Message

Not every current event is appropriate for a transportation social media feed. But the folks at Washington State Department of Transportation continue to show off their deft ability to connect with their audiences by tying in with the latest Pokemon game.

Release July 7, Pokemon Go challenges players to find Pokemon characters – in the real world. So basically, people are walking around – or worse driving around – looking for these virtual characters. Clearly, a word of safety advice is in order here, right?

Here’s the tweet from @wsdot:

If your weekend includes looking for #Eevee on #PokemonGO, please do so safely. No Pokemoning from behind the wheel. pic.twitter.com/Kt9CmTOKiP

— Washington State DOT (@wsdot) July 8, 2016

And before you think that WSDOT was just overly opportunistic, consider this item posted on Vine: (editor’s note: the Vine was deleted from the site. But visit Vine to see other examples.)

And there are even people who in just the first week think walking and playing the game is too “boring.” So, they are trying to figure out how to drive and play the game “safely.”

As if the world of driving wasn’t already difficult enough!

Using the Un-Dead to Save the Living: Driving Dead Series Hits Its Target

It was a little more than a year ago that I wrote about an innovative transportation safety awareness campaign, the Driving Dead Series, that was being launched by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Photo Courtesy The Walking Dead Series Facebook page.

It seemed strange to feature zombies in a safety campaign, but with literally millions of views in the last year, the people behind the campaign must have known what they were doing.

Talking Work Zone Safety: “He’s the best dad ever”

The California Department of Transportation recently launched a new work zone safety campaign featuring agency workers and their families.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)  and its partners — the California Highway Patrol, California Office of Highway Safety, California Department of Motor Vehicles and Impact Teen Drivers — recently launched a new work zone safety campaign featuring Caltrans employees and their children under the tagline, “Be Work Zone Alert.”

The multimedia campaign features a beautiful web page, outdoor advertising and public service announcements. Social media posts feature the hashtag #BeWorkZoneAlert.

Innovative ‘Driving Dead’ Series Continues with Buzzed Driving Message

The innovative Illinois Department of Transportation’s safe driving campaign, “The Driving Dead,” has posted the next episode in the series which features actor Michael Rooker and zombies.

The nearly 10-minute video, “The Gas Station,” tells the story of how even a single beer can impair one’s ability to make the kinds of critical decisions needed to drive safely.

Read more about the campaign at www.TheDrivingDeadSeries.com.

What this transportation communicator wishes for in a new year …

It’s the holiday season and a time to take stock and be thankful for the year that has passed and, in turn, to look ahead in anticipation for what is still to come. It is with that spirit that I offer up a few items that, as a transportation communicator, I wish for in 2015.