A Visual Approach to Cycling Crash Data
World Day of Remembrance 2020
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year.
It is a high-profile global event to remember the many millions who have been killed and seriously injured on the world’s roads and to acknowledge the suffering of all affected victims, families and communities – millions added each year to countless millions already suffering: a truly tremendous cumulative toll.
This Day has also become an important tool for governments and all those whose work involves crash prevention or response to the aftermath of crashes, since it offers the opportunity to demonstrate the enormous scale and impact of road deaths and injuries, call for an end to the often trivial and inappropriate response to road death and injury and advocate for urgent concerted action to stop the carnage.
On World Day we too pay tribute to the dedicated emergency crews, police and medical professionals, who deal daily with the traumatic aftermath of road crashes.
For the past several years in Whatcom County, we’ve held a World Day of Remembrance ceremony. This year, because of COVID-19, we were unable to gather together. Still, we want to remember those who have been killed in traffic crashes and honor the emergency workers who are called upon to respond. This video captures the words and actions of leaders and responders in our community:
Deadly Motorcycle Crashes Are Increasing
I don’t normally post media releases here (I don’t think I’ve ever done it), but in this case, I’ll make an exception. This message needs to get out. If you ride a motorcycle, this is a sobering reminder to be safe out there.
Continue reading “Deadly Motorcycle Crashes Are Increasing”Donuts and Traffic Episode 2 – The Prosecutor
Yes, there is a second episode of Donuts and Traffic. Does that officially make it a series? Just to be sure, episode three is in the works.
In this episode I interview Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Miriam Norman. She’s an impaired driving expert with some information that may surprise you (and possibly change how you think).
Note: Even though this video was posted on April 1, the actual filming took place before social distancing was in place here in Washington. We don’t want to give the impression we’re disregarding the very important practices needed to keep us safe during this time.
World Day of Remembrance 2019
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is commemorated to remember the many people killed and injured on our roads, together with their families, friends and many others who are also affected. It is also a day on which we thank the emergency services and reflect on the tremendous burden and cost of this daily continuing disaster to families and communities, and on ways to halt it. Our remembrance ceremony will include stories from emergency responders and a family member of a victim of a traffic crash, along with a memorial walk to honor the victims of traffic crashes in Whatcom County.
Continue reading “World Day of Remembrance 2019”How Mad Should You Be About Slow Trucks?
Q: Why are semi trucks allowed to drive between 35-45 mph on Mount Baker Highway? The speed limit is a reasonable 55 mph that people already have a hard time managing. I commute daily to town and the trucks (usually Canadian) are increasing and very frustrating. They don’t care about the road rules and continue to be constant traffic hazards. International trucks don’t pay into our road taxes in upkeep or patrolling. So in essence, they get a free passage while locals who pay for the roads are unable to go the speed limit.
A: For a lot of people, driving is frustrating; maybe the most frustrating part of their day. One of the big reasons is, according to Ryan Martin in Psychology Today, goal-blocking. Goal-blocking occurs when you have a goal (getting to work on time), someone else interferes with that goal (driving slow and making you late), and there’s nothing you can do about it. Your frustration is real and shared by enough people to have its own term and an article in a psychology magazine. But that doesn’t fix anything, does it?
Continue reading “How Mad Should You Be About Slow Trucks?”Traffic Nerd Goes To The Movies – Game Night
What if there was a movie reviewer that only cared about the traffic safety parts of the show? Yep, you’d get “Traffic Nerd Goes To The Movies.” This is the first of what will hopefully become a semi-regular feature at TheWiseDive.com. In this episode we consider the importance of seatbelts and the use of sports cars as a compensation tool.
World Day of Remembrance 2018
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) is commemorated to remember the many people killed and injured on our roads, together with their families, friends and many others who are also affected. It is also a day on which we thank the emergency services and reflect on the tremendous burden and cost of this daily continuing disaster to families and communities, and on ways to halt it. This year’s theme is “Roads Have Stories.” Continue reading “World Day of Remembrance 2018”
Distracted Driving In My Neighborhood
I heard some commotion outside my house today. I stepped around the corner and saw this:
Driving in America – 110 Years Ago
This old film was shot from the front of a street car on Market Street in San Francisco. There are so many things going on that I don’t know where to start. I’ll just review my stream of consciousness as I watched it: Continue reading “Driving in America – 110 Years Ago”