FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2008
Contact: Cathy Gillen
Office (202) 857-1228 or Cell - (443) 463-4449
Email: cathygillen@roadwaysafety.org

STATEMENT OF CATHY GILLEN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE ROADWAY SAFETY FOUNDATION, IN RESPONSE TOAAA REPORT ON "CRASHES VS. CONGESTION - WHAT'S THE COST TO SOCIETY?"

(WASHINGTON, DC) - "The Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) commends AAA for the release of this much-needed report that states what we in the highway safety field have known all along - traffic crashes are not only a leading cause of death and life-changing injuries, they're also a serious drain on the economy nationwide.

RSF supports the recommendations of the AAA report and is committed to working with AAA to change our culture of complacency as it relates to traffic safety. While there are many tools for improving safety on our nation's highways, our Foundation is dedicated to reducing the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes by heavily focusing in on one key area - improving the safety of America's roadways.

Of the 42,642 people killed in traffic crashes on U.S. roads in 2006, nearly 60 percent of the fatalities (24,801) involved a departure from the roadway and 21 percent (8,797) were at an intersection or were intersection-related (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2006 Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Crashes).

Through educational campaigns and materials, our Foundation seeks to raise awareness among the public and community leaders about the availability of tested and proven solutions to improve the safety features of our roadways. These engineering and design solutions such as wider lanes and shoulders on rural roads, the widespread installation of median cable barriers and better lighting and signage for example, are a critical part of the nation's solutions to saving lives and preventing injuries on our nation's highways."

RSF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable and educational organization. For additional information on RSF please visit www.roadwaysafety.org.

# # #