auto and highway safety

Deaths mount from high-speed police pursuits

The high-speed chase through residential streets in Evansville, Indiana ended badly, as police pursuits often do. A Chevy Impala, which police mistakenly thought had been stolen, blasted through a stop sign at 74 mph and smashed into the passenger side of a PT Cruiser crossing the intersection. A young family was inside. “Oh, Jesus God! I need AMR here now!” a panicked Evansville officer screamed…


California highway safety laws best in US

Amid a resurgence in U.S. traffic fatalities now taking roughly 100 lives a day, an advocacy group today issued a report card identifying states that do the most, and least, to improve highway safety. The ratings by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety credited six states — California, Oregon, Washington, Louisiana, Delaware and Rhode Island—with having the most protective road safety laws. The safety group…


Smartphone distractions, drinking help spur rising pedestrian death toll

Pedestrian deaths are surging across the nation, and analysts are putting much of the blame on drivers and walkers who are looking at their smartphones instead of watching where they are going. Tipsy walking also is part of the problem, with one in three victims legally drunk when they were struck and killed. The latest report on U.S. pedestrian deaths, from the Governors Highway Safety Association,…