If I Could Just Go Back…

Make Good Choices

Too many people die in traffic crashes each year in Missouri. The choices you make when you’re behind the wheel matter. Choose to obey the speed limit, stay in the driving lane, yield when signs indicate you should, and drive sober. When you make good choices, you never have to say, “If I could just go back…”

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is telling drivers: People do not die in traffic crashes. They are killed… violently and unnecessarily. Traffic crashes are preventable. Every year in the state of Missouri, inattention, speed, and alcohol continue to be the leading contributing circumstances of traffic crashes. Drivers are called upon to follow all traffic laws, be courteous, and pay attention to the job of driving. Although seat belt use is not a contributing factor, it does play a major role in the outcome of those crashes.

Drivers can help reduce traffic fatalities in Missouri by doing four simple things:

• Pay attention to the job of driving.
• Don’t speed.
• Don’t drink and drive.
• Make sure all vehicle occupants are properly restrained.

Distracted Driving

In today’s fast paced world, multi-tasking is a great way to get more things done. But, there are some tasks you just can’t combine. When a driver multi-tasks they stop focusing their attention on driving and the results can be dangerous or even deadly. Inattentive drivers are more and more common now and this can be bad news for everyone else on the road.

Driving is a full-time job, and any person or thing that diverts our attention from the job of driving could be deadly. Young drivers are particularly susceptible to distractions. Inattention can be caused by a number of things: talking with other occupants in the vehicle, talking with others outside the vehicle, eating, drinking, smoking, reading, putting on makeup, changing a radio station, or texting or talking on a phone.

Section 304.820 RSMo states, “Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person 21 years of age or younger operating a moving motor vehicle upon the highways of this state shall, by means of a handheld electronic wireless communications device, send, read, or write a text message or electronic message.” A violation of this section shall be deemed an infraction and shall be deemed a moving violation for purposes of point assessment under Section 302.302 RSMo.

Missouri’s graduated driver’s license limits the number of passengers young drivers can have in the vehicle. Sixteen-year-old drivers can have only one non-family member under the age of 19 in the car for the first six months. After that, they can have up to three non-family member passengers under the age of 19 in the vehicle.

Section 304.012 RSMo requires the operator of a motor vehicle to drive the vehicle in a careful and prudent manner, and at a rate of speed so as not to endanger the property of another or the life or limb of any person. It also states drivers shall exercise the highest degree of care. Distracted drivers are not exercising the highest degree of care… distracted drivers are dangerous drivers.

Speed

Speed is found to be a significant contributing factor in Missouri traffic crashes, especially as it relates to crashes involving death or injury. Speed is particularly dangerous when coupled with the inexperience of young drivers. Speed is a factor in nearly one-third of all fatal crashes.

Too few drivers view driving over the speed limit as an immediate risk to their personal safety or the safety of others. Yet, speeding reduces the driver’s ability to steer safely around curves or objects in the roadway, and it extends the distance required to stop a vehicle in emergency situations.

Crash severity increases with the speed of the vehicle at impact. Inversely, the effectiveness of the restraint devices (air bags and safety belts) and vehicular construction features, such as crumple zones and side member beams, decline as impact speed increases.

The probability of death, disfigurement, or debilitating injury grows with higher speed at impact, and such consequences double for every 10 mph over 50 mph a vehicle travels.

Many drivers believe the worst that can happen to them is to get a ticket for exceeding the speed limit. Drivers like this are wrong — maybe even dead wrong. Driving too fast for the conditions or exceeding the posted speed limit can kill you.

Alcohol

On September 29, 2001, Missouri’s per se law of .08 took effect. A per se law makes it illegal in and of itself to drive with an alcohol concentration measured at or above the established legal level. Under the law, a driver will be considered impaired at a BAC (blood alcohol content) level of .08 percent. No other factors are needed as evidence. The majority of Missourians supported the decrease in the BAC standard for impaired driving.

Missouri law also prohibits drinking by those who are under the age of 21. Medical studies have shown that the last skill developed in life is one’s judgment. That skill is developed on average by age 21. The very first skill that is affected by alcohol is our ability to make rational decisions. That is why the drinking age was set at 21.

Measuring Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

A person’s weight, gender, food intake, alcohol consumption rate, and other factors affect the absorption of alcohol. BAC is a measure of alcohol in the blood, and can be measured by testing a person’s blood, breath, urine, or saliva. While it is impossible to determine exactly how much alcohol a person must consume before reaching .08 percent, the following can serve as a general guideline: A 170-pound man would have to drink more than four alcoholic beverages* in one hour on an empty stomach. (A 137-pound woman would have to drink three alcoholic beverages in one hour on an empty stomach.) All people, however, are significantly impaired at .08 percent.

*One drink equals .54 ounces of alcohol. This is the approximate amount in one shot of distilled spirits, one can of beer, or one glass of wine.

By the time a level of .08 percent is reached, virtually everyone experiences dangerous driving skill impairment, even those who are experienced or habitual drinkers. As BAC rises, so does the risk of being involved in a crash. A driver is three times more likely to crash with a BAC of .08 percent, and 12 times more likely to crash with a BAC of .10 percent — Missouri’s previous standard.

Driving or riding in an automobile can be dangerous. Nationally, motor vehicle crashes kill tens of thousands of drivers and passengers and injure nearly two million people each year. The chance of being in a traffic crash in your lifetime is virtually 100 percent. On average, you’ll be in a traffic crash every 10 years, and you have a one in 50 chance of being killed.

Seat Belts

No matter how safely you drive, you can’t control other drivers. Seat belts are your best protection against all types of unsafe drivers. It takes about three seconds to fasten your seat belt when you get into a car or truck. Using lap/shoulder belts cuts your chances of being killed or seriously injured in a crash 45–50 percent.

• An unbelted occupant of a 30 mph car crash hits the windshield or other interior surfaces with the same impact as a fall from a three-story building.
• People without seat belts have been killed at speeds as low as 12 mph.
• The effectiveness of the air bag system drops 40 percent when a seat belt is not used.
• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat car occupants by 45 percent and light-truck occupants by 60 percent.
• A driver’s chance of being killed in a Missouri crash if they are not wearing a seat belt is over 40 times greater than that of a driver who is buckled up.

Who Must Be Secured?

• Everyone riding in the front seat in automobiles and trucks with a licensed gross weight of less than 12,000 lbs. must wear seat belts.
• Children ages eight through 15 riding in any seat position of any vehicle must wear seat belts.
• Persons less than 18 years of age operating or riding in trucks (regardless of gross weight for which licensed) must wear seat belts.

Who Is Responsible and Subject to Fine?

It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure passengers under the age of 16 are safely buckled up. Those 16 and over are responsible for themselves. Violators may be subject to a fine and court costs for not properly using seat belts and/or child restraints.

Child Safety Seats

Who Must Be Secured in a Child Safety Seat?

• The law requires children under age four or who weigh less than 40 pounds, riding in any type vehicle, be secured in an approved child safety seat. To make sure the child safety seat meets Federal Safety Standard No. 213, check the labels on the side of the seat.
• Children between the ages of four and eight, who are less than 80 pounds, or less than 4’9” tall, must be secured in an appropriate child restraint or booster seat.

Who Is Responsible and Subject to Fine?

It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure the safety of these children. There is a fine and court costs for those who do not comply. Failure to comply also may result in criminal charges if the child sustains injury or if the manner in which the vehicle is being driven shows disregard for the child’s safety.

Exemptions

• The law does not apply to public carriers for hire.
• The booster seat law does not apply to school buses designed to carry 11 passengers or more.

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