Focusing on your driving rewards you in many ways. Besides avoiding a costly ticket, it's your ticket to arrive alive, safe and sound.
Right now, you could also be rewarded with a new Ford Focus.
The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety has teamed up with KRCG-TV and Joe Machens Ford to sponsor "Focus on the Road" which includes a chance to win a new 2012 Ford Focus.
To enter, visit the "Focus on the Road MO" fan page on Facebook before midnight on Dec. 14. The drawing is open to all licensed Missouri drivers. The winner will be announced Monday, Dec. 19 when 13 finalists will try their key in the new car to find the winner.
No matter who wins the car, paying attention while you drive will help make sure you're around to have a safe and happy holiday season.
MoDOT's Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program has entered the home stretch on its way to replacing or repairing more than 800 of the state's worst bridges. Last night, the 600th new bridge opened on Route H in DeKalb County. With 58 bridges still under construction, and about 20 more projects yet to start in 2011, by the end of the year just more than 120 bridges will remain to be built in 2012.
So far this year, 226 new bridges have been constructed by MoDOT's design-build contractor, KTU Constructors, and 41 other bridges have been rehabilitated. KTU has reopened 226 new bridges in the last 216 days.
You can help put the future of Missouri rail on the right track!
MoDOT has already begun hosting public meetings to get your input on the movement of goods and people in the state by rail. A recent meeting in the Northeast district brought great feedback that will be used to help develop MoDOT's Statewide Rail Plan.
The Rail Plan guides the development of both freight and passenger rail service for the state for the next 20 years. Don't miss your chance to help shape the future of Missouri rail service!
Upcoming meetings:
The Central District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, at East Elementary School, 1229 East McCarty Street in Jefferson City, Missouri.
The St. Louis District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, at the Kirkwood Amtrak Train Station at 110 West Argonne Drive in Kirkwood, Missouri.
The Southeast District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, October 27, at Osage Community Center, 1625 North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
The Northwest District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, at MoDOT NW District Office at 3602 North Belt Hwy in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The Kansas City District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2, at Sermon Center North Room at 201 N. Dodgion Avenue in Independence, Missouri.
The Southwest District meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, November 3, at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce at 202 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway in Springfield, Missouri.
If these are not in your area, you can still be a part! MoDOT is hosting an online public meeting from Oct. 18-Nov. 18 at www.morail.org. At the online meeting, you have the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.
This week is National Teen Driver Safety Week. Teen driving is a top concern for safety officials, especially when you consider that traffic crashes remain the number one cause of death for this age group.
Reaching teens with messages about buckling up, putting down the cell phone and focusing while friends are in the car are certainly important. But there's one other source that can really make a difference with teen driving: you.
If you're a parent, you will face (if you haven't already) that moment when your child asks why you took your hands off the wheel, or why you made some choice comments to the driver ahead of you.
Teens and children are watching.
An article this week in USA Today this week points out that many parents admit to being distracted by phones or devices, even while they're teaching their children to drive.
During Teen Driver Safety Week, it's a good idea for us all to think about how we can encourage safe driving for teens. It's an even better idea to model it for them each day.
Remember the game Red Rover? You know, when two teams would form on the playground and one team would call out, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Wanda on over!” and Wanda would take off running, trying to choose a point where she thought she could break through the line of hand-holding opponents.
If you wanted your team to win, you never tried to run between Greg and Eric. It’s not that they were mean. It was because even by third-grade standards, those guys were big. There’s no way you’d take them on if you wanted to avoid a bruise.
I think of Greg and Eric when I drive my car near a commercial truck. Like them, truck drivers are mostly gentle giants. Still, I will always choose to respect that size and adapt my driving strategy so I’m more visible to the driver and less likely to cause them any concern.
That’s the point of Operation Safe Driver Week – October 16-22 – drivers of big trucks and passenger vehicles respecting each other, paying attention and avoiding unsafe behavior that could result in a crash.
And Eric, if you are still driving that gas tanker, just put on the blinker and come on over. Just like back then, I’m not going to try and stop you!
River Runner Ridership is on the Rise - say it five times fast!
More and more customers are choosing to use Amtrak's Missouri River Runner for their travels. Service is up 8.5 percent in September compared to September 2010, and their on-time performance rate is at 90 percent.
Amtrak chose St. Louis to celebrate another milestone. Yesterday, they honored a St. Louis customer with a 30-day pass on Amtrak's service to celebrate the 30 million passengers that have chosen Amtrak in FY2011.
So, have you chosen the Missouri River Runner lately? Tell us about your trip!
You
can now go behind the scenes via YouTube or an online streaming video feed and watch
as crews work to fill the “Beast,” a large scour hole on U.S. Highway 136 in
Atchison County. At 480 feet long and 65 feet deep, the Beast is longer than the Statue of
Liberty at 305 feet tall, longer than a football field at 360 feet, but not
quite as big as the St. Louis Arch which is 630 feet tall.
This is the second project to restore access on U.S.
Highway 136. It includes filling the last and largest of four gaps in the
pavement. The three other gaps were filled during a previous project. All four areas
will receive temporary pavement to make the surface drivable this winter. The
target completion for this project is Nov. 28, with permanent paving installed
next spring.
The Northwest Missouri
Flooding Information page, www.modot.org/northwest/flooding.htm,
provides
weekly flooding updates for Northwest Missouri, the latest news releases, links
for detours and the MoDOT traveler information map, as well as photos and
videos.
104 miles. That is the distance a MoDOT employee and his wife will walk on the Katy Trail from St. Charles to Jefferson City for five days. They are making this journey to raise money towards the construction of a Fallen Workers Memorial in Jefferson City.
MoDOT Weldon Spring Maintenance Crew Leader Jim Feeney, and his wife, Theo, left this morning from St. Charles. The walk will end on Tuesday, Oct. 11, in Jefferson City.
The memorial will honor MoDOT employees who have been killed in the line of duty. It will be totally funded by private donations.
Anyone wishing to make a contribution to the memorial fund can make a check payable to State Highway & Transportation Employees Association of Missouri and mail it to: Fallen Workers Memorial, Attn: Dave B. Taylor, 3929 East 7th St., Joplin, Mo., 64801.
Nom, nom, nom ... this concrete doesn't care much for cookies, but can't resist a nice batch of smog.
MoDOT and contractor Fred Weber Inc., will test a new type of concrete on a section of Route 141 in St. Louis this month.
A new additive which breaks down smog will be added to the stretch. The additive absorbs smog, uses sunlight to break it down and releases it as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
MoDOT’s plan to reduce staffing, facilities and equipment has resulted in $177 million being redirected to critical road and bridge projects in Missouri. As of Sept. 30, the department had eliminated 667 staff positions, closed 23 facilities and disposed of 245 pieces of equipment under its Bolder Five-Year Direction.
Those moves have allowed the department to save $177 million. More than $64 million of that money has been used to improve the state’s rural roads.
As part of the plan, MoDOT has strategically placed engineers throughout the state to serve as community contacts for their respective areas. Find them here:
Today is International Walk to School Day. It's a great opportunity to reflect how you can incorporate more exercise into the day for your family, as well as how you can reduce congestion around schools and help your community's environment.
If you missed walking or bicycling this morning, don't give up! October is Walk to School Month, so there's still plenty of time to celebrate. Need an extra incentive besides the gorgeous fall weather? The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation has included a Walk/Bike to School Savings Calculator on their blog to help you determine the money your choices can save.
To join others in the fun, visit www.walktoschool.org to find an event specific to your community.
So what are you waiting for? Hit the road (or sidewalk).
As the weather cools, it looks like Missourians are in for some beautiful fall drives.
The Missouri Department of Conservation has put out a report on the color you can expect to see in your area. Those of you in the Ozark area are in for a special treat this season.
So where will you head? What are your favorite fall drives in Missouri? No matter where you travel, be sure to stay alert, buckle up and Arrive Alive.
They are tiny, tireless, hungry, and environmentally
friendly – except to one invasive weed.
They’re called
seedhead weevils, and the Missouri departments of Transportation and Conservation,
along with the University of Missouri – Extension, are using them to help
control Missouri's newest noxious weed – spotted knapweed.The weevils, Larinus minutus and Larinus obtusus or
"Larrys" as some researchers like to call them, are small, flying,
dark brown or gray bugs with a long snout.They can spread throughout a knapweed patch in a few years.
"Knapweed
infestations occur in poor soils along rock cuts and steep slopes, and the weed
produces an herbicide within its roots that kills nearby plants," explained
MoDOT Roadside Manager Chris Shulse.
This noxious weed
resembles the garden flower called bachelor’s buttons. Although pretty, if
knapweed is not controlled, it can spread onto private lawns and pastures,
where it significantly reduces the available forage. Knapweed is hard to
eliminate with herbicides alone because it grows in difficult to reach areas,
often extending beyond the roadside onto private property.
MoDOT began
to release the weevils on roadsides in southern Missouri in 2008 and in
northeast Missouri in 2009. They are typically released in July when knapweed
is in bloom so the females can lay eggs on the flowers. When the eggs hatch,
the larvae go to work, eating the flower and seeds, reducing the plant’s
ability to reproduce. A single larva can eat every seed in a flower.
A second
knapweed-controlling weevil, the root-boring Cyphocleonus achates, or “Cy” is larger and doesn’t fly well. Its
color helps it blend into rocky ground. These insects are released in August,
when females lay eggs on young knapweed plants. The larvae burrow into the
roots, causing the plant to die within a few years. Researchers documented
reductions as high as 99 percent in knapweed patches where “Cy” took up
residence.
In addition to the
2009 release, MoDOT introduced the hungry bugs to infested areas last month.
“Although it will take a few years for the weevil populations to
increase enough to make a difference, our tiny partners will no doubt play an
important role in suppressing knapweed,” Shulse said.
Your MoDOT Minute for this week discusses repairs to damaged roads in Northwest Missouri due to flooding, as well as results from the The HEAT Is On campaign:
These three things are used successfully by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety to keep traffic fatality levels at a level not seen since 1950. Today, the Governor's Highway Safety Association recognized MoDOT as a leader in that success.
MoDOT received the Peter K. O'Rourke Special Achievement Award for spearheading the safety coalition that has realized a decrease in traffic fatalities and disabling injuries for the past five years. Traffic fatalities in Missouri have decreased by 35 percent since 2005 and the trend continues downward. To date in 2011, traffic fatalities are down by 11 percent.
For more information on how MoDOT has worked to improve highway safety in Missouri, visit www.savemolives.com.
It's National Car Seat Check Saturday! Check www.savemolives.com today for a list of where you can have your car seat checked by a certified technician.
Three out of four seats are not installed correctly -- make sure the seat carrying your most precious cargo is not one of them.
The Flood of 2011 has been like nothing any other Missouri River states have ever experienced. Unlike other historic floods which rose and fell within weeks, this time the water flowed continuously over -- and in many cases under -- the Northwest and Kansas City Area Districts' highways for months. Entire sections of shoulder, pavement and foundation washed away in some areas.
Now, we're working to get flooded routes open as quickly and safely as possible by the end of 2011.
One of the first big steps began Wednesday with the start of emergency contract repairs in Atchison County on Route 136. This is the first of a two-phase project that will be necessary to restore access completely across Route 136 where four large gaps exist. Three of the gaps should be fixed by October 15. The fourth gap is a 600-foot scour hole, but damages cannot be assessed until waters recede.
"We are committed to doing everything possible to get these roads opened as quickly and safely as possible for Missourians," said Don Wichern, MoDOT's Northwest District engineer. "In some areas we are still waiting for waters to recede, but we are spending every available minute planning how to repair and reopen these roads so we can all move forward."
Monday, September 19, 2011
Would you let your child ride on the top of your car? Not likely. And yet so many parents allow children to ride inside a car without being safely buckled -- and many of them may not even know it.
Three out of four car seats are installed incorrectly. How confident are you about yours?
This week is National Child Passenger Safety Week. It's a perfect time to take a moment and get your seat checked. Find a technician near you in Missouri.
Hey high school students! Check out this video working to convince teens to buckle up. It won last year's Battle of the Belt Challenge.
Think you can do better? Show us! Sign up today for the Battle of the Belt Challenge for this fall and put your cinematic skills to work. Who knows? There's more than prizes at stake -- if your video convinces a friend to buckle up, you may save a life.
