FINISHING OFF MOMS WEEKEND WITH A BANG

After a successful week of bringing attention to distracted driving on Terrell Mall we moved the wreck car to a new location on Greek Row across the street from Valhalla Bar and Grill. Because of the new location the wrecked vehicle began to bring attention to more than just distracted driving and started to serve as a reminder that people should also not drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

How big is the problem?

• In 2016, 10,497 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.

• Of the 1,233 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2016, 214 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.

• In 2016, more than 1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That’s one percent of the 111 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (figure below).

• Drugs other than alcohol (legal and illegal) are involved in about 16% of motor vehicle crashes.

• Marijuana use is increasing and 13% of nighttime, weekend drivers have marijuana in their system.

• Marijuana users were about 25% more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers with no evidence of marijuana use, however other factors–such as age and gender–may account for the increased crash risk among marijuana users.

Many people who passed the display were intrigued about the details of the incident that the vehicle was a part of. Unfortunately we do not have any more information other than that the vehicle was received from the Pullman Fire Department. The main point of this display was to really show each person that passed how serious driving distracted really is. Changing the radio, talking to someone on the phone, or texting is never more important than your life or the life of someone else. 

We thank everyone that was involved in helping make this Display possible and bringing awareness to such an important cause.

the information for this post is located on https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html

Driver Safety Awareness Week 2019

Did you know that April is National Distracted Driver Month?

This year Palouse RTPO hosted Driver Safety Awareness week the week of April 15th through April 21st.

So what is Driver Safety Awareness Week?

Driver Safety Awareness Week has been an event that we have been putting on for the last three years. Each April we set aside one week to take time to reach out to the local community and really spread awareness of what distracted driving is, and how it can effect us. Many people don't realize that their are three different types of distracted driving and that really distracted driving is as simple as ANYTHING that takes your mind, eyes, or hands off of the wheel. Every day we went out to a different school here in the Palouse to ask students to take the pledge to not drive distracted. Because we feel that each one of them can make an impact to our world and help reach are goal of zero fatalities from distracted driving.

Now some people may say that zero is an unrealistic number but isn't true that our own goal for each one of our own families is zero? So if that's true that shouldn't that goal be the same for our whole nation?

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday we visited Colfax, Clarkston,and Pullman High School and talked to so many different students about what it looks like to drive safe. We got a lot of responses from different high school students saying that they already practice driving safe or that their mom would kill them if they texted and drove. The issue is according to the Times "A new study surveyed 1,000 drivers and found that 98% of those who text everyday and drive frequently say the practice is dangerous. Still, nearly 75% say they do it anyway." 

We also got a strong response from the driver simulator that we brought. Kids loved practicing their driving skills and even seeing what it would look like to drive under the influence by wearing a pair of our drunk goggles while playing the game. By creating simple tasks to try to accomplish while wearing the drunk goggles each high schooler really saw the effect that drugs and alcohol have to your senses and response time.

On Tuesday and Friday we visited both WSU and U of I. Our response was very positive a lot of different people stopped to make the pledge to not drive distracted including a police officer from Moscow, and many different students from different chapters of the Greek community. 

The most shocking thing that we found while going to these events were the people that would listen to what we were doing and then tell us that they didn't feel like they could take the pledge because they knew that they would text and drive again.

Isn't your life,the life of a loved one or even a complete random stranger worth so much more than a text?

http://time.com/3561413/texting-driving-dangerous/

Don't Drive Distracted- Mom's Week at WSU Campus Car Wreck Display

This past week, Palouse RTPO put on our 2nd car wreck display to promote safe driving on the Palouse. The display was meant to bring awareness to not driving distracted. Distracted Driving can mean many things and many people often are not aware that there are three different types of distracted driving.  Do you know the three types of Distracted Driving?

Manual- Manual is anything that takes one or both hands off of the wheel, like eating or drinking, adjusting car settings, or reaching for objects like purses or wallets. 

Visual- Visual is when drivers take their eyes off the road to do something like consult a map or GPS device or staring at roadside attractions, crashes, or pedestrians. 

Cognitive-Cognitive is anything that takes your mind off of the road such as talking to passengers, on a cell phone, or even just allowing your mind to wander.

At the beginning of this week, we did run into a few snags with this display because of the mass amounts of rain and flooding in the Palouse starting Monday. After putting the display up Monday morning and rushing to get everything laminated because of the rain with the full design of two tripods, a poster board and text messages to surround the car they were all destroyed within twenty four hours, thanks to the non-stop rain that we have had. So a third larger display was created that was simple and stable enough to withstand the rain and wind this coming week. 

We are so glad that everyone in our community stayed safe during the 2019 Pullman Flood.

We hope that this banner and the gruesome display of this wrecked car showed the community what the outcome could look like if they decide to text and drive or in general drive distracted.

Please avoid messing with your car settings, eating and drinking, messing with your GPS, or talking on a cell phone!!! Let's all make better choices behind the wheel!

ALSO Realize Hands Free Cellphone Devices are not ANY safer. 

As explained earlier Cognitive Distracted Driving is one of the main ways that people drive distracted. If your mind isn't on the road you aren't focused on what is going on around you. Check out this article by the Washington Post to read about how the Myth Busters disprove that Hands Free Devices are safer.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/08/20/is-hands-free-cell-phone-use-really-safer-for-driving-we-asked-mythbusters/?utm_term=.723f029c1074

Thanks to many of our campaign partners for working with us to make this display happen! Hope it will give you all something to talk about with your family and spread the word!

Interactions that can save lives - Palouse Driver Safety Campaign at WSU Transfer Alive! Orientation

Interactions that can save lives - Palouse Driver Safety Campaign at WSU Transfer Alive! Orientation

The past weekend, April 23rd to 25th, marked the second student orientation for the WSU students of 2019. This specific orientation focused in on, in and out of state students transferring to WSU. Most of the faces were excited and eager to join the Pullman community, WSU student lives, and many more things that WSU has to offer. This year, the Palouse Driver Safety Campaign, continued the opportunity to table for their Sunday's Resource Fair event.

Many families of parents, guardians, and grandparents, walked by and spoke to our representative, Emily Kaselen. She connected with over 50 individuals, including students and parents with some signing the pledge to be a safer driver and active passenger, while many took flyers with them to learn more about our campaign. The most individuals that Emily connected with, had major concerns about driving the distance, the farthest students being from the state of California. Luckily, with flyers in hand with the campaign's social media platforms and website information, students were able to gain an additional resource for driving safety here in Pullman and the Whitman County.

Thanks to the New Student Program's WSU Transfer Alive! Orientation and the Resource Fair for allowing us to continue to spread awareness about the importance of safe driving with our communities and sharing this public driver safety awareness campaign to our new transfer students and families that will ultimately help save lives of ones we love and care!

REMEMBER TO ALWAYS BE SAFE WHERE YOU ARE TRAVELING TO AND...

GO COUGS!

Expect Congestion....

If You're Planning to Travel East for College Game Day in Pullman Delays are Likely... 

What is going on?

The bridge on SR26 will be closed for six weeks due to the rapid deterioration to the deck. Repairs were originally planned for Spring of 2019, but bridge office technicians have decided to move the project up in priority rather than allow the bridge to endure another winter.

The 32 mile detour around the construction site will slow down Cougar Fans and any other travelers making the trip to Southeast Washington. Be aware that construction on the SR 26 bridge is expected until November 21st, 2018.

This construction comes at a time when a large number of WSU Cougar Fans are likely to be traveling across the state for College Game Day. It is important that drivers are prepared and aware of unavoidable traffic delays.

An Expected 75,000 people are expected to arrive on the Palouse this weekend   

Between bridge repairs, College Game Day hype, and the University of Idaho's Homecoming game taking place this weekend on the Palouse, patience will pay off when you finally arrive in the pullman area. You can expect a large influx of people crowding the streets throughout the region. Stadium Way from Grimes Way to Cougar Way will be closed from Midnight -after the football game on Saturday.

Expect RV's, pedestrians, congestion throughout the region. Since 2016 SR26 and Highway 195 have had over one thousand traffic incidents. Lets not contribute to that number this weekend because we are in a hurry. The roads to the Palouse are narrow without much of a shoulder, and few passing lanes. Game Day in Pullman is not worth your life. Plan ahead, slow down, #besafecougs. 

Upcoming SR 26 Road Closure & Safety Event...

SR26 Road Closure will Cause Detour...

Traveling from Western Washington to the Southeast Region? Get ready for a six week traffic project that will cause a 32 mile detour on SR26 ...

Despite being patched, an 8-foot by 4-foot hole in the SR 26 bridge east of Othello has been placed on the immediate priority list of Washington State construction projects. Risk of bridge failure has advanced the project to Monday, October 15th with the goal of completion proposed for Wednesday November 21st in anticipation of another harsh winter.

How does this Affect You? 

October 20th -WSU vs. University of Oregon
November 3rd -WSU vs. The University of California
November 17th - WSU vs. The University of Arizona

The travel project will add approximately 15 additional minutes to the trip, if you would normally be driving through the portion of road utilizing the SR 26 bridge. Be prepared for congestion and pay attention to workers on the roadway. Detour signs will be placed along SR17, 260, and US route 395 which will add about 14 miles to your trip to southeast Washington.

How should you plan? 

Eastbound traffic will continue on I-90 until just beyond Ritzville where traffic will continue south on SR 261 until SR26. Westbound traffic on SR 26 from Pullman will turn north at Washtucna onto SR 261 to I-90.

WSU Safety Fair 

Don't have a lot of experience driving in the snow? No problem! 

Washington State University is hosting it's annual Safety Fair on Tuesday, October 16th from 10:30am - 1:30pm in the CUB Senior Ballroom. The Palouse Driver Safety Campaign will be hosting a regional driver education teacher to help show you how to put chains on this upcoming winter. Hubert Hogaboam will provide his extensive experience to help with any questions or concerns you might have about winter driving and driving safety. Included in the Safety Fair, will be information about how to change a tire, hooking up jumper cables, and general safety tips that you may be unaware of. Recommendations on driver safety and safety procedure vary depending on the type of vehicle you drive. Educate yourself now so that you know how to respond before you have a traffic incident that leaves you stranded.

For travel information including live road cams, weather advisories, and construction updates, visit us at www.safepalousedrivers.com 

Like and share us on our Facebook page for travel tips and updates.

July Update

The Palouse Driver Education Campaign has been participating in a lot of events since the last blog post. Beginning in June, our office has been attending Washington State University Alive sessions and have met many wonderful new students and parents. We would like to thank WSU Transportation Services for allowing us to share their table space.

The PDEC has also participated in the Pullman Safety Fair along with WSU Transportation Services, Pullman Fire Department, WSU Police Department, and other agencies. The Safety Fair served as the debut of our driving simulator which both parents and kids enjoyed.

Be sure to check out www.safepalousedrivers.com to see a list of events, dates with expected increased traffic, road and construction updates, and everything else you need to drive safely in the Palouse.

The next events we will be participating in are as follows. Be sure to come check us out, take the pledge to help end distracted and drowsy driving, and maybe try out the driving simulator.

Aug 14- WSU Resource Fair
Aug 17- WSU Picnic
Aug 17-18th- National Lentil Festival
September 6-9th- Palouse Empire Fair