“I just think there’s too much Big Brother out there,” said Des Moines City Council member Skip Moore on Monday, a quote that began an editorial in the Des Moines Register on Thursday, July 15, 2010. Unlike Councilman Moore, the Iowa newspaper supports the idea of traffic cameras. But there continues to be heated debate across the state over whether their existence is beneficial from a safety standpoint, or a “Big Brother violation.” As a campaign dedicated to safe driving practices, we’d have to side with the former.
Do you support traffic cameras at Iowa intersections? Why or why not? Leave a comment below or vote in our latest Twtpoll.
Last year, the New York Times posted an interactive driving simulator online to show how distracted driving – particularly texting – negatively impacts your ability to drive. In the wake of Iowa’s new law against texting while driving, we thought our readers may be interested in a virtual example of why this new law is so important to follow.
Studies show that drivers overestimate their ability to multitask behind the wheel. The simulator game measures how your reaction time is affected by external distractions. To try the simulator, click here to see how you do.
Have you ever had a close call because of texting while driving? Leave a comment, and let us know how that impacted you.
Drive Safe Cedar Valley, a traffic safety awareness initiative aimed at saving lives by changing the culture of driving in the Cedar Valley, has announced a new spokesperson to lead public awareness efforts in 2010. Corbin Payne, a lieutenant and Watch I Commander with the Waterloo Police Department, will promote the campaign’s mission and safety messages throughout the Cedar Valley. Payne joins Nick Anderson, a firefighter and paramedic for the Waterloo Fire Department, as a campaign spokesperson.
“The Drive Safe Cedar Valley campaign is designed to change the culture of driving in the Cedar Valley through safety awareness and advocacy,” said Sandie Greco, Superintendent of Traffic Operations for the City of Waterloo. “Corbin has seen the devastating impact of unsafe driving in the Cedar Valley up close. His experiences really put the importance of safe driving habits into perspective in our community.”
As a new spokesperson, Payne will help promote and share important safety and accountability messages with the community through public appearances, traditional media outlets and social media, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the Drive Safe Cedar Valley blog.
“As a public safety official, the Drive Safe Cedar Valley mission resonates with me because of the unsafe driving consequences I witness while on the job,”said Corbin Payne, Lieutenant and Watch I Commander with the Waterloo Police Department, and spokesperson for Drive Safe Cedar Valley. “By encouraging the community to take ownership of their safety and the safety of others, together we can raise awareness about this program and build support to sustain it into the future.”
Payne has been a member of the Waterloo Police Department since 1996. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of Watch I Patrol, Payne has also served as a Supervisor of the Citizens Response Unit (CRU) and the Waterloo Police Tactical Unit. Other duties and assignments include Patrol Officer, Drug Crime Unit, Bike Patrol Officer and Investigator with the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force.
The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) Commission has recently adopted a 5-year Transportation Improvement Plan, which spells out the priorities for the Iowa DOT from 2011 to 2016. All of the projects in the plan – including a rehabilitation project along Highway 63 in Waterloo – could have bicycle accommodations, like paved shoulders. Interstate or freeway projects are not included in this list.
The list of projects to be initiated in fiscal year 2011 – including the Highway 63 project – is listed on the Iowa Bicycle Coalition website.
Nick Anderson, spokesperson for Drive Safe Cedar Valley, shared some important safety messages with a younger audience today. He spoke to children attending the Quakerdale Mobile Camp at Hammond Brethren Church in Waterloo about seatbelt, pedestrian and bicycle safety. For more photos, visit the Drive Safe Cedar Valley Facebook page.
You can also listen in below to a YouTube video snippet of Nick chatting with the camp kids.
In an effort to reduce rural highway center line crossover crashes, the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) has adopted a policy to include center line rumble strips on certain sections of two-lane highways. According to a recent news release, 18-inch wide grooves will be milled into the center of the road to alert inattentive drivers when their vehicles are about to cross into the opposite lane.
Three test projects for center line rumble strips have already been installed on U.S. 34 in Union County, U.S. 52 in Dubuque County and U.S. 61 in Des Moines County.
RAGBRAI 2010 will be rolling through Waterloo before you know it! The city will be an overnight stop on Thursday, July 29. It’s important that Cedar Valley drivers are aware of the routes, as thousands of bicyclists will be wheeling their way into and out of town. Are you avoiding certain roads during RAGBRAI? Leave a comment and let us know!
To view the full statewide route map, click here.
To view the Waterloo route map, click here.
To view a map of Waterloo, click here.
Be extra cautious on the road if you’re heading to downtown Waterloo this weekend. My Waterloo Days, a community-wide, annual festival organized by volunteers to showcase and celebrate Waterloo’s cultural and recreational opportunities, kicks off today in downtown Waterloo! And, that means big crowds, lots of pedestrians and heavier traffic. Stay alert behind the wheel. Don’t drink and drive. Set your cell phone down.
Our lives are in your hands. Let’s make this year’s celebration as safe as possible for everyone!
To view or download maps for this year’s My Waterloo Days parade route, 5k walk/run and more, click here.
Saturdays in June are the deadliest on Iowa’s roadways, according to state data. So, for the second consecutive year, the Iowa State Patrol will be shifting work schedules to add troopers to state highways on Saturday nights through the month of June. Troopers will focus on drunken drivers in the program they’re calling “Safe Saturdays.”
“Last year when we started Safe Saturdays, I was hopeful it would be a good project, positively impacting Iowa,” said Colonel Patrick Hoye, Chief of the Iowa State Patrol. “But the project far exceeded my expectations. It was so successful ,we’re doing it again in 2010.”
Read the full Iowa State Patrol news release announcing this year’s Safe Saturdays initiative here.
Everyone’s in a hurry these days. Places to go, people to see, right? But our often hurried lives can carry over to the way we drive – with a dangerous effect. We came across the following YouTube video, which depicts several minutes worth of traffic camera clips of some serious intersection crashes and close calls. We could go on and on about the bad decision-making made by drivers in this video, but we don’t have to. The video speaks for itself. Let’s prevent these types of situations from happening in the Cedar Valley.
Sobering to watch, isn’t it? That brings us to our latest TwtPoll: How do you respond when a traffic light turns yellow? Cast your vote, or leave a comment below. We love feedback!
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“I just think there’s too much Big Brother out there,” said Des Moines City Council member Skip Moore on Monday, a quote that began an editorial in the Des Moines Register on Thursday, July 15, 2010. Unlike Councilman Moore, the Iowa newspaper supports the idea of traffic cameras. But there continues to be heated debate across the state over whether their existence is beneficial from a safety standpoint, or a “Big Brother violation.” As a campaign dedicated to safe driving practices, we’d have to side with the former.
