POLICY STRATEGIES

There are multiple strategies which effectively reduce the incidence of crashes within a community.

This resource section will identify various policy, program, and enforcement strategies that can help change behavior, improve awareness, or ensure policies are followed and more effective. While there are multiple solutions, no one strategy is the correct or definitive solution to eliminate deaths and serious injuries. The policies, programs, and enforcement strategies work best partnered with at least one or more additional strategies to be the most effective in achieving the vision zero goal(s ) set for your community. Policy strategies are organized into several different sections including legislation, policy, and other strategies.

There is no solve-all solution for preventing collisions of any type, but there are ways to work to enforce a safer environment for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians through laws, enforcement, and education. The following pages will discuss some tactics that can be used within your community to work towards increasing safety.

Legislation Hands Free Description

There has been an increase in distractions since the beginning of the automobile industry. Constant evolution and innovation of technology is a problem for all modal users. Although cell phones are a proven distraction for individuals. Many states and even some communities have enacted some form of “hands free” law where individuals cannot have their phone in their hands at any point during the time they are behind the wheel of a vehicle. Hands free legislation is mandating that drivers avoid the use of handheld electronics while operating a motor vehicle to increase safety and driver alertness. This is especially important as technology becomes an ever-growing part of everyday life.

Indiana has had a no texting while driving law since 2011. The purpose of the law was to address distracted driving but posed a challenge for police officers to enforce it and it did not reduce crashes due to distracted driving1. Eventually the courts found the law to be too narrow in scope to be enforceable. So, on July 1, 2020, Indiana enacted a hands-free law where Indiana motorists could no longer hold electronic communication devices in their hand while operating a vehicle. This would include devices such as cell phones, tablets, and smart watches. Phone calls, texting, and other activities that you would use these devices for are not permitted to be used while in a driver’s hand. Indiana is not the 25 state to have enacted such laws.

Considerations

Hands free ordinances or legislations should recognize that drivers still might need the use of these devices for navigation and potentially audio content. Hands-free use of the device should be permitted so long as it is mounted to the dash or synced with the vehicle in some manner to reduce the need of the driver to remove their attention from the road.

However, drivers can be lulled into a false sense of security. Hands free phones requirements fail to address the underlying problem which is diverting a driver’s attention from the road. Numerous studies have shown that even with a phone mounted in a vehicle or connected via Bluetooth, the mere act of talking on the phone distracts the driver,

1Indiana Department of Transportation. (July 9, 2020). Hands Free Indiana. www.in.gov/indot/4063.htm 2 Indiana Department of Transportation. (July 9, 2020). Hands Free Indiana. www.in.gov/indot/4063.htm making them situationally unaware of what is happening around them.

Seat Belts Description

The State of Indiana already has a law that requires seat belts for every occupant of a vehicle. Seat belts are a safety measure for everyone within a vehicle to prevent death and a serious injury in a crash however, even in 2020 there are motorists who still do not wear a seatbelt. Although there is no reason to revise this law, enforcement is the key to safety. Seat belts can reduce the likelihood of adults dying in a crash by up to 45 percent and cut the risk of serious injury by 50 percent.2 Children especially should be restrained, and fines are assessed depending on the situation if a motorist is pulled over. What has been proven time and time again, is that seat belts save thousands of lives every year by restraining drivers and passengers within a vehicle instead of being ejected during a crash.

Indiana has a “primary” seat belt law that requires any occupant of a vehicle, who is 16 years or older to be properly restrained in a seat belt. Additionally, for persons under 16, they must be properly restrained in a seat belt, child safety seat, or “child restraint system”. The law applies to all passengers of a vehicle whether they are the driver or passenger.

Considerations

Since Indiana has a primary law, that means law enforcement can pull a motorist over if the officer suspects a driver or passenger is not wearing a seat belt. Enhanced enforcement operations like “Click It or Ticket” have been successful in reminding drivers and their passengers to wear their seat belts. However, the most successful method to implement the requirement of seat belts is education and technology.

Many car manufacturers have installed audible warnings inside a car to indicate to the front seat driver and passenger that their seat belt is not buckled. While technology has advanced and provides a good reminder to put a seatbelt on, new generations still should be educated to the safety reasons of wearing a seatbelt.

drivers why seat belts are important and the latest statistics of how seat belts saves lives.

Require Helmets For Motorcyclists Description

When driving down the interstate, there are still many motorcycle drivers and riders who do not wear helmets. Some of the most common reasons for this is that the helmets are expensive, heavy, hot, strain the neck, feel suffocating, and limit head and neck movements. However, the risk of injury and death is greater for a motorcyclist if involved in a crash. When a motorcycle crashes the rider lacks the protections of an enclosed vehicle, so that increases their chance of injury or death. In 2017, the number of deaths on motorcycles was 27 times the number of deaths in cars, however there was a 3 percent decrease in the number of motorcycle deaths from 20163. In 2017, the number of motorcyclists killed from states that did not have universal helmet laws (57 percent) was approximately 7 times greater than those states than did have universal helmet laws. while not wearing helmets, seven times greater than 57 percent of the motorcyclists

Education campaigns such as PSA’s on the news, messages scrolled on transportation billboards on interstates, community safety fairs, and education as part of a vision zero program remind 3 Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). (October killed were from state that did not have universal helmet laws as compared to only 8 percent in states with universal helmet laws.

Considerations

Currently, the Indiana state law requires all motorcycle riders under the age of 18 to wear helmets when driving or riding on a motorcycle. Indiana’s universal helmet law was repealed in 1977. As statistics show, Indiana motorcyclists are more likely to have a higher incidence of death because of no universal helmet laws in Indiana. The best outcome regarding safety is to legislate helmet-wearing for all riders, promote improvements in the quality of helmets through enforcement of standards, and public education. Likewise, educating riders about the importance of wearing protective clothing and the protection they can offer muscles and skin against abrasions, reduce the risk of burns from contact with hot metal and prevent and reduce the severity of fractures. However, motorcyclists often will not wear protective clothing due to the cost and the perception of discomfort.

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811387.pdfCdcpdf