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DOT Launches Task Force To Improve Highway Safety

21 December 1998

DOT Launches Task Force To Improve Highway Safety

    RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 18 -- State Transportation Secretary
Norris Tolson has established an unprecedented task force of local, state and
national safety experts to implement the most effective ways to save lives,
prevent injuries and reduce crashes on the state's roadways.
    The members of this public-private partnership come from a wide range of
agencies including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the
Federal Highway Administration, the University of North Carolina Highway
Safety Research Center, AAA Carolinas, the American Association of Retired
Persons (AARP), Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the North Carolina Trucking
Association, the Division of Motor Vehicles, and the North Carolina State
Highway Patrol. The group, coordinated by the Governor's Highway Safety
Program (GHSP), will continue to flesh out its ideas and report back at a
meeting early next year.
    "We have brought together partners from the public and private sectors to
find the best ways to make North Carolina's roads safer," Tolson said. "These
are individuals who have dedicated their lives and careers to reducing the
carnage of traffic crashes. They have the expertise to help DOT find
short-term strategies and long-term solutions to the problems of deaths and
injuries on our highways."
    At Thursday's task force meeting in Raleigh, areas of discussion included
stepping-up enforcement efforts on aggressive driving, toughening occupant
protection laws, using innovative technology such as cameras to halt red-light
running and speeding, creating a model work-zone safety program, improving
commercial motor vehicle safety, developing engineering solutions to curb
rural crashes, and continuing efforts to stop drunk driving.
    "With gasoline prices down and more people on the road, it's likely there
will be more crashes and injuries on the highways," State Insurance
Commissioner Jim Long said. "This group can make a real difference that will
save lives and keep insurance costs down."
    North Carolina has long been a national leader for innovative highway
safety efforts, GHSP Director Joe Parker said. "Our 'Click It or Ticket' and
'Booze It & Lose It' programs are regarded as models for the rest of the
country," he said. "With input and direction from this task force, I know we
can do even more to make our roads the safest in the nation."
    The highway safety task force meeting comes at a time when highway
fatalities in North Carolina are on the rise. There have been 1,476 highway
fatalities on the state's roads as of Dec. 18, 1998, as compared to 1,421 on
Dec. 18, 1997. Last year, during the Christmas holiday, there were 15
fatalities on the state's highways.