Fewer die on N.H. roads

By John Basilesco , Staff Writer Eagle-Tribune

Amy Calo wishes everybody would take a motorcycle driving course, especially "young guys who tend to be fearless on those fast bikes."
The 36-year-old Manchester woman took a safety course herself when she received a motorcycle as a gift a few years ago. She's glad she did.
The class offered much more than instruction on how to operate a motorcycle, she said. It also taught her how to avoid coming into harm's way, by driving defensively and knowing how to take a sharp turn without losing control, for example.
State safety officials credit the Motorcycle Rider Training course Calo took, and the growing number of people taking it, as one of a few key reasons New Hampshire traffic fatalities dropped to their lowest level in nine years in 2006.
The 128 people killed in car and motorcycle crashes last year is a dramatic drop in fatalities from the previous two years.
Twenty-three of the deaths occurred in Rockingham County last year, down from 35 the year before. Statewide in 2004 and 2005 the number of deaths was significantly higher, totaling 171 and 166 respectively.
While they admit there are factors out of their control, state safety officials point to strong state and local police presence on the roads, increased sobriety checkpoints, and a safety campaign they say helped cut motorcycle deaths in half - down from 42 in 2005 to 21 in 2006.
That's significant, especially since the high fatality rates in 2004 and 2005 were largely due to a spike in motorcycle accidents, said Peter Thomson, head of the New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency and chairman of a task force formed two years ago to reduce motorcycle fatalities.
In 2003, Thomson said, nine people died in motorcycle crashes. The number jumped to 27 in 2004, then 42 in 2005 - 25 percent of all traffic fatalities.
Several factors were at work, he said: more motorcycles on the road, too many untrained drivers, good weather extending the riding season, and more baby boomers buying machines they can't necessarily handle.
The motorcycle factor
Thomson and Virginia Beecher, director of the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles, agree that the campaign promoted by the task force was effective and the numbers show it.
A big component of the campaign was encouraging people to take the motorcycle course offered at various locations around the state, including Hooksett, Hampton, Merrimack and Manchester.
The course, offered through the Division of Motor Vehicles and two state-sanctioned private vendors (Meredith Harley Davidson in Meredith and Motorcycle Operator Safety Training Inc. in Manchester), has been offered for 15 years. But two years ago the task force began to promote it aggressively in reaction to the rising fatalities.
It's structured into three tiers, for beginner, intermediate and advanced drivers. And it's not mandatory, but last year alone more than 3,000 riders took it.
That's more than ever before, Beecher said.
The beginner course runs for 21/2 days; the other two can be taken in one day. The DMV charges $110 for the basic course, $50 for the intermediate one, and $60 for the experienced-rider course. The private vendors charge more.
To encourage even more people to take course, the state is working with insurance companies to offer discounts to drivers who take it, Beecher said.
And effective this year, anyone who fails the motorcycle driving test twice will be required to take the course. In the past, riders could take the test as many times as necessary to get a motorcycle license without any repercussions.
The enforcement factor
A statewide crackdown on speeders and drunken drivers also is reducing the overall number of crashes, safety officials say.
"There's so much more visible law enforcement out on the highways and more local enforcement," Beecher said. "More law enforcement has really contributed to that lesser number. In the city of Concord, where I live, they're (police) everywhere. That's a good thing. It slows people down."
Grant money is helping police departments toughen up their watch, Thomson said. The money can be used to set up sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols to catch impaired drivers, and speed patrols, Thomas said.
Last year, traffic safety grants totaling $1,704,000 were awarded to state and local police departments, up from $966,000 the year before,This year, the same grant money will be available, Thomson said.
The Salem Police Department received $2,655 in grants for sobriety checkpoints (the first conducted in the town in as many as 10 years, Deputy Chief Robert Larsen said), $2,223 for speed patrols, and $1,664 for seat-belt enforcement. Beecher said that money is largely used to cover the police overtime the patrols create. The department also received a matching grant of $957 to buy a new radar gun, Thomson said. Salem police set up patrols in areas with high accident rates, including Route 28 and Route 97, Larsen said. A two-day Labor Day weekend sobriety checkpoint in Salem netted 16 arrests, including five people charged with drunken driving, Larsen said. Pelham also conducted sobriety checkpoints the same weekend, one night on Route 38 near the Massachusetts line and the second night on Mammoth Road, police Capt. Joseph Roark said. Police pulled over 229 vehicles, Roark said, making 15 arrests. Six drivers were charged with drunken driving and seven with possession of a controlled drug. "Absolutely, the checkpoints are effective," Roark said. "It's not just the arrests. It's a visual reminder to all the drivers. It can be quite intimidating to them, and it can have a lasting impact to help convince them not to drink and drive."
Tangible results
Larsen said he believes all this effort can be directly connected to a steady drop in overall traffic accidents. In Salem, accidents were reduced from 1,040 investigated crashes in 2003 to 922 last year. Only one person died in a crash in Salem last year, compared to five the year before. One person died in a Londonderry accident last year, compared to four deaths in 2005. In Derry, the drop was less dramatic but the number still down, from five in 2005 to four in 2006. Derry police Capt. Vernon Thomas said his department's efforts include conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, too. In addition, he said, the department "runs radar" on heavily traveled roads, like Hampstead Road, Route 28, Route 102, Bypass 28 and Island Pond Road. Police also park next to roads, sometimes just for a few minutes, in part just to remain visible, Thomas said. "Their presence alone can get people to slow down," he said.
New Hampshire motor vehicle deaths by year
2006:128 2005:166 2004: 171 2003: 127 2002: 127 2001: 142 2000: 126 1999: 141 1998: 128 1997: 125 1996: 134 Source: New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles.
Motor vehicle deaths for local towns in 2006
Chester: 1 Danville: 0 Derry: 4 Hampstead: 2 Kingston: 0 Londonderry: 1 Newton: 0 Pelham: 0 Plaistow: 1 Salem: 1 Sandown: 0 Windham: 2 Source: New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles.

Motorcycle Riders Foundation

HR-2048 Motor Vehicle Right To Repair Act of 2005

The Motor Vehicle Right to Repair Act of 2005 (HR 2048) was introduced by Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) and Edolphus Towns (D-NY). The legislative intent of this measure is to offer protections for the American motor vehicle owner by making it illegal for the manufacturer of the motor vehicle to withhold information necessary to diagnose service or repair the motor vehicle.
The rapid advancement in braking, ignition, security and safety technology has resulted in more sophisticated diagnostic tools and equipment that manufactures are reluctant to make available to the shade tree mechanic or vehicle owner. Without access to the same training and tools made readily available to those within the dealership network, many small shops are being forced to turn away work. In fact in a survey of aftermarket automotive technicians, over fifty percent of them have turned away one to six jobs a month.
We have formally committed to support HR 2048 because we believe that safeguarding individual ownership rights is an absolute must. Access to accurate information when it comes to repair or upkeep of a vehicle is essential to the safety and well being of the entire American motoring public. HR 2048 aims to guarantee that individual owners and repair shops have access to aftermarket parts and the same tools and training offered to those within the dealership network.
Please call, write or email your Members of the US House of Representative and ask for their support by co sponsoring this important legislation.
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