CONNECTIONS

IDAHO
ITD HOME
IDAHO DMV
ITD NEWS
HIGHWAY SAFETY
IDAHO STATE POLICE
TRAVEL SERVICES
STATE OF IDAHO

NATIONAL
AASHTO
AAMVA
AAA of IDAHO
FEDERAL HIGHWAYS
FEDERAL AVIATION
IDAHO STATE POLICE
NHTSA
NTSB
TRB
U.S. DOT

 

Idaho Transportation
Department
Public Affairs Office
P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563
Email


Summit addresses highway safety

Nearly 200 safety professionals and law enforcement officials gathered in Boise Thursday for the Idaho Highway Safety Summit. The summit was sponsored by the Idaho Transportation Department’s Office of Traffic and Highway Safety (OTHS).

The event focused on ways to prevent fatal and serious injuries, and associated costs, resulting from traffic crashes. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people ages 4-34.

Nationally recognized experts addressed traffic safety and enforcement topics such as impaired driving, aggressive driving enforcement and the use of safety restraints and seat belts.

“This summit is all about saving lives,” said Mark Strait of OTHS. “Aggressive driving and impaired driving are the biggest behavioral contributors to traffic crashes in Idaho. Buckling up remains the best defense against serious injury or death for you, and your passengers, if you’re involved in a crash.

“Working with law enforcement officers and highway safety partners to spread these messages is at the heart of the summit.”

Participants included representatives from the Idaho State Police, county sheriffs’ offices and local police departments, as well as 28 other agencies and organizations involved in safety issues.

Program highlights included:

  • Oregon State Patrol Trooper Michael Holloran talked about enforcement of child passenger safety laws. Idaho’s new law, effective July 1, requires children through the age of 6 to be properly secured in appropriate child safety restraints.
  • Chuck Hayes, International Association of Chiefs of Police, provided an update on standard field sobriety testing and drug recognition procedures.
  • Sgt. John Wilson, Twin Falls Police Department, explained his department’s use of unmarked cars to combat aggressive driving.
  • Lt. Bob Clements, Idaho State Police, talked about the status of alcohol compliance checks to address drinking by underage drivers.
  • Russ Spearman, Idaho State University, put the personal and societal costs of traumatic brain injuries into perspective. Traffic crashes are the primary cause of traumatic brain injuries in Idaho.

Every day, five Idahoans are either killed or seriously injured in traffic crashes. Society at large pays 85 percent of the medical costs for those involved in crashes. These costs are passed on to the general public through insurance premiums, taxes and increased charges for medical services.

ITD received $435,000 in grant funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to support the upcoming Click It, Don’t Risk It! education and enforcement campaign. The summit will serve to prepare the agencies for this and other upcoming enforcement events.