TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE International Association of Chiefs of Police TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE Cover Images Credits: National Sheriffs’ Association and the New York State Police Version: December 8, 2017 @ 1100 hrs. Disclaimer: This publication is distributed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in the interest of information exchange. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Transportation or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The United States Government assumes no liability for its content or use thereof. If trade or manufacturers’ names or products are mentioned, it is because they are considered essential to the object of the publication and should not be construed as an endorsement. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE 1 TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE INTRODUCTION Police officers in the United States today know all too and others who best understand what the key issues are. well how challenging it has become to ensure the safe The IACP has learned anecdotally that police officers movement of traffic on the roadways. Factors such have been known to carry the Guide in their patrol vehicle as distracted driving, both alcohol and drug-impaired trunk, while at the same time, police chiefs use the Guide motorists, an increase in total miles driven, and newly in planning for meetings with their city manager, elected emerging considerations such as autonomous vehicles, officials, and community groups. promoting traffic safety as a national priority has become even more complex. As you review the Guide, please keep in mind that new traffic safety initiatives and research are emerging almost The Traffic Safety Resource Guideis designed to help law daily. The IACP, working with NHTSA, plans to develop a enforcement officers to address the elements of traffic future electronic version of the Traffic Safety Resource safety from education to enforcement as well as share Guide, possibly in either a webpage or app format. This will research and best practices. The Guide provides promising help facilitate near real-time updates of data and research practices to support leaders in responding to traffic safety while also providing a mobile platform for smartphones issues they are encountering in their communities. While and tablets. Feel free to contact the IACP and NHTSA with the Guide does not seek to address all of the issues, it more specific questions related to traffic safety that may serves as a source of potential strategies that can be not be addressed in this Guide. implemented, while also providing the latest research. The Guide can also serve as a starting point for learning The mission you have undertaken of ensuring safe motor more about ongoing research and studies by trusted vehicle travel on the many roads in your communities organizations with a long history of commitment to can be a very challenging task. By working together and traffic safety. harnessing the resources and best practices mentioned in the Traffic Safety Resource Guide, the IACP’s goal is to The Guide is written for police officers. In fact, many of the enable law enforcement leaders to meet and exceed their contributors to the Guide are currently working in the field traffic safety initiatives. of traffic safety – police officers, researchers, practitioners 2 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 Chapter 1: Reduction of Traffic Crashes 5 Alcohol and Drug-Impaired Driving 10 Current Issues in Drug Impaired Driving 13 Distracted Driving 14 Drowsy Driving 15 Aggressive Driving 16 Young Drivers 17 Older Drivers 18 Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety 20 Motorcycle Safety 22 Special Enforcement Initiatives to Reduce Crashes 24 Traffic Safety through High Visibility Enforcement 26 The Importance of Occupant Protection 29 Chapter 2: Officer Safety 29 Research in Brief: Officer-Involved Collisions: Magnitude, Risk Factors, and Prevention 30 Safety for Law Enforcement Officers – Still a Priority 32 Below 100 Initiative: A Reality Check on Officer Safety 33 Destination Zero Program 34 Police Pursuits: Trends and Emerging Technology 35 The Dangers of Vehicle Pursuits: New Emerging Issues 39 Move Over Law 39 Officer Safety, Predictive Policing, and Community Relations 41 Tactical Common Sense: Saving Lives with Seatbelts and Traffic Safety Vests 44 Chapter 3: Allocation, Deployment, and Evaluation of Traffic Personnel 44 Police Allocation Manual (PAM) 44 Using Traffic Safety Data to Drive Resource Allocation 45 The Changing of Culture as a Byproduct of the Delaware State Police’s Implementation of the Stratified Model to Address Traffic Safety: The Pilot Study 51 Chapter 4: Crash Investigation 56 Chapter 5: Commercial Vehicles and Hazardous Materials Regulation 56 U.S. Department of Transportation 59 Chapter 6: The Driver Licensing System 59 The Driver Licensing System 63 Chapter 7: Registration, Title, and Inspection Enforcement 63 Registration, Title, and Inspection Enforcement 66 Chapter 8: Uniformity, Reciprocity, and Federal Programs 66 Federal Agencies and Grants 70 NHTSA Regional Offices 70 FHWA Field Services and Resource Centers INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE 3 TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE 71 Chapter 9: Emerging and Critical Issues in Traffic Safety 71 Traffic Safety’s Critical Role in the Law Enforcement Mission 72 Traffic Enforcement: Back to Basics 77 Leading Traffic Safety 80 In Pursuit of Bias-Free Traffic Enforcement 85 Highly Automated and Connected Vehicles 87 Legalization of Marijuana: Issues for Traffic Safety 92 Are Red Light Cameras an Effective Crash-Reduction Solution? 96 Speed Cameras to Reduce Speeding Traffic and Road Traffic Injuries 97 Unmanned Aerial Systems and Traffic Safety 97 5 Ways NG911 Can Improve Your Agency 99 Public Relations and Messaging in the Digital Age 104 Traffic Incident Management (TIM) 107 The Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) 108 Enforcement, Engineering, Education, and Evaluation 110 Chapter 10: Legal Issues in Traffic Safety 110 Legal Issues in Traffic Safety 116 Appendices 116 Appendix A: Bibliography of Resources 128 Appendix B: Associations and Committees 132 Appendix C: Abbreviations and Acronyms 137 Appendix D: Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors 144 Acknowledgements 4 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE TRAFFIC SAFETY RESOURCE GUIDE CHAPTER 1: REDUCTION OF TRAFFIC CRASHES Alcohol- and Drug-Impaired Driving in drivers more than doubled from 7.8 percent prior to cannabis legalization to 18.9 percent one year after In every state in the United States, it is illegal to drive with legalization. [3] a BAC of .08 or higher, yet an average of one person is A second survey considered whether marijuana use killed in a drunk-driving crash every 48 minutes. Every day, by drivers was associated with a greater risk of crash thirty people in the U.S. die in an alcohol-related vehicle involvement. Results from the survey found that marijuana crash. [1] users were more likely to be involved in crashes, but that While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the increased risk was due in part to the potential for (NHTSA) advises that impaired driving fatalities have marijuana users to be in groups already at a higher risk of fallen by a third in the last three decades, the risk of being crashes, such as young men. [4] More data is needed on involved in an alcohol-impaired crash is still one-in-three the link between marijuana use and the propensity of a over the course of an individual’s lifetime. Impaired driving higher incidence of crashes. fatalities in the U.S. increased by 5.7 percent from 2015 to Most law enforcement officers in the U.S. do not test 2017. Parallel to the overall number of lives lost in traffic impaired drivers for drugs unless the motorists’ blood or crashes in 2015, the number of alcohol-impaired fatalities breath sample results are below the legal limit for alcohol. also rose 5.8 percent from 2015 to 2017. [2] (See Table: This is a standard operating procedure to save time and Fatalities and Fatality Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles expenses associated with the testing process. Many Traveled in Alcohol-Impaired Driving Crashes, 2008-2017) times, drivers who have been involved in crashes have the Meanwhile, the use of marijuana and prescription drugs presence of both alcohol and drugs in their system. [5] has become even more prominent among drivers on U.S. Without more established practices of testing for drug roads, raising more challenges for traffic safety officials. impaired driving, the true picture of drug-impaired driving With the legalization of cannabis in several states for will remain unknown. medical or recreational purposes, the increased prevalence Another complex and emerging issue related to drug- of drugged driving is likely to result in more deaths on impaired driving is the significant increase in the use of roadways. More studies and research are needed, so law prescription drugs. The abuse of opiate drugs specifically enforcement can prepare effective and efficient strategies has received national attention as the United States is in related