For Nov. 15----Road Watch
Single-vehicle crashes were the cause of nearly 60 percent of traffic deaths on Pennsylvania roads in 2008, a recent analysis of federal data by AAA Mid-Atlantic shows.
That’s a 1 percent increase over the previous year. However, overall fatalities decreased by 1.5 percent in 2008.
In 2008, 845 of the 1,468 road deaths in the state were as a result of a single-vehicle crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported. The 2008 data shows the percentage of single-vehicle crashes in the state is the same as it was in 2006.
“A high percentage of traffic deaths from single-vehicle crashes in Pennsylvania is troubling,” says AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Catherine Rossi. “While the circumstances of each crash are different, we know drivers’ actions play a significant role.”
Drivers can lower their risk of a crash by avoiding distractions, not speeding and paying attention to road conditions, she said.
Most drivers consider single-vehicle crashes “freak accidents,” but in fact such crashes involved numerous contributing factors that motorists can control.
Distracted driving is chief among them. It increases the risks of single-vehicle and rear-end crashes, research shows.
Federal government studies show that 80 percent of crashes involve some form of driver inattention.
Pennsylvania’s percentage of single-vehicle crashes is six points higher than the most recent national average for single-vehicle crash road deaths, which was nearly 52 percent in 2007.
Pennsylvania’s single-vehicle crash deaths as a percentage of the total vehicle fatalities was as follows: 2008, 58 percent; 2007, 57 percent; 2006, 58 percent; 2005, 55 percent; 2004, 54 percent.
In Delaware last year, single-vehicle crash deaths accounted for 56 percent, 68 out of 121.
In New Jersey last year, these deaths accounted for 63 percent, 371 of 590.
Buckle Up
Nearly 88 percent of motorists on state roads are making the often life-saving decision to obey the law and buckle up, PennDOT said.
The 2009 seat belt use rate for Pennsylvania reached a record of 87.9 percent, an increase from the previous high of 86.7 percent reported in 2007.
Stronger traffic safety enforcement is one contributing factor to the rising seat belt usage rate.
About 450 municipal police departments and state police participate in national and statewide Click It or Ticket campaigns. More than 10,000 seat belt citations were issued by these departments in the last year.
PennDOT invested nearly $2.5 million of federal funding for this enforcement.
Another possible reason for the improvement is broader seat belt education aimed at students in kindergarten through grade 12. Law enforcement officers presented more than 850 programs reaching 47,000 students.
In conjunction with the programs, police increased the number of patrols around schools to encourage young drivers and their passengers to buckle up.
PennDOT reminds motorists that under state law, all front-seat passengers are required to buckle up. Failure to comply with the seat belt law can result in a penalty of $60, including the fine and other costs.
Children aged 4 to 8 must be restrained in an appropriate booster seat when riding anywhere in a motor vehicle. Also, children aged 8 to 18 must be in a seat belt when riding anywhere in the vehicle. Both of these laws are secondary – which means that drivers can be ticketed only when cited for another traffic violation such as speeding.
The state’s primary child passenger safety law requires children under the age of four to be properly restrained in an approved child safety seat anywhere in the vehicle. The fine for non-use of child safety and booster seats is a maximum of $100 in addition to other costs.
Hog Island Road Lighting
PECO Energy Co. has completed the first phase of a multi-year project to replace one-quarter of the street lights along Hog Island Road in Tinicum. The loop located east of Route 291 serves Philadelphia International Airport, the U.S. Postal Service Center, the Army National Guard post and several industrial customers.
About 20 street lights are being replaced each year.
Groundwater and moisture has caused damage to underground electric lines in the area and above-ground electric lines were not desirable in the area due to air traffic. The Hog Island area is made up mostly of marshes and meadows.
PECO recently completed about one mile of the underground work, using a combination of its electric and gas crews for the job. Another stretch will be replaced next year.
PECO and local officials discussed the project in recent months with particular concern for public safety, especially with local traffic. PECO said the conditions of the local area altered its typical engineering approach to the facility upgrades.
The new underground conduit will ensure electric lines are not affected by the constant exposure to moisture. Underground facilities tend to be less vulnerable to most weather conditions, such as wind and lightning, and other factors, including vehicle accidents.
However, when outages occur, it tends to take longer to identify and repair problems and is much more costly, PECO said.
Traffic Delays
Upland – Brookhaven Road, ADA ramp construction with lane restrictions between Trimble Boulevard and Bridgewater Road 7 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.
Tinicum and Chester – Fourth Avenue, ADA ramp construction between Second Street and Governor Printz Boulevard 7 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.
Also, Second Street, ADA ramp construction at Madison Street in Chester, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.
Chester – Kerlin Street, ADA ramp construction between 10th and 14th streets, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.
Baltimore Pike (Route 1) – Middletown and Chester Heights, bridge replacement between Darlington Road and Station Road, 24-hour restrictions through June 2011. Work began Oct. 12. Cost is $4.27 million; contractor is J.D. Eckman Inc.
Upper Chichester -- Naamans Creek Road (Route 491), utility installation by the Southern Delaware County Sewer Authority, closed/detoured between Meetinghouse and Larkin roads, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. through Nov. 24. Work began Sept. 28. Detour posted.
Naamans Creek Road – Chadds Ford, utility installation between U.S. Route 202 and I-95, 9 a.m.-3 p.m weekdays through Nov. 13. Work began Oct. 12.
Baltimore Pike (Route 1) – Middletown, Aqua Pa. utility installation between Black Horse Lane and Valley Road 8 p.m.-6 a.m. weekdays through Nov. 30.
Baltimore Avenue – Lansdowne, East Lansdowne, Upper Darby, Aqua Pennsylvania utility installation, closed/detoured between Church Lane and Lansdowne Avenue, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., detour posted weekdays through Nov. 30.
Chester — Flower Street, ramp construction with a new traffic pattern at Fourth and Second streets, 24-hour restriction through 2011. Work began Jan. 12.
Also, Norris Street, ramp construction with lane restrictions at Front Street and Delaware Avenue, 24-hour restriction through 2011. Work began Jan. 12.
“Road Watch” appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.