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There was standing room only at a meeting in the Historic Courthouse in Logan on Tuesday where county and law enforcement officials gathered for a first-of-its-kind transportation safety summit.
Present were Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner D. Lance Davenport, Cache County Attorney James Swink and family members of victims killed in recent Cache Valley auto collisions — most of which were related to distracted driving.
The Cache Valley Transportation Safety Summit was aimed at addressing the causes and solutions related to traffic deaths caused by drowsy, impaired and distracted driving and also key issues on pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Police, fire, sheriff and county and city government officials walked by a temporary memorial to the crash victims set up outside the meeting room. On it предполагались, women and children whose lives were lost in what Swink called a “very short” period of time.
“In 2006, 2007 and 2008 there were 25 deaths related to distracted driving,” he said. “So far this year, we’ve had 17.”
Gayla Rounds, the wife of Arlyn Rounds, who died Nov. 11, 2008, after being struck by a car while taking an evening walk, addressed the audience, saying there are improvements that can be made at better educating the public about distracted driving.
“Having gatherings like this helps,” she said. “I wonder if we could have more vivid examples of accident reenactments in our education system to let kids know what can happen.”
Brad Roach, the father of Hannah Roach, who was killed last December, also spoke. Hannah Roach, 9, and two family friends, Curtis and Tami Andersen, both 28, were killed in Sardine Canyon when a drowsy driver crossed the center line and struck the vehicle the three were riding in.
“We could increase awareness in high schools about drowsy and distracted driving,” said Roach. “I fully support the idea of making the people who do these crimes coming to speak to the public.”
In several recent cases, judges have mandated perpetrators speak in schools and youth groups about the dangers of distracted driving.
Steve Elliott, the father of Katie Marie Elliott, said, “Maybe we need to beef up the way we penalize people.”
Elliott’s daughter was killed in a vehicle rollover in September when her husband was driving under the influence of alcohol on State Road 142 near Richmond.
Utah Department of Transportation traffic engineer Glen Ames addressed the audience to help “bust” some common traffic accident myths. For example, Ames says 63 percent of fatal and serious crashes in Cache Valley are caused by men — not women.
Snow is a minimal factor in fatal crashes, he added, showing a bar graph that places nearly 70 percent of accidents on clear weather days. And more fatal accidents happen on dry roads than on snowy or icy roads, he said.
“Beware of dry roads and sunny skies,” he said as the audience laughed. “Calm down during rush hour and practice safe driving.”
When asked what advice she would give to the general public about safer driving, Rounds told the audience to “keep their mind and eyes on driving.”
Information and suggestions collected at the summit will be given to the Utah Department of Public Safety. Organizers say they hope to revisit the topics next year.
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