Wednesday, October 18, 2017 Tyler Tribute - Page 7
Submitted photo
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton seventh grade Civics students are pictured above visiting the Lyon County Commissioners room.
Submitted photo
Above left: The RTR 7th grade Civics class, taught by Jackie Hess, paid a visit to the Lyon County Law Enforcement Center in Marshall last week. Above right:
Seventh grade Civics students got an up-close look at the Lyon County 911 call center.
in
Question: I know that
Minnesota has made a lot
of progress for traffic safe-
ty and less people are dy-
ing on our roads but what
are other states doing?
Answer: The first time
in nearly a decade, pre-
liminary data from the
National Safety Council
estimates that as many as
40,000 people died in mo-
tor vehicle crashes in 2016
across the United States.
That's a 6 percent increase
over 2015 and a 14percent
increase over 2014 - the
most dramatic two-year
increase in 53 years.
An estimated 4.6 million
roadway users were in-
jured seriously enough to
require medical attention,
a 7 percent increase over
2015. This means 2016
may have been the deadli-
est year on the roads since
2007 across the country.
However, here in Min-
nesota the numbers are
encouraging. Preliminary
reports from the Depart-
ment of Public Safety Of-
fice of Traffic Safety show
392 people died in traffic
crashes in 2016, compared
with 411 in 2015.
Several states have their
own traffic safety initia-
tives and programs. Many
of them are a part of the
FIND US ON
progress
a concern
Ask a Trooper
Sgt. Troy
Christianson ]
Minn. State
Patrol
National Highway Traf-
fic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) programs (such
as click it or ticket, bike
to school day, work zone
awareness week, etc.)
Minnesota is involved in
the Toward Zero Deaths
(TZD) program. The TZD
approach is based on the
belief that even one traffic-
related death on our roads
is unacceptable. This "zero
deaths" idea was first ad-
opted in Sweden in 1997
as "Vision Zero" and since
then has evolved to sev-
eral state Department of
Transportation (DOTs),
including Minnesota, that
have identified zero deaths
as a core objective in their
Strategic Highway Safety
Plans.
TZD uses a data-driven,
interdisciplinary approach
that applies education, en-
forcement, engineering,
and emergency medical
and trauma services to fo-
cus on the issue.
While progress has been
made in Minnesota, there
are still too many people
being injured or killed
along our roads. There
are still too way too many
driving and failing to take
responsibility for their ac-
tions when they get behind
the wheel and it's costing
people their lives. Alco-
hol, speed, distractions
and lack of seat belt use
remain the top factors in
a majority of these crash-
es. We need to constantly
remember what a big re-
sponsibility driving truly
is and focus 100 percent of
the time on the road and
drive like our lives depend
on it.
You can avoid a ticket --
and a crash -- if you sim-
ply buckle up, drive at safe
speeds, pay attention and
always drive sober. Help us
drive Minnesota Toward
Zero Deaths.
If you have any ques-
tions concerning traffic
related laws or issues in
Minnesota send your ques-
tions to Sgt. Troy Chris-
tianson - Minnesota State
Patrol at 2900 48th Street
NW, Rochester MN 55901-
5848. (Or reach him at,
Troy.Christianson@state.
mn.us)
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