The Heat is On: Memorial Day Forecast Points to Sizzlin’ Summer Travel

The Heat is On: Memorial Day Forecast Points to Sizzlin’ Summer Travel AAA expects 39.2 million people will travel for the unofficial start of summer #trafficsafety #MemorialDay #weekendtravel Roads Will Be Busy

INRIX predicts drivers will encounter the longest travel delays before the holiday weekend, particularly during the afternoons on Thursday, May 26 and Friday, May 27. Drivers in major U.S. metros could experience double the travel times compared to a normal trip.

“Even with a significant increase in gas prices, we expect a large jump in holiday driving compared to the last few years”, says Bob Pishue, Transportation Analyst, INRIX. “Drivers should expect congestion on major roadways around big cities and popular destinations. Knowing when and where congestion will build can help drivers avoid the stress of sitting in traffic.” Worst Corridors and Times to Travel Metro Area Corridor Peak Congestion % Over Normal Atlanta I-85 S, Clairmont Rd to MLK Dr 5/26/22, 3:30-5:30pm 128% Boston I-93 S, Purchase St to MA-24 5/26/22, 2:30-4:30pm 110% Chicago I-290 E, IL-110 to Racine Ave 5/26/22, 3:30-5:30pm 131% Detroit I-96 W, 6 Mile Rd to Walled Lake 5/27/22, 3:00-5:00pm 65% Houston I-69 N, I-610 to I-10 5/27/22, 4:45-6:45pm 88% Los Angeles I-5 S, Colorado St to Florence Ave 5/27/22, 4:45-6:45pm 123% New York I-278 W, Long Island Express to 39th St 5/26/22, 3:15-5:15pm 161% San Francisco I-80 W, Gilman St to Civic Center 5/26/22, 5:45-7:45pm 105% Seattle I-5 S, WA-18 to WA-7 5/27/22, 5:00-7:00pm 112% Washington DC I-95 S, I-495 to VA-123 5/26/22, 3:45-5:45pm 77% Source: INRIX

Daily Worst and Best Times to Travel Day Worst Time Best Time Thursday 1:00-8:00pm Before 6:00am or After 9:00pm Friday 12:00-7:00pm Before 7:00am or After 9:00pm Saturday 1:00-6:00pm Before 10:00am Sunday 1:00-4:00pm Before 10:00am Monday 1:00-4:00pm Before 11:00am Source: INRIX

Ellen Edmonds Manager, AAA Public Relations eedmonds@national.aaa.com 407-444-8011 5/17/2022

Full Article here:

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2022/05/the-heat-is-on-memorial-day-forecast-points-to-sizzlin-summer-travel/?fbclid=IwAR1cHyVMKGrvtB5vOWs4-GM14n2u_gAq7hDU90ND5QOB-FKEHtoHdAj05H4

Article: Arclight deserves a medal for how it meddles with the bike pedal

Article: Arclight deserves a medal for how it meddles with the bike pedal - Haje Jan Kamps

#bicyclesafety #bikesafety #trafficsafety

"They’ve crammed a lot of clever tech into the humble pedals. There are four lights (two in each pedal; a white light facing forward, a red light facing backward) that turn on when they sense motion, and off when the bike is parked. You don’t have to worry about the orientation of the pedals either; just start pedaling and the bike figures out which way the pedals are facing. Forward will always be white, and back beams red into the souls of your would-be automotive assailants.

The lights have three modes, including “solid” (always on), “flash,” where the pedals blink regularly at full brightness, or “eco flash,” which saves power. The battery life is three, 11 or 36 hours, respectively."

Video here: https://redshiftsports.com/?fs=e&s=cl

Full article:

https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/23/arclight-smart-bike-pedal/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&guccounter=1&fbclid=IwAR21YtWEd3gUOzT49LEWEHrE4XzVIm5PSoRfQdxGCePzoCmBPFNOFpJP4rM

NHTSA: 2021 Crash Fatalities Highest in 16 Years

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021, a 10.5 percent increase from the 38,824 fatalities in 2020 – the highest number of fatalities since 2005, according to preliminary agency data. #trafficsafety #driversafety

he National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021, a 10.5 percent increase from the 38,824 fatalities in 2020 – the highest number of fatalities since 2005, according to preliminary agency data.

According to a statement, NHTSA said several crash type categories recorded relatively large increases in 2021 as compared to 2020:

• Fatalities in multi-vehicle crashes up 16 percent.

• Fatalities on urban roads up 16 percent.

• Fatalities among drivers 65 and older up 14 percent.

• Pedestrian fatalities up 13 percent.

• Fatalities in crashes involving at least one large truck up 13 percent.

• Daytime fatalities up 11 percent.

• Motorcyclist fatalities up 9 percent.

• Bicyclist fatalities up 5 percent.

• Fatalities in speeding-related crashes up 5 percent.

• Fatalities in police-reported, alcohol-involvement crashes up 5 percent.

NHTSA added that its full-year estimate of 2021 traffic fatalities also provides a look at state-level fatality estimates during the pandemic. As in 2020, all 10 NHTSA regions witnessed increases in fatalities, the agency said, with 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico projected to experience an increase in traffic deaths as compared to 2020.

Jim Tymon. Photo by AASHTO.

“In recent years, and continuing through the pandemic, we have seen disheartening and unacceptable increases in roadway fatalities and serious injury crashes,” noted Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

“State departments of transportation take seriously the role they play in keeping people safe, whether traveling in a vehicle, on two wheels, or on foot – and know there is much work still to be done,” he said. “AASHTO and state DOTs will continue to work with all partners to combat this unacceptable rise in fatalities by expanding efforts to address roadway fatalities and injuries in the planning, design, operation, and maintenance phases.”

Meanwhile, when aligned with vehicle miles traveled or VMT data collected by the Federal Highway Administration, NHTSA noted that the traffic fatality rate is holding steady in comparison to previous years.

Preliminary FHWA data indicates that VMT increased in 2021 by about 325 billion miles, or 11.2 percent, as compared to 2020.

NHTSA said that mileage data puts the fatality rate for 2021 at 1.33 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down slightly from 1.34 fatalities per 100 million VMT recorded for 2020. While the fatality rate continued to rise in the first quarter of 2021, NHTSA said it declined in the other three quarters of 2021 compared to the same quarters in 2020.

https://aashtojournal.org/2022/05/20/nhtsa-2021-crash-fatalities-highest-in-16-years/