Just as Dangerous as Driving Drunk: Driving Long Hours at Night

Approximately 20 percent of all traffic accidents can be attributed to prolonged nighttime highway driving, according to a study published in the Journal of Sleep Research. Being sleepy at the wheel can be a result of too few hours of zzz's; it can also be caused by medication. Drivers who were tested in this study showed significant impairment: They drove as badly --as dangerously-- as drivers who had been drinking. Two hours of nighttime driving was the equivalent of a blood alcohol level of .05; three hours, .08.

On a related note, here's a frightening statistic: According to the National Sleep Foundation, 37 percent of drivers in the United States admit to falling asleep at the wheel within the past year.

Sleepy? The best thing to do might be to leave the car at home and not risk being the cause of the next accident reported on the Beltway.

Connecticut Avenue Pedestrian Safety Forum on February 1

On Tuesday, February 1, find out what’s new on Connecticut Avenue, NW. The Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, Forest Hills, and Woodley Park Citizens Associations are jointly hosting a forum on current traffic and pedestrian safety initiatives concerning Connecticut Avenue from Calvert Street to the Chevy Chase Circle.

The Forum will be held in the Kogod Chapel at the Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec Street, NW (near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Porter Street, NW) at 7:00pm. Adas Israel is easily accessible from the Cleveland Park metro. Additionally, free parking is available in the Adas parking lot located on Quebec Street.

Have you noticed the red, yellow and blue marks on the sidewalks and in the road of Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park? Come find out what they're for and more.

At the forum, panelists will describe the intent and status of their respective initiatives.  The panelists are Marlene Berlin, Connecticut Avenue Pedestrian Action, Karina Ricks, the Rock Creek West 2 Livability Study, George Branyan, Cleveland Park Streetscape and Pedestrian Safety Project (DC Department of Transportation), and Andrea Limauro (DC Office of Planning). The panelists will also discuss the relationship and among these initiatives.

In addition, special guests Second District Commander Michael Reese and MPD Traffic Enforcement Manager Lisa Sutter will discuss the ongoing role of enforcement in ensuring the safety of pedestrians and drivers along Connecticut Avenue.

All are welcome. Those attending will have the opportunity to submit written questions for the panelists and special guests. Questions can also be submitted ahead of time to president @ chevychasecitizens.org . For more information visit Connecticut Avenue Pedestrian Action. 

Good Morning: Texting and Driving Part 2

Another cool, wintry day is in store for us today: With a high of in the lower 40's there will be no doubt in your mind that it's December. Looking ahead to 2011, it appears that the new year will start in the mid 50's with a chance of rain. But that's still several days out, so the forecast is only approximate.

Yesterday somebody commented on my article about the danger of texting and driving, pointing out that talking on a cell phone is also a very dangerous thing to do. And that's absolutely true: talking on a cell phone is on par with driving drunk. Driving is visual and cognitive: Your safety, and the safety of other drivers and pedestrians depend on your ability to see what's going on around you, and be able to react swiftly. Texting and talking on a cell phone diminish your ability to do those things.

Car and Driver magazine's own real-world experiment showed without doubt that texting while driving is going to make you a bad driver, a dangerous driver.

Good Morning: Texting and Driving Part 1

Today will be your typical wintry day: cold (a high of 38) and windy (or blustery, if you prefer). The 17 mile an hour wind will make it feel more like 26 degrees on exposed flesh.

We all know that texting while driving is dangerous, very dangerous. But so many of us do it -- except for people who have been injured or have injured or killed somebody else while texting and driving. (There are other dangerous things you can do while driving, too, of course, but texting is both a relatively new and especially dangerous thing to do while you're driving.)  Sometimes a reminder of how dangerous it is helps, because we think, "It will only take a sec for me to check this text." With that in mind, for the next several days, we'll be posting short videos about texting and driving, starting with this public service announcement produced in Wales.