BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Local law enforcement officials and the Idaho Department of Transportation took time Thursday to remind residents of the importance of driving focused and safe when on the roads.
The news conference was held in the midst of the “100 deadliest days of summer,” a time of year that stretches from Memorial Day to Labor Day when national statistics show an increase in traffic fatalities on roadways, according to Boise Police Officer Kyle Wills.
“We’re just trying to bring some more awareness and let people know the importance of buckling up, slowing down, not driving distracted, not driving impaired,” Wills said. “All those kinds of things that keep us safe and get us home to our families.”
Representatives from the Boise Police Department were joined by Idaho State Police on the campus of the Idaho Department of Transportation in northwest Boise.
Aside from addressing members of the local media, a crash simulation between two cars took place with crash-test dummies and child restraints installed to demonstrate the impact a collision between two vehicles, one of which was traveling between 35-40 mph, can have.
Also, as part of the demonstration, attendees wore "beer goggles" and rode a tricycle course to simulate various levels of impairment.
Between 2015 and 2019, there were more than 25,000 distracted driving crashes in the state that killed 237 people, according to the Idaho Transportation Department Office of Highway Safety. Department data also shows that nearly 40% of all fatal crashes in Idaho involve some level of driver impairment.
Those statistics inevitably rise in the summer months when more drivers are on the road. A news release from ITD said that last summer 92 people died in Idaho traffic accidents – 31 of whom weren’t wearing seat belts.
This summer has seen 40 fatalities on Idaho roads including seven last week, Wills said.
While driving under the influence was a point of emphasis on Thursday, Wills said, there are different forms of distracted driving including using a cell phone while operating a vehicle, eating food behind the wheel, adjusting a radio or GPS system, putting on makeup or tending to a child in the back seat.
“There’s just all kinds of distractions going on in our cars. And I think the important thing and the message we want people to know is, really just drive engaged,” Wills said. “Driving is a full-time job and we really need people to be engaged in the active driving. Those other distractions, those other things, either do them beforehand or afterhand. While you’re on the road, focus on that drive.”
Tabitha Smith, the child passenger safety program manager with the Office of Highway Safety, pointed to data showing that using proper child safety constraints can reduce risk of fatality by up to 57%.
Idaho law says children up to 7 years old must be in a child restraint seat when traveling in a vehicle.
“It’s been shown that putting children in car seats saves lives,” Smith said. “Last year we had one fatality under the age of 7 in the state of Idaho. Which shows us, we had really high fatality numbers, so for only one of them to be a child, it shows that Idahoans are putting their kids in proper restraints and doing a good job keeping them safe.”
Smith said that national data shows wearing a seat belt reduces risk of fatality by 50%.
“Your seat belt holds you in place when you’re in a crash,” Smith said. “It keeps you from bouncing around the car, it keeps you from becoming a projectile in the car, it keeps you in the car which is actually the safest place for you in a crash.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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