Tag Archives: traffic

Autistic Teens Want To Drive

A study released by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Center For Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) looks at teens with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and driving.  They found that, among their sample of 300 teens, two-thirds are already driving or expect to drive.

“As a clinician who specializes in children with disabilities, I was interested to find that so many teens with high functioning autism spectrum disorders want to drive and do,” says Patty Huang, MD, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at CHOP and the lead author of the study. “We need to help them. Establishing a few indicators for these teens that will likely have an interest in driving is the first step in developing targeted strategies and interventions to support them and their families.”

The findings suggest that parents of teens with HFASDs would benefit from guidance in deciding if driving is the right choice for their individual family. Readiness to drive can be difficult to assess, and parents should be encouraged to seek the help of their child’s physician, an occupational therapist or driving instructor.

Modern Driver Institute is the only driver education provider in Pennsylvania that specializes in working with individuals with autism.   We recommend that driving goals be incorporated into your student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP).

Feds Want End To Texting While Driving

Today, federal Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood proposed voluntary steps to establish new safety criteria for hands-free calling, navigation and entertainment systems in cars.

“Distracted driving is a dangerous and deadly habit on America’s roadways — that’s why I’ve made it a priority to encourage people to stay focused behind the wheel,” LaHood said.

Distracted driving deaths totaled 3,092 in 2010, the latest available figures show. But LaHood’s agency believes the total could be higher due to the unwillingness of drivers to always admit behavior, lack of witnesses to a crash in some cases, or the death of the driver.

Most U.S. motorists surveyed last year acknowledged few situations in which they would not use a cellphone or text while behind the wheel. However, they supported measures to curb both practices, the Transportation Department said.

La Hood’s proposal recommends disabling in-vehicle electronic devices that the driver could use when a car is moving. This would cover text messaging, Internet browsing, and access to social media.  The National Transportation Safety Board also recommended in December that certain hands-free and communication devices be banned in cars.

It’s Official: Texting Is Illegal

We’ve all seen that person in traffic texting away while driving, eyes down to their lap, working the wheel with their forearms or knees, blissfully unaware of their surroundings and the danger they themselves have become to everyone around them.

Effective March 8, 2012, it is illegal to send, read or write a text message while driving in PA.  Here are the details:

  • PRIMARY OFFENSE: Police can pull you over if they suspect you of texting while driving.
  • ALL IWCDs: The law includes smart phones, cell phones, tablets…anything wireless that can send/receive text messages.
  • INCLUDES EMAIL: So don’t read those while moving either.
  • APPLIES TO ALL DRIVERS: not just commercial operators.

It’s a $50 fine each time you get caught texting, which is a lesser penalty than living with the guilt if your distraction kills someone.  If you know someone who texts regularly while driving, pass this on to them.

PA Driving Laws Get Graded

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, an alliance between consumer, health and safety groups and insurance companies, recently released their 2012 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws.  This report grades each state on its performance in adopting critical highway safety laws.  How did Pennsylvania fare?

Each state earns a ranking based upon their commitment to improving laws in critical areas, as follows:

  • GREEN: Good
  • YELLOW: Caution (Needs Improvement)
  • RED: state falls dangerously behind

In 2011, Pennsylvania advanced from RED to YELLOW status because of the passenger restriction element of its new teen driver law and its new text message restriction on all drivers.

By comparison, most of our neighboring states perform much better – New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia all have the highest rating, while Ohio and Virginia still rank in the red.  Check out the full report here.

U. S. Department of Transportation Proposes to Eliminate Deadlines for Replacing Traffic Signs

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that the Obama Administration is eliminating dozens of burdensome regulations on traffic signs which cash-strapped state and local governments expect will save them millions of dollars. The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing that communities replace traffic signs when they are worn out rather than requiring signs to be replaced by a specific deadline. The proposed changes will eliminate 46 deadlines mandated by federal traffic control regulations.

In January, President Obama called for an unprecedented government-wide review of regulations already on the books. The purpose was to identify rules that needed to be changed or removed because they were unnecessary, out-of-date, excessively burdensome or overly costly.

“A specific deadline for replacing street signs makes no sense and would have cost communities across America millions of dollars in unnecessary expenses,” said Secretary LaHood. “After speaking with local and state officials across the country, we are proposing to eliminate these burdensome regulations. It’s just plain common sense.”

Stop SignThe regulations establishing deadlines for street and traffic sign replacement came from the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which is a compilation of national standards for all pavement markings, street signs and traffic signals.  The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which has published the manual since 1971, updates it periodically to accommodate changing transportation needs and address new safety technologies, traffic control tools, and traffic management techniques.

FHWA today issued a Notice of Proposed Amendments to eliminate 46 of the deadlines in the manual.

“Local and state transportation agencies are best-equipped to determine when they need to replace signs and other items in the course of their daily work,” said FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez.  “We are proposing these changes to give them the flexibility they need to balance their many responsibilities and make the best use of taxpayer dollars.”

The deadlines requiring that certain street name signs be replaced by 2018 to meet minimum retroreflectivity standards and requiring larger lettering on those street name signs are among the series of deadlines eliminated under the amendment proposed today. The proposal would also eliminate deadlines for increasing the size of various traffic signs, such as ‘Pass With Care’ and ‘One Way,’ as well as warning signs, such as ‘Low Clearance’ and ‘Advance Grade Crossing.’  Instead, communities will be able to replace and upgrade these signs when they reach the end of their useful life.

The DOT has retained twelve deadlines for sign upgrades that are critical to public safety. These safety-critical sign upgrades include installing “ONE WAY” signs at intersections with divided highways or one-way streets and requiring STOP or YIELD signs to be added at all railroad crossings that don’t have train-activated automatic gates or flashing lights.

Last November, FHWA published a request for comments in the Federal Register on deadlines and received almost 600 comments from highway agencies, state departments of transportation, other organizations, and private citizens.  FHWA took these comments into consideration as it developed the Notice of Proposed Amendments.  FHWA is also soliciting public comments for this proposed rule for the next 60 days, and comments should be directed to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/