Wednesday, Oct. 10, will be the first annual "Put the Brakes on Fatalities" Day.

The effort is the work of a coalition of highway safety and transportation groups, including the American Trucking Associations. The day is designed to jump-start a national campaign to decrease the number of traffic fatalities, which have stagnated at about 42,000 per year. That's 115 traffic deaths each day, or one every 13 minutes.
Organizers are asking motorists to "imagine a day with zero traffic fatalities" and to focus on driving behavior to try to make it happen.
The day is the brainchild of professional engineer Larry Emig, bureau chief with the Kansas Department of Transportation. "On October 10, we want to increase our nation's awareness of traffic safety by providing people with driving tips, and by letting them know that engineering, safety, law enforcement, medical and all transportation organizations are working very hard to save lives," Emig says.
"Frankly, we can't have too many safety efforts like this," said William Canary, ATA interim president. "The large truck fatality rate is at an all-time low, and the number of truck-related fatalities had dropped for the third year in a row because our drivers work hard to make our highways safer. All drivers must make the same conscious personal effort."
Other sponsoring groups include the American Assn. of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the National Society of Professional Engineers, The Road Improvement Program, the Highway Users Alliance, The American Automobile Assn. and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
For more information, visit www.brakesonfatalities.org.