“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.
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.
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!
The Memorial Day holiday weekend is typically one of the deadliest, most dangerous times of the year for drivers. Last year’s statistics reflect that. The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Governor’s Traffic Safety Board reported 11 people died as a result of motor vehicle accidents on Iowa roads over the 2009 Memorial Day weekend. Read the full news release with 2009 stats here.
This month, authorities nationwide are launching a Click It or Ticket effort from May 24th through June 4th to reduce the number of crashes – and fatalities – on the road. Iowa and Cedar Valley officers will be out in full force prior to, during, and following the Memorial Day holiday to enforce traffic laws, including seat belt use. In fact, if law enforcement finds you on the road unbuckled anytime or anywhere, you could receive a $93.75 ticket. So, don’t let the holiday excitement distract you from getting to your destination safely. Driving without a seatbelt, as well as impaired or distracted driving, could cost you more than a ticket – it could cost you your life.
Where are you headed this Memorial Day holiday? If you’re hitting the road, let us know how far you’re traveling!
New school signal at the intersection of Easton Avenue and W. 11th Street in Waterloo.
Crews have recently installed signal upgrades at two residential intersections in Waterloo. Fully actuated school signals have been added at the intersections of Easton Avenue and Hammond Avenue, as well as Easton Avenue and W. 11th Street. The signals now have a pedestrian button that, when pushed, causes the traffic lights to turn red in all four directions. This allows pedestrians – particularly students heading to and from Kittrell Elementary School – to cross from all sides.
While it may appear to drivers that the signals are broken, they are designed to temporarily stop traffic for pedestrians at all corners of the intersection. Watch the following YouTube video, which demonstrates how it works.
It’s amazing what you can learn on Twitter. Drive Safe Cedar Valley often uses social media, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, to get the word out about the importance of safe driving practices. But recently, a Cedar Valley citizen and community leader that we follow on Twitter unknowingly taught us about something. A tweet on Monday, April 26, from Aaron Buzza, Executive Director of the WaterlooConvention and Visitors Bureau, caught our attention when it flashed across our Twitter feed. It was in reply to a Twitter contact to simply confirm that he received their text message. But what caught our eye about this seemingly typical tweet was how Mr. Buzza said he received that text message: via DriveSafe.ly.
So, what is DriveSafe.ly? According to the site, it’s a mobile application that reads text (SMS) messages and e-mails aloud in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching the mobile phone. The app can be downloaded onto a BlackBerry, iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile, and has received a lot of buzz as a safe solution to end manual texting while driving. The app has two options. One is free. The other comes with a fee.
As a proponent for safer driving habits, Drive Safe Cedar Valley applauds the app’s efforts to keep drivers’ hands on the wheel. But we’re curious. Have you tried DriveSafe.ly? Do you think it improves driving safety, or do you think it still qualifies as a potentially-dangerous driver distraction? It’s certainly worth a conversation. Leave a comment and let us know what you think about DriveSafe.ly.
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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.
