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Icy Roads: News and Updates Blog
November 2009 Archives

Monday, November 23, 2009 - 12:07AM

Oregon: 9 icy road deaths in 2 weeks

In two weeks, the state of Oregon has surpassed its 2008-2009 icy road death toll. Since November 8, 2009, there have been 9 deaths - including the worst icy road accident so far this season, a church van rollover that claimed three lives. And unlike the trend from earlier this season, seat belts were in use in the majority of Oregon's incidents. The following is Oregon's accident list as of November 23:

Oregon icy road fatalities in November 2009
Date	Location	Deaths	Icing*	Seatbelt	Notes
11/21	Lake of the Woods, OR	1		Yes	Highway 140, pickup, impact with tree
11/20	Prineville, OR	1		Yes	Highway 26, 2004 Chevrolet utility truck, head-on collision
11/14	Mount Hood, OR	2	SN	Yes	Highway 35, 1992 GMC Yukon, head-on collision
11/12	Baker City, OR	3		No (3)	I-84, 2002 Ford E-350 church van, rollover, 13 ejected
11/12	Chiloquin, OR	1		Yes	Highway 97, Chevy Avalanche, collision with semi
11/8	Meacham, OR	1	FZDZ	Yes	I-84, single vehicle crash

Winter weather will be returning to much of the country by Thanksgiving, unfortunately in time for the associated heavy travel.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - 5:56PM

Special thanks to web supporters - November 2009

Once a month, we will feature web sites, blogs and news articles who have chosen to support icyroadsafety.com with a web link. These links go a long way in helping promote the cause, and are greatly appreciated. Here are this month's linking sites:

StormReports.org by Beau Dodson
stormhorm.com Blog by Bob Hartig
Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT)

If you've linked to icyroadsafety.com, please send an email to let us know.

Sunday, November 15, 2009 - 10:34PM

Front page redesign, link banner code available

Along with a redesign of the home page, both dynamic and static link banners are now available for inclusion on your web site. Help us make a difference by linking to icyroadsafety.com! You can get the code for the banner of your choice at the following link:

icyroadsafety.com
Dynamic Link Banners >
for your web site


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Friday, November 13, 2009 - 5:51PM

Current season toll is three times more than 2008-2009

It is still too early to tell how bad the 2009-2010 icy road season will be, as we've got a long winter ahead. But this season's fatality toll is already triple what last year's numbers were at this time. Last November, the icy road toll was at 7 by mid-month - this year, it is at 21. We will likely see some high variability in accident rates depending on snow coverage and the number of freezing rain episodes, so it is impossible to estimate if the higher numbers today are indicitave of what we can expect the rest of the season. We can say with confidence, however, that there is no reason to doubt that last year's toll was out of the ordinary, and this season will likely reach a comparable number unless awareness/preparedness levels increase.

Last year, late November (around the 19th to be specific) was when the fatal accident counts began to skyrocket, maintaining a steady pace until the season started to wind down in March. Throughout the winter, fatal accidents happened nearly every day from November 19th to March 11th, with at least 4 or 5 added to the toll most every day. Some days saw death tolls in the double digits, particularly during freezing rain/freezing drizzle events. The highest single-event toll was the freezing rain event of December 23-24, when at least 49 people died on icy roads in the Plains and Midwest.

We are still working hard on finding funding to expand awareness efforts this winter. As you know, it takes funding to do most anything and this effort is no exception. I currently have a sponsorship plan with a video presentation prepared for any business or organization that wishes to be involved. Simply call or email me for more information.