Speed limits going up in many states

Gentlemen, ladies and kids with driver's licenses: Start your engines. Five state legislatures voted this year to raise speed limits on some divided highways in their states.

They're following the lead of Texas, which last year bumped the speed limit on one stretch to 85 mph, the highest in the nation.

Ohio and Utah are going full speed ahead with implementing their higher limits. Maine and Illinois officials are studying when — and whether — to raise their newly approved speeds, while New Hampshire's new law takes effect in January.
Some 36 states have speed limits of 70 mph or above on some roads, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Texas set its 85 mph limit on a 40-mile stretch of divided toll highway between Austin and San Antonio (toll: $6.17, one-way).

Speed limits traditionally were regulated by individual states until the mid-1970s when Congress, to conserve energy, designated a national speed limit of 55 mph and threatened to withhold highway funds from any state that exceeded it. But those rules were loosened in 1987 and repealed in 1995.

Since then, states have steadily increased the speed limits on some stretches of roads. Generally, the higher speed limits are set on rural interstate highways or other limited-access roads, though not always.

Utah's new law expands segments of a road already posted at 80 mph, effective last March. Ohio's law, signed by Gov. John Kasich, increased the maximum speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph on rural interstates, effective July 13.

Further study

The Maine Department of Transportation is studying the issue, after getting the green light to raise speed limits up to 75 mph on interstate highways by the legislature and governor. The department won't make a decision on whether to raise the limit until after Oct. 10 (the statute prohibits implementation before then). A spokesman for the state transportation department said the decision could go either way.

"The bill in the legislature did give the commissioner (David Bernhardt) the purview to raise the limits," Ted Talbot said. "If he saw fit, he could conduct the traffic study, and upon the results of that, he would decide if it's prudent."

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is considering whether to sign a bill that would raise the limit on some interstates from 65 mph to 70 mph. The urban and suburban counties in the Chicago and St. Louis areas — Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair and Will — would have the option of setting lower limits if the governor agrees to the statewide increase. The legislature overwhelmingly approved the speed limit increase.

Quinn spokesman David Blanchette said the governor has heard from those who are for and against the speed limit increase. The secretary of transportation and the state police oppose it, and businesses and other transportation groups are for it. "He is weighing the feelings of both sides and will make a decision based on his own personal feelings and the input" by mid-August, Blanchette said.

If Quinn agrees, it will take effect Jan. 1.

New Hampshire's legislature and governor raised the maximum speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph on specified stretches of roads, effective in January.

On the flip side of the issue, the North Carolina House rejected a state Senate-approved bill that would have hiked the speed on some roads to 75 mph.

More car crashes?

Not everyone is happy with the trend toward higher speeds. Critics point to the dangers.

"When speed limits go up deaths go up, and when speed limits go down deaths go down," said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety . "It seems as though more states are raising speed limits despite the clear evidence that shows what the safety downside is. Higher speeds mean more crashes and more severe ones."

Speed was a contributing factor in about 30 percent of fatal traffic accidents in 2011 (the last year for which statistics are available), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That statistic has stayed about the same for a decade, even as speed limits have increased and safety equipment has improved.

Utah did its own research. The Utah Department of Transportation conducted a study beginning in 2008 on a stretch of I-15 where the speed limit was 75 mph. The study found a 20 percent drop in the number of people exceeding the posted speed limit, according to Robert Hull, director of traffic and safety with the Utah DOT. In addition, data from the test area through 2012 found there was an 11 percent to 20 percent reduction in speed-related crashes, depending on which stretch of road was being evaluated.

The study also found that the actual speed maintained by drivers on that stretch was about 82 to 84 mph, whether the posted speed limit was 75 mph or 80 mph.

"People are driving at the speed at which they feel comfortable, and they are doing it safely and prudently," he said.

As the Illinois votes show, raising speed limits is a popular issue for state lawmakers. Ohio state Rep. Ross McGregor, a Republican who sponsored his state's speed limit hike bill, said the law allows the state to keep up with neighboring jurisdictions, which already allow faster speeds.

"When discussing this with my colleagues, we found this is just the reality of what people are driving today," he told Stateline. "I know we have heard from constituents who were very pleased," he said, though he acknowledged some detractors.

State police officials were neutral on the issue, he said, which made it easier for the legislature to support it.

Other states' speed limits also played a role in New Hampshire's decision to up the speed on rural Interstate 93 north of Concord to the Canadian border (with the exception of mountainous Franconia Notch) from 65 mph to 70 mph. Part of the reasoning was that neighboring Maine already has the higher limit on some rural highways.

"The limited nature of the 5 miles-per-hour speed limit increase in a targeted region of the state, along with the overwhelming, bipartisan support for the measure, makes me comfortable with signing this measure into law, bringing the speed limit more in line with the habits of our rural travelers," Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan said in a statement. "For their safety and the safety of others, I encourage all motorists to use the common sense that Granite Staters are known for and respect the new speed limit."

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Source: USAToday (AP, 7/22)

Rusk roads 6 times deadlier than U.S. average

A lonely memorial on Texas 79 outside Henderson serves as a reminder that the first half of 2013 has been deadly on Rusk County roads.

Seventeen people have died in wrecks there since January 1 — almost six times the national average.

So alarming are the numbers that county officials will conduct a summit Thursday, convening local and state officials to determine why it’s happening and what can be done about it.

County Judge Joel Hale said the meeting is unprecedented in his two and a half years in office.

“The purpose of the summit is to identify what has had an impact in causing these accidents,” Hale said. “I think it is going to take time and education to reduce these accidents. People need to take responsibility and realize that you’ve got to pay attention when you’re driving.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety reports the national average for traffic deaths is five per 100,000 people per year. Rusk County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Roberts said 17 traffic fatalities the first half of this year, in a county with a population of 60,000, is alarming.

May was a particularly tragic month. Sandra Jones, 63, and Shari Standard, 62, were killed May 1 in a three-vehicle crash just northeast of Henderson on Texas 43.

Six days later, three Stephen F. Austin State University freshmen were killed in wreck near Mount Enterprise.

Hale said several different groups would attend the summit, including members of the Texas Department of Transportation, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Rusk County law enforcement , Department of Public Safety and several school districts.

Jason Taylor, whose father died in a 2007 wreck on Texas 79 south of Henderson, suggested enhanced technology on cell phones as a reason for more road fatalities everywhere.

“Technology is a good thing, but something is wrong when you can’t disconnect from Facebook or MySpace while you’re driving,” said Taylor, who is pastor of Bar None Cowboy Church in Tatum.

“We as humans are hooked on media. Nobody thinks anything bad is going to happen to them, but it is happening to people.” DPS spokeswoman trooper Jean Dark said there were many variables to consider when analyzing traffic fatalities.

“You’re not going to be able to look at a fatal accident and say it was one thing that caused it,” Dark said. “How many of them are dealing with local people versus non-locals? Was there alcohol involved? Changes in speed limit and road condition are also factors.”

Dark said physics determine whether an accident on the road is deadly, highlighting the amount of energy transferred from one object to another.

The landscape of East Texas adds another element of danger, she said; illustrated by accidents like the one Feb. 5, 2012 when three men died after the car they were in hit a tree on Texas 42.

According to the most recent crash statistics released by the Texas Department of Transportation, there were 751 total crashes in Rusk County in 2011. Of those, 12 were fatalities.

Hale, a long-time friend of Jones and Standard, said the county can’t sit back and not do anything about its growing number of traffic fatalities.

“When it happens in other places, you really don’t think that much about it,” he said. “But when it happens in your community to people you know, it really makes you sad and you know the impact it’s having on those peoples’ families. You just want to try and do something about it.”

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Source: News Journal (Gordon, 7/15)

Former prosecutor admits wrongdoing during trial

A Polk County District Court Judge has admitted in a letter to the Texas State Bar that she acted improperly while serving as an Assistant District Attorney.

Local 2 Investigates obtained a copy of the April 29, 2013 letter signed by Kaycee L. Jones, 411th Judicial District Judge.

The crux of the issue is a series of text messages Jones received from Elizabeth Coker, 258th Judicial District Judge, while Coker was on the bench during a trial.

Judges are not supposed to transmit secret information to either the prosecution or the defense during a trial.

Part of the letter signed by Jones reads:

"On August 8, 2012, I did receive a text message from Judge Coker that suggested a line of questioning in an Injury to a Child trial over which she was presiding and telling me to tell the trial prosecutor. I was not the trial prosecutor and had nothing to do with the investigation or prosecution of the case, but I was present in the courtroom for portions of the trial as an observer. When I received the text, I hand wrote the text verbatim and asked our investigator to deliver it to the prosecutor who was trying the case...

I deeply regret that I acted in this manner. It was wrong and I knew better."

The defendant was found not guilty, but citizens, professors, and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association have raised questions about the incident and whether it has occurred before or since the 2012 incident.

In addition to the complaint against Jones, filed with the State Bar Association by a local attorney, Local 2 Investigates has learned that Polk County District Court Judge Elizabeth Coker's actions are being reviewed by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.


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source: Click2Houston (07/04)

Parkland Memorial Hospital’s make-or-break survey is underway

The critical government survey that will determine whether Dallas County’s public hospital retains its state and federal funding is currently underway. The surveyors arrived — unannounced — Monday and began combing through Parkland Memorial Hospital, looking for signs of patient-safety problems that were detected in 2011. The county hospital has been operating under federal oversight for more than a year as it retrained its staff of 9,000 and made other significant changes in patient operations.

Hospital spokesman Mike Malaise confirmed Tuesday that the inspectors had arrived. The visit will determine the fate of more than $400 million in annual government funding that Parkland currently receives.

The survey was expected to occur before Aug. 31, although the starting date was not known.

The inspection team, which is working on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, includes 14 surveyors. Three additional life-safety experts are checking to be certain all hospital exits, entrances and hallways are clear.

“They have told us they will be here 24/7 until the survey is complete,” Malaise said of the survey team.

After failing a series of inspections in 2011, Parkland was forced to make changes in nearly 500 areas of the countywide public health system. They included revamping the hospital’s nursing department, upgrading the staff in the busy emergency room and psychiatric services department, assuring physician oversight of doctors in training and improving better infection control, including a crackdown on basic hand-washing procedures by staffers.

As of April, the county facility had completed 97 percent of the mandated corrective-action plan, said officials overseeing the upgrades. The changes have cost the county hospital an estimated $75 million.

In recent months, Parkland officials have confirmed that the staff was ready for the critical review and the hospital’s top leaders have vowed that it would pass it.

Throughout the 14-month rehabilitation process, many of Parkland’s top leaders resigned and were replaced on an interim basis. The hospital has been operating without a permanent chief operating officer since December, 2011, when Dr. Ron Anderson stepped down after 29 years as CEO.

The survey’s results will be known sometime this summer.

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Source: The Scoop Blog (Jacobson, 6/18)

Ban expanding in North Texas on trucks in left lanes

FORT WORTH — Trucks are being forced out of the left lanes on more North Texas highways.

Beginning this summer, the Texas Transportation Department plans to nearly double the number of highway miles in Dallas-Fort Worth where vehicles with three or more axles are banned from the left lane.

Trucks are already prohibited in the fast lane of Interstates 20, 30 and 45 in the Metroplex. And over several months, state officials plan to expand the ban to include many other freeways, department spokeswoman Michelle Releford said.

Among the places where a new left-lane ban is planned: Interstate 35W in Fort Worth from 28th Street to the Tarrant-Johnson county line; Texas 121 “Airport Freeway” from downtown Fort Worth to East Loop 820 near Richland Hills; Loop 820 from Interstate 30 in west Fort Worth to Blue Mound Road; and Texas 360 from Texas 183 to I-20 in Arlington.

Requiring big rigs to stay on the right side of the road is extremely popular among motorists.

“Trucks have no business in the far left lane,” Richard Kevin Hager of Granbury said. “It’s already working great in the areas that have it, when it is enforced. Not only safer for everybody but definitely improves traffic flow.”

Pending approval from the Texas Transportation Commission in July, signs with messages such as “No trucks, left lane” will be installed on the selected roads. The signs will start going up in the Dallas area in late summer, and in the Fort Worth area in the fall, said Andy Oberlander, a traffic engineering supervisor with the department.

Once the signs are up, the ban will be in place, and trucks caught in the left lane will be subject to a police citation, Oberlander said.

Surveys show that roughly 80 percent of motorists approve of the restriction, state officials say.

“No vehicle should be allowed in the far left lane that is not going the maximum speed limit,” Gary Burris of Arlington said.

In North Texas, regional transportation officials also say they have some data to show that keeping big rigs out of the left lane reduces accidents, improves overall traffic speeds and reduces auto emissions.

Truckers aren’t bad guys.

But some truck drivers question the claims about the benefits of such bans.

“Our great government has made trucks into bad guys,” said Robert Duncan of Terrell, a trucker for 14 years. Duncan noted that trucks’ speeds can vary greatly, with some traveling no more than 62 mph and others hauling at 75 mph — and he said faster trucks need the ability to “get past the rolling road block” of slower traffic.

Texas law does allow trucks to use the left lane temporarily for passing.

Banning trucks from the left lane penalizes some of the most professional, experienced drivers on the road, said John Esparza, president of the Austin-based Texas Motor Transportation Association. Instead, he said, Texas would be better served by going after drivers who are inattentive, overly aggressive or impaired by alcohol.

Trucks were involved in 13 percent of Texas traffic fatalities last year, Esparza said. But he said that in 84 percent of those cases the driver of a two-axle vehicle, not a trucker, was at fault.

Plus, he said, the policy creates congestion on the outside lanes of highways.

“If you limit trucks to the right lane, you are putting folks entering the freeway into more jeopardy,” Esparza said.

History

The effort to keep 18-wheelers out of the fast lane dates from 2005 in the Metroplex. That’s when the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the regional transportation planning agency, enacted temporary restrictions on portions of I-30 in Fort Worth-Arlington and I-20 in Dallas.

During the test period of approximately five months, crashes on I-30 in Tarrant County fell nearly 24 percent, according to the council of governments. With a left-lane ban, wrecks averaged 1.27 wrecks per day, down from 1.67 before.

Also on I-30, average speeds for all traffic improved 0.88 mph in the left lane, 0.56 mph in the center lane and 0.50 in the right lane, according to the research.

After those results were announced in 2006, the temporary bans were made permanent.

In 2009, the state Transportation Commission approved expanding them to include most of I-20, I-30 and I-45 in Dallas-Fort Worth.

It’s part of a statewide trend. Such bans have been approved in many cities in recent years. On I-35, for example, one extends from Georgetown all the way through the Austin area.

In North Texas, roads that meet certain criteria — for example, roads with at least three main lanes in each direction, but not left-lane exits — are considered candidates for the ban.

“Three lanes or more — keep out!” David Benedetto of Grapevine said.

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Source: Star-Telegram (AP, 6/3)

Leave Fireworks to the Professionals this Fourth of July

AUSTIN---June is Fireworks Eye Safety Awareness Month. "Too many Fourth of July celebrations are ruined because a child has to be rushed to the emergency room after a fireworks accident," said David K. Coats, MD, pediatric ophthalmologist at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. "Potentially blinding injuries can be avoided if families attend a professional public fireworks display instead of putting on a home fireworks display."

Children are the most common victims of fireworks accidents, with those 15 years old or younger accounting for half of all fireworks eye injuries in the United States. For children under the age of five, seemingly innocent sparklers account for one-third of all fireworks injuries. Sparklers can burn at nearly 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to cause a third-degree burn.

Roberto Diaz-Rohena, MD of McAllen once treated a 4 yr-old boy who lost an eye due to a rocket-induced ruptured globe. "The sad part was that the dad asked the young boy to pick up the rocket from the floor when it didn't shoot into the air. It did when the boy picked up the rocket – right into his eye. I'll never forget the dad's guilt-driven howling."

Fireworks are not toys for children to play with. "I treated a little girl last year who had a bottle rocket blow up in her face. The child suffered a severe eye injury and one eye is now legally blind. Be careful, because life can change in an instant," said Evelyn Paysse, MD, of Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

"Among the most serious injuries are abrupt trauma to the eye from bottle rockets," according to Dr. Coats. The rockets fly erratically, often injuring bystanders. Injuries from bottle rockets can include eyelid lacerations, corneal abrasions, traumatic cataract, retinal detachment, optic nerve damage, rupture of the eyeball, eye muscle damage and complete blindness.

To avoid any type of fireworks related injuries follow these safety tips:

• Never let children play with fireworks of any type.
• View fireworks from a safe distance: at least 500 feet away, or up to a quarter of a mile for best viewing.
• Leave the lighting of fireworks to trained professionals.
• If you find unexploded fireworks remains, do not touch them. Immediately contact your local fire or police departments.
• If you get an eye injury from fireworks, seek medical help immediately.

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Source: Sacbee (AP, 6/20)

Larger crowds expected for Republic of Texas Biker Rally 2013

AUSTIN --- Get ready to rumble, Austin! It’s already that time of year again where thousands of Motorcycles flood Austin area streets and highways as they participate in the annual Republic of Texas Biker Rally.

On Wednesday evening a number of downtown Austin businesses had already put out the welcoming signs as they anticipate thousands flooding the central area over the next four days.

“Just a bunch of people wanting to have a good time and enjoy their bikes; wanting to enjoy good food and let loose," said Lillian Knape with Old School Bar & Grill on 6th Street.

About 60,000 people participated in the ROT Rally in 2012. An estimated 200,000 showed up for the big parade on Congress Avenue Friday evening. However the crowds this year are expected to grow by 10 percent.

Organizers with the ROT Rally said Wednesday that the stronger economy is why they are anticipating a larger turnout this year.

“They're good for a lot of local businesses. They spend a lot of money so my suggestion to this is just be patient and be nice, be a good host. We double our staff and our inventory and stay open later. Like I said, it's one of our best nights of the year,” said Moosa Meschin, the owner of Cozzoli’s Pizza on Congress Avenue.

The ROT Rally brought in an estimated $36 million into Austin’s economy last year.

Though the rally begins today, road closures will not take effect until Friday, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. for a downtown block party. The party will close off 2nd through 10th streets between Brazos and Colorado streets, as well as Congress Avenue between Cesar Chavez and 11th streets.

The majority of the rally will be held at the Travis County Exposition Center in Northeast Austin.

The city suggests alternative routes going North and South using IH-35, Red River Street to Brazos Street, Colorado Street to Guadalupe Street or Lamar Boulevard, and going East and West on MLK Boulevard, 15th Street or Cesar Chavez Street.

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Source: KVUE (Green, 6/12)