McHenry Forum - Crash Reconstruction & Simulation

[url=http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/rita/090830/]Slides from DOT Dsitracted Driver Summit[/url] now available.
Here are a few[attachment=0]DDS Presentation - Day1-TVWW4.jpg[/attachment][attachment=2]DDS Presentation - Day1-TVWW0.jpg[/attachment][attachment=1]DDS Presentation - Day1-TVWW.jpg[/attachment]

[url=http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/dot15509.htm][b]Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Kicks Off Historic Summit to Tackle Dangers of Distracted Driving. New Research Finds Increase in Use of Hand-Held Devices Among All Drivers [/b][/url]
WASHINGTON - Leading the call for a cultural shift in how Americans view safe driving, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today challenged over 250 safety experts, industry representatives, elected officials and members of the public to help put an end to distracted driving. The Secretary's call to action kicked off a two-day Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, DC that will highlight the under-recognized dangers of distracted behavior behind the wheel.
“Every single time someone takes their eyes or their focus off the road - even for just a few seconds - they put their lives and the lives of others in danger,” said Secretary LaHood. “Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible and in a split second, its consequences can be devastating.”
Secretary LaHood today announced new research findings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that show nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. On any given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone.
See [url=http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/dot15509.htm]complete article[/url]
[url=http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/rita/090830/]Live Video feed![/url]

From the Washington Post, Sept 29, 2009
[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/28/AR2009092802136_pf.html]Tackling the New Scourge of Road Safety: Texting[/url]
By Ashley Halsey III
If you're driving the Beltway in heavy traffic, chances are that a driver in the next lane, directly ahead of you or in your rearview mirror is reading or writing a text message, officials in Virginia said Monday.
"If you think you're safe on the Capital Beltway, think again," said Lon Anderson, a spokesman for AAA. "We have an epidemic of distracted driving out there."
Anderson joined Virginia officials and police Monday in the first of several events this week that will address talking on cellphones and text messaging on the nation's highways. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will host a two-day seminar on distracted beginning Wednesday in Washington
for the entire atrticle see [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/28/AR2009092802136_pf.html]Tackling the New Scourge of Road Safety: Texting[/url]

[url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/technology/28truckers.html]Truckers Insist on Keeping Computers in the Cab[/url]
New York Times article, By MATT RICHTEL, September 28, 2009
Crisscrossing the country, hundreds of thousands of long-haul truckers use computers in their cabs to get directions and stay in close contact with dispatchers, saving precious minutes that might otherwise be spent at the side of the road.
The trucking industry says these devices can be used safely, posing less of a distraction than BlackBerrys, iPhones and similar gadgets, and therefore should be exempted from legislation that would ban texting while driving.
For full article see [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/technology/28truckers.html]Truckers Insist on Keeping Computers in the Cab[/url]

[url=http://www.rita.dot.gov/distracted_driving_summit/]Distracted Driver Summit[/url]
Wednesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 1, 2009
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a September summit to address the dangers of text-messaging and other distractions behind the wheel. In late September, senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics will convene in Washington, DC to discuss ideas about how to combat distracted driving.
Can't attend? [url=http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/rita/090830/]Click Here for the live Webcast![/url]