Traffic Safety News – Motorcycle Safety “Share the Road”

Ever experienced a close call?  Perhaps someone ran a red light or made an improper turn in front of your vehicle.  Ever had someone ride too close to your bumper?  What if you did not have the safety of a seat belt, air bag, and crumple zones when these aggressive driving behaviors happen around you.  Now imagine the risks that motorcyclists take, even when wearing their full complement of protective gear.

What you need to know

  • To date, there have been 10 motorcycle fatalities (18% of the total fatalities).
  • This year, to date, 8 of the 10 motorcyclists killed were wearing helmets.
  • The average age of the person killed on in a motorcycle crash is 46.

What you can do

OHS would like to remind you that safe driving behaviors are the same whether you are driving a car, truck, or motorcycle:

  • Always look twice before turning into traffic.
  • Be vigilant when changing lanes.
  • Be aware of blind spots.
  • Keep a safe distance from other vehicles.
  • Always follow the posted speed limits.
  • Use proper lane position.
  • Never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
  • Wear all appropriate safety gear – Seat belts for motorists and proper riding gear for motorcyclists.
  • For all who share the road, if you see someone who is driving or riding in an unsafe manner, pull over out of the way if possible, and call 911.

Tell us what you think about traffic safety in Delaware by taking part in our annual survey:   https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OHSDriverBehaviorSurvey

Share the Road.  Arrive Alive DE.

This message is being sent to you the Office of Highway Safety, who asks you to drive safely at all times.  For more information on this and other traffic safety programs, go to www.ohs.delaware.gov.


Lt. Governor Releases 3rd Annual School Spending Reports; Public School Districts and Vo-Tech & Charter Schools Included

Over $21 million annually could be spent on students

DOVER, Del. (Thursday, September 6, 2012) – Today, Lt. Governor Matt Denn released his third annual reports on how Delaware’s schools spend their funds on direct educational services for students.

These reports (one for public schools and another for Vo-Tech & Charter Schools) focus on expenditures in the 2010-2011 school year.  The purpose of these reports is to provide parents and taxpayers with information regarding the spending practices of the school districts in which they live and/or where their children attend school.

The ultimate goal of providing this information is to encourage schools districts to direct more public dollars into the classroom and less into administrative overhead.

For public school districts, this year’s report shows one significant overall change in the 2010-2011 school year, as compared to prior years: the disparity between schools that are spending the highest percentages of funds on direct educational services and the other school districts significantly narrowed compared to the two prior school years.  In the prior two school years, the Lt. Governor’s office calculated that if all of the school districts were spending on direct educational services at the same ratios as the districts with the five highest percentages, over $28 million additional dollars could be spent on such direct educational services.  This year, that figure is $21,133,243, a 26% improvement over the prior school year.

For charter schools, as in last year’s report, most spent a lower percentage of their total dollars on direct educational services than traditional public school districts.  This year’s report is no different than the last two; there is an extraordinary range among the charter schools with respect to the percentage of funds spent on direct educational services– substantially greater than the spread among traditional public school districts.  Finally, almost all of the state’s charter schools spent a higher percentage of their funds on direct educational expenses (total) in 2010-2011 than in the prior year.

Both reports and charts are located at ltgov.delaware.gov/schoolreports along with school district comments.


Labor Day Traffic Enforcement Activities Net 65 DUI’s & More

Dover –  The Labor Day holiday kept Delaware law enforcement officers busy around the state with 65 DUI arrests and citing over 900 motorists for other traffic citations.  Enforcement activities included DUI checkpoints and patrols as part of Checkpoint Strikeforce, the National Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over DUI crackdown, and Seat Belt enforcement campaigns which all ran between August 17 to September 3rd.

Officers not only arrested a combined total of 65 individuals for DUI, but also issued a total of 282 seat belt citations, 72 cell phone citations, 14 child restraint citations, apprehended a total of 28 wanted persons, seized 2 weapons, made 29 drug arrests, 3 underage drinking arrests, 3 felony arrests, and issued another 917 other traffic citations.

Four DUI checkpoints are scheduled to take place next weekend as Checkpoint Strikeforce continues.  They are scheduled as follows:

Friday September 7th –       Christiana – (NcCo DUI Task Force) – checkpoint

Smyrna- (multi-jurisdictional effort)- checkpoint

Saturday September 8th –  Dover -(multi-jurisdictional effort)- checkpoint

Rehoboth Beach (DSP)- checkpoint

Those convicted of a first time DUI offense in Delaware can expect to lose their driver’s license for up to three months, attend an 8-week DUI treatment class and pay nearly 4-thousand dollars in court, treatment, DMV, and lawyer’s fees.

For more information on Checkpoint Strikeforce visit www.ohs.delaware.gov and follow regular campaign updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe and Facebook www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

 


Sally Van Orden’s Silk Paintings in the Mezzanine Gallery in September

Sally Van Orden will present an exhibition titled Fossilized Memories in the Delaware Division of the Arts Mezzanine Gallery from September 7-28, 2012. The Gallery, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. There will be a reception to meet the artist on Friday, September 7 from 5-8 p.m. as part of Wilmington’s Art Loop.

This solo exhibition of Van Orden’s work will showcase imagery that suggests fossil laboratory slides, samples and cross-sections depicted in a silk painting medium. The artist uses past imagery of organic structures and reconstructs them in two -dimensional and three- dimensional works.

Van Orden received her MFA from Texas Tech University and is currently an Associate Professor of Art at West Chester University. Sally Van Orden has exhibited her work regionally, nationally, and internationally and is included in public and private collections. She is the recipient of a 2012 Delaware Individual Artist Fellowship in Crafts.


Biden Warns Consumers to be Alert for Home Improvement Scams

Wilmington – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden issued a warning to Delawareans today to remain vigilant against scams artists attempting to defraud homeowners in the aftermath of severe weekend storms.

“The sad fact is that there are criminals who are always looking to take advantage of innocent people following a natural disaster” Biden said.  “Whether you are repairing damage to your home or yard, helping a neighbor, or looking to donate to a charity to help others, there are a few steps you should take to ensure you avoid falling victim to a scam artist.”

Biden offered the following guidelines to avoid home improvement scams:

·         Make sure a contractor is licensed and bonded.

·         Get references and follow-up on them. Ask your neighbors about a contractor’s reputation, and check them out with the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org).

·         Be wary of door-to-door solicitations.

·         Never pay for work up front. Full payment shouldn’t be made until the job has been completed to your satisfaction.

·         Always obtain a written proposal, including cost estimate; consider obtaining multiple proposals and estimates.

·         Call the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline to report any suspected wrongdoing: 1-800-220-5424.

Biden asked anyone who suspects they have been scammed or anyone that has received a suspicious communication related to an offer of home improvement services to immediately contact the Attorney General’s toll free consumer protection hotline at 1-800-220-5424 or email the Attorney General’s consumer protection unit directly at consumer.protection@delaware.gov.

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