Stop the Maryland Unsafe Driver

Posts Tagged ‘children’

Six people — including three children — were taken to the hospital Friday afternoon after a Prince George’s county fire truck en route to a fire crashed with a Jeep Liberty in the Bladensburg area, authorities said.

The Washington Post has the entire story:

via Post Now – Pr. George’s fire truck, jeep in accident.

A 30-year-old Middletown man was killed and his wife injured seriously in a Christmas Eve rollover accident just west of Camden. The couple’s two young children were bruised, but survived.

via Camden crash claimed father on Christmas Eve | delawareonline.com | The News Journal.

Two children and one adult suffered serious injuries in a crash on Eastern Boulevard in Baltimore County on Saturday night, a Fire Department spokeswoman said.

via Two children, one adult injured in Baltimore County crash – Baltimore Sun.

NORTH BETHESDA, Md. — Authorities say one person has died after a commercial charter bus carrying parents and children fell 45 feet off a skyramp of the Washington beltway and landed below along Interstate 270.

via FOXNews.com – Police: 1 Dead, Several Injured in Maryland Bus Crash.

Beginning Monday, May 24, 2010, the new portable speed enforcement units will be rotated in school zones throughout the city on a daily basis. In an effort to promote safe driving habits in city communities, the City of Baltimore is adding four mobile speed enforcement units to its automated speed monitoring program. The program, which was originally launched in November, 2009 is designed to reduce driver speeds and make city streets safe for school children, motorists and pedestrians.

This link includes a complete list of all camera locations:

via Baltimore City Department of Transportation -Speed Monitoring Locations.

What the SUV’s driver did not realize was that Maryland State Police Cpl. Matthew Cantwell was watching nearby in an unmarked police cruiser hidden by tall grass.

This article at the Frederick News-Post has a number of issues that should be of concern to Maryland residents:

via Enforcement continues at dangerous intersection – The Frederick News-Post Online.

(Maryland should be called the “Warning” state. The likelihood of a twenty-one year old female resident in a large SUV with children on board gliding (not stopping) at a colloquially-known  dangerous intersection and then driving forty-five miles per hour in a twenty five miles per hour school zone receiving an actual citation seems remote.

There are some behaviors that SHOULD mandate a citation. When passengers, especially children, are placed at risk of injury or death especially by a younger driver with little life and driving experience a citation should be issued. A warning serves no useful purpose.

Warnings are part of the politically-correct-minimize-the-carnage posture that law enforcement takes in Maryland. This is simply wrong in the face of the sheer numbers of aggressive, wanton reckless, and careless drivers on our roads. A warning is serving no useful purpose.

The twenty one year old mom  in this story needs the ticket. A warning and the points are meaningless. When she has to deal with a fine and the increase in her insurance premium she may understand and commit to a lifetime of safe driving. The decision to take a serious risk at a dangerous intersection with children on board was, to say the least, flawed. Also flawed was the officer’s kindness in issuing a citation. Kindness may not a safe driver make.

There are far too many dead, maimed, and injured as a direct result of risky behaviors on our roads. Politicians need to get comfortable with enforcement for the sake of their constituents instead of providing a pass for bad behavior in a culture that has become reckless by default.)

DC MD and VA Law Enforcement Crack Down on Aggressive Driving; Campaign Kick-Off Highlights Dangers of Driving Aggressively in the Summer Months

BALTIMORE June 7 PRNewswire-USNewswire — With summer being the season of aggressive driving more than 90 state and local law enforcement agencies from Maryland Virginia and the District of Columbia are banding together to keep residents safe. The Smooth Operator campaign mobilizes its first wave of enforcement June 6 – June 12 and police across the region will be out in force to combat aggressive driving. Speeding has consistently been estimated to be a main factor in aggressive driving behavior. With children out of school construction activities ramping up and the influx of tourists the theme of this year s Smooth Operator campaign will be “Speeding IS aggressive driving and it STOPS HERE.”

“Drivers need to understand that keeping their temper in check and foot off the gas is essential to protecting themselves as well as other motorists ” said Sheriff Mike Evans President of the Maryland Sheriff s Association.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA estimates that aggressive driving behaviors – speeding tailgating running red lights and stop signs improper passing and other dangerous driving maneuvers – has cost billions of dollars and may be responsible for one-third of injury crashes and two-thirds of highway fatalities. The probability of death and debilitating injury increases with impacts at higher speeds – doubling for every 10 mph over 50 mph that a vehicle travels.

“Aggressive driving especially speeding is a real threat to all who share the roadways and requires a pan-regional effort ” noted Colonel George F. Johnson IV President of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association. “Close collaboration and cooperation across jurisdictions is what makes Smooth Operator so successful in both enforcement and education.”

Citations during four enforcement waves in 2009 totaled more than 408 577 – more than six and a half times the 62 000 issued in the initial year of 1997. Nearly 3.2 million citations and warnings have been issued since the beginning of the Smooth Operator program.

The 2009 Smooth Operator campaign was also successful in raising the awareness of aggressive driving behavior. Pre- and post-campaign public opinion surveys of Washington area drivers showed that the recognition of the Smooth Operator message increased 18 percentage points to 72 percent.

The 2010 Smooth Operator campaign enforcement waves are scheduled on the following dates

June 6 – 12 July 4 – 10

August 1 – 7

September 5 – 18

About Smooth Operator – www.smoothoperatorprogram.com Sixteen Washington area law enforcement agencies launched Smooth Operator in 1997 targeting motorists who drove aggressively. To enhance the annual law enforcement efforts public awareness campaigns and research began in 2000 and formed a cooperative interstate effort that is unique among the law enforcement groups and organizations involved. For more information visit www.smoothoperatorprogram.com SOURCE Smooth Operator.

RELATED LINKS http: www.smoothoperatorprogram.com

via Speeding IS Aggressive Driving and it STOPS HERE. — BALTIMORE, June 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –.

Perhaps for only seconds, he nodded off. Danny McCoy awoke as his car hit a utility pole in Rockville and the teenage girl in his passenger seat vaulted into the windshield

Read Donna St. George’s article about Danny McCoy at the Washington Post. It is a great one to read and discuss with your high-school age children:

via Aftermath of a deadly crash: Driver uses his guilt and grief to teach others.

CUMBERLAND — A new campaign, Never Leave Your Child Alone, has set a goal to make sure no more children will die in 2010 because they were left unattended in a vehicle.

via Kids safety drive begins » Local News » Cumberland Times-News.

As I was approaching the intersection of Ilchester Road a group of young men in a 4-door Jeep came within 6 inches of my handlebars. One jerk yelled in my ear an obscenity as the vehicle passed by. I could hear the laughs as they came to a halt at the intersection.

via Bicyclists have right to use the roads – baltimoresun.com.

(Parents of young Maryland hoodlums. Please read this article. I have seen this kind of thing happen here. One I witnessed included throwing bottles at parked vehicles. What are your children being taught about right and wrong not to mention safe driving.)