Delaware– The Delaware State Police have seen a recent spike in fatal crashes across the entire state.  In conjunction with the Delaware Office of Highways Safety, we are working together to provide our citizens with a few traffic safety reminders.

The majority of fatal crashes are attributed to some form of distracted driving.  This involves the driver failing to provide the proper time and attention to the roadway and to the task of driving.  Other high-risk behaviors of motorists include impaired driving, speeding, unsafe driving behaviors including the use of electronic devices and the failure of motorists and passengers alike to wear seat belts.

Traffic Safety Tips:

Limit distractions: Using your cell phone, texting, and fiddling with the radio or GPS should all be done when you are at a complete stop or avoided altogether.  Give 100% of your attention to the road.

Walk Smart: Distracted walking, wearing dark clothing, and walking under the influence are common factors in pedestrian crashes in Delaware. Wear bright clothing, carry a flashlight, keep your head up and keep your eyes on the road and surrounding areas. Catch a cab or rideshare lift, or have a designated driver take you home. Walking under impairment is never worth the risk.

Slow Down:  Reducing speeds and/or maintaining safer speeds.  Avoid the fast lane if possible.  If you are in the center or far-right lanes, you are more able to maneuver away from a potentially dangerous situation than if you are in the fast lane.

Be Attentive: Never just assume that a driver is going to stop or turn. It’s better to assume they may not!  For example, when going through a red light, still look both ways to check if anyone is going to run the light.  Not only do drunk drivers often run red lights, but so do distracted drivers.

Driving Under the Influence: Whether it be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, impaired driving is a crime.  Before drinking, please designate a sober driver and give that person your keys. If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely.

Wear Your Seatbelt: One of the safest choices drivers and passengers can make is to buckle up. Understand the potentially fatal consequences of not wearing a seat belt and learn what you can do to make sure you and your family are properly buckled up every time.

“The Office of Highway Safety is currently running our pedestrian, occupant protection, and distracted driving campaigns and enforcements in every county. We want the public to be aware of actions they can take to protect themselves on Delaware roadways. October is Pedestrian Safety Month. Please walk bright and walk smartly by wearing bright clothes, carrying a flashlight, and being aware when crossing Delaware’s busy roads,” Cynthia Cavett, Marketing Specialist II and Public Information Officer, Delaware Office of Highway Safety.

For more information, please visit ohs.delaware.gov, or visit us on Facebook (@HighwaysafetyDE), Twitter (@HighwaysafetyDE) and Instagram (HighwaysafetyDE).

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Cynthia Cavett, Marketing Specialist II & Public Information Officer
Delaware Office of Highway Safety
Cynthia.Cavett@Delaware.Gov
302-744-2743

About the Delaware Office of Highway Safety
The Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is committed to improving the safety of Delaware’s motoring public by focusing on behavioral traffic safety issues such as impaired driving, seat belt use, speeding, child passenger safety, pedestrian and bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, and teen driving issues. FAQs can be found at ArriveAliveDE.com.

Cooperative statewide effort to reduce pedestrian

deaths and encourage safe walking habits

WILMINGTON, Del. (October 14, 2019) – In honor of Pedestrian Safety Month to meaningfully reduce pedestrian deaths across the state, Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is bringing back its grassroots pedestrian safety initiative statewide. From Monday, October 7 through Sunday, October 20, pedestrian street teams will be deployed on DART buses throughout the state with routes that travel corridors with higher occurrences of pedestrian crashes and fatalities. These street teams will educate Delawareans on safe walking habits and hand out reflectors for use.

“Data continues to show that October is the deadliest month related to crashes occurring in Delaware, with the highest occurrences of pedestrian fatalities and injuries. In addition, pedestrian crashes peak around evening rush hour from 5 to 8 p.m. This is precisely why we have decided to bring back our grassroots initiative to stress the importance of safe walking habits especially during this time frame,” said Kimberly Chesser, Director, Delaware Office of Highway Safety. “We would like to thank DART for partnering with us on such an important initiative, helping to make sure that our riders and pedestrians Walk Smart.”

Common factors in pedestrian crashes involve individuals being under the influence, distracted walking, wearing dark-colored clothing, and crossing outside of crosswalks on busy roads like Kirkwood Highway (Rt 2), DuPont Highway (US 13), and Pulaski Highway (US 40).

“OHS will continue to do its part to promote that pedestrians Walk Smart, and hope each person helps us spread our message to ensure that pedestrians arrive safely,” said Richard Klepner, Deputy Director and Pedestrian Safety Coordinator, Delaware Office of Highway Safety.

For more information, please visit ohs.delaware.gov, or visit us on Facebook (@HighwaysafetyDE), Twitter (@HighwaysafetyDE) and Instagram (HighwaysafetyDE).

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About the Delaware Office of Highway Safety
The Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is committed to improving the safety of Delaware’s motoring public by focusing on behavioral traffic safety issues such as impaired driving, seat belt use, speeding, child passenger safety, pedestrian and bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, and teen driving issues. FAQs can be found at ArriveAliveDE.com.

Since expanding the Work A Day Earn A Pay (WADEAP) Pilot Public Works Jobs program statewide in July 2019, the program has collected nearly 1,500 bags of trash along Delaware roads. The program is a collaborative effort between the Delaware Department of Transportation and Goodwill Industries of Delaware and Delaware County.

“I want to thank Delawareans all across our state, including everyone involved in our Work A Day program, who are helping to protect our natural environment and Keep DE Litter Free,” said Governor John Carney. “Just recently, a group of Sussex County employees collected 169 bags of trash along county roadways, and the annual Coastal Cleanup in September brought thousands of volunteers out to collect trash along our coastline. We live in a beautiful state, and we should keep it that way. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re encouraged with the results we’re seeing so far.”

“Goodwill has done a fantastic job of getting the statewide WADEAP program up and running, helping us address this problem and offering job opportunities and training,” said Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan. “In addition, we continue to spread the Keep DE Litter Free message throughout Delaware that we need everyone’s help in this effort. For example, DelDOT has collected more than 200 dumped large appliances from roads in Kent County since the beginning of 2018. This behavior is not ok and we need these blatant acts to stop which can only happen with the public’s help,” she added.

Colleen Morrone, President & Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County offered, “The Work A Day Earn A Pay program is providing a great opportunity to individuals with barriers to employment to enter the workforce. To support job growth opportunities, the 40 WADEAP team participants are also receiving digital skills and financial coaching, giving them the skills to improve their quality of life through the Power of Work.”

DelDOT is providing the $483,000 in funding for the expanded program that has increased the frequency of cleanups in Wilmington as well as targeting other high litter areas in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties. More information about the Keep DE Litter Free campaign can be found at https://governor.delaware.gov/litter-free/

Contact: Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service
302-698-4548, kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov 

MURPHY, N.C.  —  The Delaware Forest Service has dispatched a Type 6 engine and crew to the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. The unit will provide resource and readiness capability as a combination of drought, fuel moisture, and weather conditions have created above average potential for increased wildfire activity across the Southern Region. Delaware’s crew consists of Sam Topper of Maryland, a senior forester with the Delaware Forest Service, and Adam N. Keever of Newark, a conservation technician with DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation.

This is the first assignment of 2019 for the Delaware engine crew. In 2018, the Delaware Forest Service dispatched a Type 6 engine to battle California’s Ferguson Fire, which caused two fatalities and burned almost 97,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest and Yosemite National Park. In 2017, the Type 6 engine and crew was sent to the Eagle Creek Fire, which burned more than 50,000 acres in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington and Oregon.

“One of the Delaware Forest Service’s core missions is providing critical resources for wildfire suppression and emergency response—both locally and nationally,” said Kyle Hoyd, Delaware’s assistant state forestry administrator who oversees its wildland fire program. “We take pride in the fact that our Type 6 engine and experienced crew members can support the needs of our federal and state partners when we are called upon to serve.”

On view from October 4-25, 2019
Free opening reception on Friday, October 4, at 5 p.m.

Wilmington, Del. (September 25, 2019) – Art with Purpose, an exhibition of photographs and paintings by Leah Beach, will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from October 4-25, 2019. The artist will host a free opening reception on Friday, October 4, from 5-7 p.m. Leah, a Dewey Beach resident, received an Individual Artist Fellowship in 2018 from the Delaware Division of the Arts as the Emerging Professional in Visual Arts: Photography.

Art with Purpose is about inspiring social change through the power of creative vision. Beach uses her photography to empower people in the developing world in partnership with non-profits. And her paintings are intended to bring awareness to social causes. “When you can change the perspective of a single person to be passionate about a cause after viewing your artwork,” Beach says, “you are well on your way to making a difference in the world.”

The exhibition features photographs from a trip to Haiti made in partnership with a local hospital and a U.S.-based community health organization. Beach captured moments in the Haitian hospital that could happen in hospitals all over the world regardless of the cultural and economic differences. The images from this visit have been used in marketing campaigns for the hospital and organization.

The exhibition will also include several paintings from her “In-Dangered” collection, a series that depicts the 17 most endangered species in 2018. Animals included in the show are the Northern Atlantic right whale, northern white rhino, greater bamboo lemur, Amur leopard, Javan rhino, and ivory-billed woodpecker.

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located on the second floor of the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

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Contact: Dennis Lawson, Interim Communications Coordinator
302-577-8466, dennis.lawson@delaware.gov

The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.