News Briefs

Drowsy Driving Awareness and Prevention Week 

Olympia – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has proclaimed Nov. 5-12 as “Drowsy Driving Awareness and Prevention Week,” and the Washington State Patrol is offering drowsy driving prevention tips.

Nationwide, drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 crashes a year with 40,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities. From 2011–2015, there were 64 fatal collisions and 308 serious injury collisions investigated where a drowsy driver was involved in Washington.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, the top risk groups for drowsy driving are young people-especially males under age 26, shift workers and people with long work hours — working the night shift increases your risk by nearly six times — and rotating-shift workers.

People working more than 60 hours a week need to be particularly careful as do commercial drivers, especially long-haul drivers. At least 15 percent of all heavy truck crashes involve fatigue. 

Drowsy driving is also illegal. Falling asleep behind the wheel could lead to a $550 fine for negligent driving.

The state patrol offers the following tips for staying awake behind the wheel, beginning with a good night’s sleep before hitting the road. Don’t be too rushed to arrive at your destination, take a break every two hours or 100 miles to refresh and use the buddy system to keep you awake and share driving chores.

Also, avoid alcohol, drugs and medications that cause drowsiness as a side effect, and avoid driving when you would normally be sleeping. 

For more information about drowsy driving and how to prevent it, visit drowsydriving.org.

Spokane County road crews prep for winter

With snowy conditions already arriving, Spokane County officials are notifying residents of plans to handle more snow accumulations this winter.

When a snow event occurs, the county Public Works Department mobilizes crews in all four road districts to de-ice, sand and plow using the following priority system: 1: Main arterials and emergency routes; 2. Secondary arterials; 3. Hilly residential areas and; 4. Flat residential areas. 

Crews attempt to clear more than 2,500 miles of road – the largest county road system in the state of Washington — using 35 graders, 25 sander/plow trucks and four liquid de-icer trucks. Crews often work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week to clear both urban and rural roads.

At a Nov. 1 news conference, Spokane County Maintenance and Operations Superintendent Bob Keneally said the public can help by remembering to stay 50 feet away from equipment and never pass on the right side of trucks or graders.

The county’s for winter road maintenance is approximately $3 million. If the winter and spring thaw are milder than expected, residual funds will be used for other road maintenance projects during the summer months.

During a snow event, the public can check the progress of county crews at spokanecounty.org/engineer and use the quick link “Snow Plow Priority Routes.”