Road Rules recently reported that the Informed for Life risk index gave the highest safety rating to the 2009 Acura RL 4-DR.  One of our readers (Mr. M) recently survived a side-impact (T-bone) crash thanks in no small part to the safety features of his also highly rated 2007 Acura MDX, a midsize luxury crossover SUV.  Mr. M. speaks with considerable authority about this event, being a retired claims manager with a career that involved many years dealing with motor vehicle accident claims.

Examination of traffic safety issues often starts with referencing data and statistics. This is because, as Leonard Evans puts it in his book, Traffic Safety, “the purpose of studying safety is to examine factors that influence the likelihood of occurrence and the resulting harm from crashes…with the aim of identifying those [factors] that can be changed by countermeasures (or interventions) to enhance future safety.”

September is reported to be “National Manners Month”—a good time to look at one of the most important ‘courtesy’ road rules. People driving more slowly in the passing lanes than the cars coming up behind them cause a hazard by impeding the free flow of traffic even if they are driving close to the posted speed limit. 

According to Dr. Leonard Evans, in his 2004 book, “Traffic Safety”, a current leading reference work for road safety professionals, over 90% of the information we use to drive is visual. Of course it is. How could it be any other way? 

In 2004, the World Health Organization [WHO] and the World Bank, prompted by the recognition that in many parts of the world road traffic injuries are a growing public health issue disproportionately affecting youth and the poor, usefully produced the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention [the Report]. In October 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted a helpful resolution inviting Member States to implement the recommendation of the Report to participate in the First United Nations Global Road Safety Week [the Week]. The “Week” recently ran from 23–29 April 2007.