No. 267 April 2005
CELL PHONE USE Cell phone use by drivers is increasing. It was 3 % in 2000, 4% in 2002, and 5% in 2004. Between June 7 and July 11, 2004,(excluding July 2-5), thousands of drivers who were observed as they stopped at specific intersections and stop lights. They were surveyed and counted by the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) Office of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This an annual survey found that in 2004 8% of drivers between 16 and 24 used hand-held cell phones, which is up from 5% in 2002. The use rate for female drivers rose from 2% in 2002 to 6% in 2004. Driver cell phone headset use was measured for the first time, and 0.4% of drivers were using headsets. “Drivers Speaking with Headsets On, by Major Characteristics,” and “Drivers Holding Phones, By Major Characteristics” are two major tables found in this five page report. There are other related statistical tables about the number of sites for observations and the numbers of vehicles and drivers observed. It is also reported that as of 2004 only New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia are the only States banning hand-held cell phone use while driving. Driver Cell Phone Use in 2004 – Overall Results, by Donna Glassbrenner, Ph.D. was issued in February 2005 as a Traffic Safety Facts Research Note (DOT HS 809 847). This five page report is a PDF file found at
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2005/809847.pdf
KEY NATIONAL SOCIAL INDICATORS How well is your family succeeding and progressing in your life? Are you successful socially, financially, educationally, medically, etc.? Are you keeping up with those around you? Keeping up with the Joneses? Your comparison to other families in terms of education, health, wealth, and materials possessions will show you how you compare to the Jones, and provide an assessment of your position in the social world. The assessment will show how far you have developed socially since becoming employed and married what needs to be developed to make further progress socially. In 1789, the thirteen Colonies became the United States, a new and free democratic nation. The United States is now one of the world’s leading democracies, but how does it compare with other leading democracies, as in how “one compares with the Jonses? How does a nation evaluate its growth and compare itself to others? On February 27, 2003 the National Academies of Science hosted a national forum which discussed the lack of and need for a set of key national indicators to help assess our nation’s position and progress. On the Key National Indicators Initiative website, the Forum’s 67 page summary report Form on Key National Indicators, Assessing the Nation’s Position and Progress will be found. Related information on Key National Indicators website includes information about the current research, participating organizations, and some of the Specialized Indicators Systems under consideration. For more detail and the Congressional views and opinions there is the 239 page full report Informing Our Nation, Improving How to Understand and Assess the USA’s Position and Progress, GAO-05-1, issued November 2004 by the GAO in November 2004 is found at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-1 and http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d051.pdf
COWBOYS AND INDIANS The basic dictionary definition of Cowboy is a man who works on a ranch and spends much of his time on horseback taking care of cattle. There are undoubtedly some cowboys who currently work on the cattle ranches in the western United States. Historically, with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase and its lands west of the Mississippi River, the role of the American cowboy came into existence. His varied duties included handling the cattle on ranches and driving the cattle long distances to market. The cowboy was an essential part of frontier life. Then there were the Indians who were already here. The Indians, who were the First Americans, who welcomed the 1620 colonists at Plymouth Rock, and later became the adversaries of many of those American colonists, settler, and pioneer. Who were the Indians? Two tribes east of the Mississippi River were Iroquois and Seminole. It was the Apache, Sioux, etc Indians and who greeted the pioneers who moved west of the Mississippi River. Yet, we can’t forget the Inuit and Tlinglet Indians in Alaska who greeted the Americans who went north to Alaska. You can find more details about the Cowboys in the next article, but Census Bureau’s American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Data and Links http://factfinder.census.gov/home/aian/index.html to find the 539 Indian tribes recognized by the Census Bureau.
THE AMERICAN COWBOY The American Cowboy was one of America’s major 19th century occupations and a vital a part of America’s history. Their work area, the Great Plains, went from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains and Canada down to the Rio Grande. The cowboys drove large herds of cattle hundreds of miles North up one of four cattle trails, hundreds of miles from Texas and other distant areas to cities such as Cheyenne, Dodge City, Kansas City where the cattle were sold and shipped to cattle markets. The sale of these cattle was an essential part of America’s economy and food supply as part of the dinners of thousands of urban Americans. “The American Cowboy” is a brief, but very comprehensive description with pictures of the American Cowboy. The article, which was written for foreigners who are studying English and are unfamiliar with the terms and jargon of America’s 19th century west. There a “Notes on The American Cowboy” section which explains the meaning and use of the “cowboy terms” used in the article. This would be background for understanding the “western movies” era of television and movies. “The American Cowboy” in English Teaching Forum, V. 30, No. 1, January, 1992 pages 28-33, (IA 1.17:30/1) is found in many depository libraries. The article also includes a 21 x 30 inch foldout which shows cattle trails from Texas to Kansas City. As of this date, the 1992 English Teaching Forum is NOT on the State Department English Teaching Forum website (http://exchanges.state.gov/education/engteaching/eal-foru.htm ).
ECONOMIC COSTS OF MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES If, while using a cell phone a driver causes an accident which includes colliding into other cars, personal injuries, and the loss of his cell phone, what will the replacement cost of the cell phone? The replacement of cell phones will be about $70.00 which is minor when compared to the loss of life, work time, medical costs, and all the related secondary costs which result from this vehicle crash. Also, we will never know the cost of the phone or the exact economic costs of this accident because of privacy laws and there are some multicar accidents whose costs could be “in the thousands of dollars.” The costs of this crash and most crashes never reach the news media. However, what is public knowledge is that in 2000 the total economic cost of motor vehicle crashes in the United States was $230.6 billion. Seat belt use saved 11,900 people from death, 325,000 serious injuries, and $50 billion in related injury costs. However, alcohol caused of 80% of the crashes, and driving over the speed limit or too fast for conditions cost $40.4 billion. Medical expenses were about $32 billion and travel delay cost about $25 billion. Where public revenues paid for 9% of motor vehicle crashes, the taxpayers paid a bill of $21 million, which translates into about $200 in added taxes for every household. If, in 2000 preventable crashes were prevented, society would have saved $26 million in injury related costs. The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2000, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Report (DOT HS 809 446) issued in May 2002 is interesting reading and is found at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Communication%20&%20Consumer%20Information/Articles/Associated%20Files/EconomicImpact2000.pdf (NOTE: This PDF file require a "long time" to upload to one's computer!)
LARGE TRUCKS & CARS CRASHES ARE NOT ACCIDENTS AND WHOSE FAULT IS IT? A 1998 study of more than 5,400 fatal car-truck crashes showed that the car driver’s behavior was three times more likely than the truck driver to contribute to the cause of a fatal car-truck accident. The trucks in this study are at least 10,000 pounds yet, vehicle crashes are not accidents. The car driver was solely responsible for 70 percent of the fatal crashes compared to 16 percent for the truck driver. There is a list of 26 Unsafe Driving Acts (UDAs) of the car drivers involved in the car-truck crashes. The UDAs are ranked by the danger and frequency and the top three are (1) Driving inattentively (e.g. reading, talking on the phone, fatigued-induced), (2) merging improperly into traffic (causing a truck to maneuver or brake quickly), and (3) failure to stop for a stop sign or light (also, early or late through a signal). How many of the 26 UDAs have you committed? This analysis of only fatal car-truck crashes shows car drivers carry more responsibility than truck drivers for fatal crashes. The analysis also reveals how many crashes were caused solely by cars, solely by truck drivers, and how many crashes were caused by both. Many crashes were found to be unavoidable due to a myriad of driver’s judgment and traffic conditions. An Examination of Fault, Unsafe Driving Acts, and Total Harm in Car-Truck Collisions, Summary Report is an 8 page summary of a full Report issued by the Transportation Research Board in 2003. The content of the Summary Report also identifies earlier related studies which complement this research and analysis. The Federal Highway Administration, Highway Safety Information System’s website http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/hsis/pubs/04085/ provides html and PDF versions of the Summary Report and identifies the complete report.
SMILE FOR THE CAMERA (AS YOU RUN THE RED LIGHT) The local Cincinnati Ohio radio new broadcast recently carried the new item that the City Council voted not to implement the Red Light Camera System. This decision may be final, or change at some future date, but at least for a while those speeding will not have to worry about smiling for the camera. Does one think of smiling while speeding through a red light? The Federal Highway Administration considers the red light camera is a high-priority market-ready safety technology that reduces crashes at red light intersections. It works and is very effective at reducing the $14 billion that society spends for vehicle crashes at red lights. Almost 1,000 people were killed and 176,000 were injured in 2003 due to running a red light. The city of Cincinnati saved money by not installing red light cameras. There would have been costs for developing all the photographs of violators. No photographs, not traffic citations, no fine collections, and no reductions in red light violations. Finally, no one will worry about smiling while running the red light. Yet running the red light is the third worst Unsafe Driving Act of car-truck crashes. The Federal Highway Administration’s Red Light Camera Systems Operational Guidelines, issued January 2005 (http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersections/rlc_guide/index.htm) is to inform local decision-makers why some drivers should have to smile for the camera. Making Intersections Safer: A Toolbox of Engineering Countermeasures to Reduce Red-Light Running, An Informational Report issued in 2003 is 60 pages of very useful information at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersections/rlr_report/index.htm.
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES FOR MEN AND ANIMALS In some instances, the local health department or hospital has one or more people with a rare or unusual medical problem which they can not adequately diagnose, contain, or treat. There are incidents of disease outbreaks such as West Nile virus, SARS, Avian flu, Mad Cow disease, explosions, radiation accidents, hazardous materials spills, and anthrax outbreaks which involve identification, diagnosis, containment, and treatment. Some of the medical emergencies which make the news we hear (radio), see (television), and read (newspapers/magazines) involve only animals (Avian Flu) and some affect people (SARS, seasonal flu) and some diseases can move from animals to humans. What recourse is there to prevent one or many instances of a disease incident from becoming an epidemic? How does one get diagnosis, laboratory analysis, or treatment assistance or suggestions for human medical emergencies and for animals’ medical emergencies? The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s Emergency Response and Preparedness at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/ is a website for federal agency which provides emergency medical assistance for health professionals treating people. The health professionals who treat animals rely on the National Biosecurity Resource Center for Animal Health Emergencies http://www.biosecuritycenter.org/ is hosted by the Purdue Homeland Security Institute. National Incident Management System, March 1, 2004 is the Department of Homeland Security’s 140 page publication which provides all the details of the Biosecurity Resource Center for Animal Health Emergencies http://www.biosecuritycenter.org/content/gvmtDocs/nims.pdf .
March 30, 2006
http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0504.htm