Ahead of the season’s first big travel weekend of the summer, Vision Zero is reminding drivers that dry roads, clear skies and overall good driving conditions don’t eliminate risks.
In fact, Justin Bailey says summer months often means an increase in roadway crashes and fatalities.
Bailey is Safety Program Information Manager with the Highway Safety Division of the North Dakota Department of Transportation. He says one of the deadliest types of crashes happen during lane departures.
"When we think about the clear weather, people driving a little bit faster, a little bit quicker, making those decisions a little bit more recklessly... we just want to encourage drivers to be careful, and understand that lane departure crashes are preventable. It's commonly linked to drivers being distracted, drowsy or tired, and slowly veering off that road. We also see a lot of lane departure crashes linked to impairment as well."
Vision Zero is NDDOT’s initiative that aims to eliminate roadway fatalities in North Dakota. Bailey says removing distractions, staying rested and not driving impaired can help reduce these crashes – but he also says, motorists shouldn’t overly rely on “smart” technology in new vehicles.
"We see a lot of lane assist technology in cars - not over-trusting those is important, and not relying on that technology to keep you in your lane. It does not replace attentive, engaged drivers. Just being careful of that as well."
Bailey says in addition to all of this – drivers are encouraged to obey posted speed limits, and always wear seat belts.
