Opinion

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Written by: Dr. Karen Tait

Published: 06 November 2011

Many factors contribute to good health, and traffic safety is one of them. Lives are too often cut short by motor vehicle accidents, and many survivors of accidents suffer long-term consequences of their injuries.

Statistics help us understand how we are doing as a community. The numbers for Lake County tell us that we have our work cut out for us.

The Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment 2010 (http://health.co.lake.ca.us/Assets/Health/Public+Health+Division/Health+Needs+Assessment+Dec+2010.pdf) noted that the three-year average for years 2006-2008 showed 16 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, and an age-adjusted death rate of 22 per 100,000 population, more than twice the age-adjusted rate at the state (10 per 100,000) and just under twice the national rate of 14 per100,000. Although the rates are considered “statistically unstable” due to the small numbers, they are enough to raise concern.

Similarly, the 2011 County Health Rankings http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/california/lake) reported that the Lake County’s motor vehicle crash death rate (for the years of 2001-2007) was 28 per 100,000 population, more than twice both the national benchmark and the California rate, both of which were 12 per 100,000.

The best rate of 6 per 100,000 was in Marin County and the worst rates ranged up to 54 per 100,000 in small counties where the numbers were not statistically reliable.

So we know that we should be concerned, but what are the reasons for our troublesome rates? The numbers tell only part of the story.

Lake County has some fairly unique characteristics when it comes to traffic safety. Can we really compare ourselves to Marin County when it comes to driving conditions?

Options for travel around Clear Lake and into adjacent counties are limited to a very few highways, of which only approximately seven miles are defined as freeway.

Local traffic blends with vacationing tourists and travelers who are just passing through on their way to other destinations.

Other local roads range in quality, but include many that are unpaved and some that do not include a full lane for each direction of traffic. Sidewalks are sporadic and bike lanes tend to be narrow or absent.

As a rural area, road lighting is rare (the lack of “light pollution” is much appreciated by star gazers), and drivers must be ever vigilant in watching for deer, raccoons and other wildlife that unexpectedly cross in front of traffic.

Winter weather brings snow to some areas and black ice to many others.

And even though our emergency medical services provide excellent response for our rural setting, ambulances face the same driving challenges as the rest of us and major injuries often result in a helicopter ride to major trauma centers located 60 or more miles away.

If this paints a picture, it is a far cry from Marin County.

 How can be we better understand how to address Lake County traffic safety needs? The key is to find better information about the details of our own accident patterns.

One of the great strengths of people in Lake County is their resourcefulness and ability to help themselves. Unexpected partnerships foster creative methods and solutions. A perfect example is the traffic accident mapping feature launched by Lake County News.

What better way to educate ourselves about traffic safety than to have current information about the location and nature of accidents that take place in Lake County?

We have an opportunity to gather data about the characteristics of accidents that allow us to focus on solutions that make the most sense for our conditions.

Although we may not be able to obtain all the information we’d like to see, we’ll be able to learn more than we could ever extrapolate from raw numbers relating to traffic mortality.

Unlike traffic fatality data available through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Trends/TrendsGeneral.aspx), locally gathered data will include non-fatal accidents and other information of interest.

Here are some thoughts on what we might find helpful:

• Where are the accident “hot spots?” Can they be improved with better road maintenance, design, visibility, or other engineering approaches?

• How old are the vehicles involved in accidents? In today’s economic environment, are older cars lacking current safety features being driven? Is deferred maintenance of tires, brakes, and other needed repairs factoring into the occurrence or outcomes of accidents?

• Are very small vehicles, such as electric cars or motorcycles involved?

• Are there patterns that relate to the age and experience of drivers?

• Is distracted driving a continuing problem?

• How often do drivers involved in accidents lack valid drivers’ licenses?

• Do most accidents involve Lake County residents, or are they more likely to involve visitors, tourists, or people just passing through?

• We know that alcohol intoxication leads to accidents, but do other drugs, including both illicit and prescription drugs, play a significant role?

• How often do animals or other roadway hazards (ice, rocks, mudslides, etc.) contribute to local accidents?

• How often is transport of motor vehicle accident victims to a local hospital or out-of-county trauma center required?

While this list may be a bit ambitious, any information we can gather to better define the nature of traffic accidents in Lake County will allow prevention efforts to target the causes. In fact, simple awareness of accident “hot spots” will likely promote more cautious driving in those areas.

As Lake County’s public health officer, I am appreciative of the initiative shown by Elizabeth Larson and Lake County News in bringing a new traffic accident mapping project forward. The map can be seen at http://bit.ly/VxtrK0 .

In the process, we are strengthening collaborations among the media, California Highway Patrol, the Lake County/City Area Planning Council, and Lake County Public Health.

Good, locally relevant information allows us all to mobilize action steps to protect and improve the health of our community.

Dr. Karen Tait is the public health officer for Lake County, Calif. She served as an advisor on Lake County News' recent five-part series, “Hazards Ahead,” focusing on the county's high vehicle collision rate and its effects on the health of county residents.

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Written by: Fr. Leo M. Joseph O.S.F.

Published: 28 October 2011

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Written by: Deb Baumann

Published: 14 October 2011

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

Remember that scene?

“The Wizard of Oz” was perceived as a giant terrifying disembodied head. Even Dorothy was fooled, until her dog Toto barked at a curtained alcove. The man inside the alcove shooed Toto away, while speaking into an amplifier: “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

Today, thanks to thousands of plucky kids occupying Wall Street, America is looking away from the Big Giant Head. Instead we are finally focusing attention on what is behind the curtain.

Many have criticized the tender years of the Occupy Wall Street protesters, sneering, “These kids still live with their parents.”

Well, who else COULD stage a weeks-long sit-in … ?

The rest of us are chained to jobs. We are chained to dependents (children, elders, pets). We are chained to mortgages. We are chained to credit card debt. We must wait for accumulated vacation days (if we are lucky enough to have a job) and then have the boss's permission to use them.

It is the young, who have not yet been chained, who can take the lead, in times like these.

So, the kids are sleeping in a cramped urban park, enduring police brutality, being maced, beaten, hand-cuffed and arrested, and they have been doing this for weeks now. They are doing it because no “leader” seems capable of protecting or serving us, the majority of Americans, the 99 percent.

The corporate-owned media is near-unanimous in its disdain. “They don’t have a clear message!” (5,000 people chanting “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out” … ? Only a media pundit could fail to find a clear message there.)

The Media would rather we continue to be suckers for Corporate America’s favorite brainwashing tool, distraction. “Politicians cause your problems! Vote for different politicians, if you want change.”

In other words, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

Congress has become almost a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corporate America. One hundred percent of Republican politicians are owned outright, and at least half, or maybe two thirds, of Democratic ones.

Thanks to the corporate-stacked Supreme Court, the wealthiest 1 percent now enjoy unbridled control of our political system.

Here’s more corporate spin: “OWS attacks success itself” or “they hate successful people!”

Sorry to disappoint, but no one is against success.

We ARE against crooks, criminals and liars.

We are against a system that has been gamed and rigged to continuously channel money to the 1 percent, while making the 99 percent poorer. Fair markets? Fair playing field? You won't find these in America today.

OWS has pulled back the curtain. They chose the right spot and the right time. Wall Street is the epicenter of financial earthquakes and tsunamis that have damaged the entire world’s economy. OWS points straight at the people who caused economic disaster, and says “You stand accused!”

Wall Street does not like the attention. Wall Street spends a great deal of money on PR firms, politicians, lobbyists, media pundits and talk radio, to avoid this kind of attention.

Bottom line: In 2008, nearly twenty percent of America’s net worth, accumulated over 200 years, disappeared. The criminal banksters responsible would prefer people not stare at them.

In the words of a Holly Near song, “We are a gentle, angry people, and we are singing for our lives.”

Thanks to OWS, our nation is finally beginning to hear the people’s voices.

Thank you, Occupy Wall Street, for pulling back the curtain.

Thank you to all Occupiers across America.

Those “crazy kids” started the ball rolling. Will you help keep it going?

To learn about Occupy Together events in Lake County, including two occurring on Saturday, Oct. 15, in Lakeport and Clearlake, visit www.occupytogether.org or www.ruralvalues.org.

Deb Baumann lives in Upper Lake, Calif.