Traffic Safety Advocate

Crashes Are No Accident

Using the word accident suggests an incident was unavoidable, but many roadway crashes can be attributed to human error.

Humans make mistakes, but choices made by drivers affect themselves and ALL road users.

Choose a Safe Speed of Travel

 For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in about one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities. We all know the frustrations of modern life and juggling a busy schedule, but speed limits are put in place to protect all road users. Speed also affects safety even when driving at the speed limit but too fast for road conditions.

Speeding endangers the life of the speeder and all people on the road around them, including law enforcement. It is a problem we all need to help solve.

How to Help Prevent Speeding Related Crashes

Choose to Wear a Seat Belt

Annually, about 45% of Iowa's passenger vehicle traffic fatalities are unbuckled. One of the safest choices drivers and passengers can make is to fasten their seat belt.

• Buckling up helps keep passengers safe and secure inside a vehicle. Not buckling up can result in being totally ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly. 
• Air bags are not enough to protect passengers; in fact, the force of an air bag can injure or even kill you if you're not buckled.
• Improperly wearing a seat belt, such as putting the strap below an arm, puts you and your children at risk in a crash.

See the Consequences of NOT Buckling Up

Choose to Put Down the Phone

With more portable technology now than ever, driver distractions have risen to unprecedented numbers.  We live in a world where people expect instant, real-time information 24 hours a day and those desires do not stop just because people get behind the wheel.  Drivers simply do not realize the dangers posed when taking eyes and minds off the road and hands off the wheel.

Effective July 1, 2017, Iowa's distracted driving law became a primary law meaning law enforcement can stop any driver who is texting (reading, writing, or sending) or using any other portable electronic device, unless the motor vehicle is at a complete stop and off the traveled portion of the roadway.  

Drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using electronic devices entirely, unless the vehicle is stopped and off the traveled portion of the roadway or the device is permanently installed in the vehicle or operated through permanently installed equipment.

Also, effective July 1, 2017, a driver using a cellphone and causing the death of another person has shown evidence of reckless driving and could face a felony conviction that includes up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Ways to Limit Distraction While Driving

Choose to NOT Drive Impaired

Alcohol is a substance that reduces the function of the brain and impairs thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination. All these abilities are essential to operating a vehicle safely. Over the past five years in Iowa, an average of EIGHT PEOPLE died or were seriously injured EACH WEEK in a crash involving an impaired driver. Every day, about 37 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that's one person every 39 minutes.

BEING A RESPONSIBLE DRIVER IS SIMPLE: IF YOU ARE DRINKING, DO NOT DRIVE.

• Plan your safe ride home before you start the party. Choose a non-drinking friend as a designated driver.
• If someone you know has been drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel. Take their keys and help arrange a sober ride home. 
• If you drink, do not drive for any reason. Call a taxi, a ride share service, or a sober friend. 
• If you’re hosting a party where alcohol will be served, make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.

Blood Alcohol Level Calculator