May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and California’s traffic safety partners and their supporters are encouraging riders and vehicle drivers to be aware of motorcycle safety issues.

Home to more than 1.2 million licensed motorcyclists, California has seen an increase in the number of victims killed or injured in motorcycle collisions. According to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), a record of almost 600 victims were killed and another 13,000 people were injured in motorcycle-involved crashes throughout the state.

Motorcycling is not just for recreation anymore. It is a means of transportation and a way of life for many. Because motorcycles are harder to see and offer less protection for the rider, motorcyclists are more likely to die in a crash than someone in an automobile, therefore, you should always be alert and watch out for them, especially when turning and changing lanes.

As with any motor vehicle, speeding and/or impairment due to alcohol and other drugs is never a good combination on the roads. By encouraging safe riding and cooperation between all motorists and motorcyclists, we can reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on our nation’s highways.

Despite several nationwide campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of texting while driving, a new survey by the Automobile Club of Southern California says that it has not kept drivers from doing it. The rates of texting while driving dropped off after the ban began in January 2009, but have since risen to nearly pre-ban levels.

Although the California Highway Patrol has issued about 11,600 hand-held cellphone citations each month over the last year, it has issued an average of only 150 citations per month for texting. Catching drivers who are texting is tricky since drivers who are texting often keep their phones hidden in their laps.

The fact that we’re seeing a statistically significant rise in texting despite state bans indicates that additional efforts are needed to help deal with the problem. People are naive to believe that texting while driving does not affect their driving and should take driving seriously if not for their safety, at least for the safety of everyone else on the road.

Your GPS is great for getting you where your going, but the accuracy of the navigation system does have its downfalls. Leading you down a one way street or a dead end is not unheard of since changes on the roadways are not picked up by the GPS. Currently the mapping companies need to get someone to drive up and down streets in a vehicle with cameras fixed in all directions noting the changes on the streets. They take this footage back to the office where it is analyzed, frame by frame, and someone records where all the changes are. Because this is a tedious task, mistakes are often made.

The Smart Cars project, a joint effort between the National ICT Australia (NICTA), the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIR), and the Australian National University, could make these problems a thing of the past. The NICTA, using Linux based technology will develop technology to make personal navigation systems more accurate.

AutoMap, developed by the NICTA, uses machine vision techniques that can detect and classify geometric shapes from video footage. These shapes include things like signs and company logos, the type of fixtures that change frequently in a neighborhood and make it difficult for digital map makers to keep their products up to date. Instead of having cameras fixed to vehicles specifically for recording changes on the roads, the cameras can be mounted on vehicles that already travel the roads on a regular basis, such as taxi cabs or garbage trucks. The technology could be on the market in as little at 12 months.

The sport utility vehicle (SUV) has been popular with consumers since it first rolled off the assembly line. It offers the versatility of a mini van and pickup all in one rugged and luxurious package. The problem with the SUV, is that it has a tenancy to roll over during extreme maneuvers.

Over 12,00 people have been killed in SUV rollovers in the last two decades. The problem has been around since its birth, but gained publicity in 2000 when Congress began a series of hearings focused on the Ford Explorer and faulty Firestone tires. The problem, however, came before 2000. The first big selling SUV, the Bronco II, was killing and injuring people more than any other SUV on the road. The problem could have been reduced by lowering the vehicle’s center of gravity and widening its wheel base, but company executives felt the fix would be too costly and that the improvements would not make much of a difference. Also, consumers who actually use their vehicles for off roading appreciated the extra clearance the SUV provided.

After decades of controversy and thousands of deaths due to SUV rollovers, automakers are changing their ways. In 2003, 15 domestic and foreign based automakers agreed that by late 2009, all SUV’S and light trucks would be built lower to the ground or built with an energy-absorbing beam. Studies conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that the number of side-impact SUV accident deaths decreased by nearly half when automakers brought in these changes. According to experts, a safety standard has not been so effective in saving lives since the inclusion of airbags in new vehicles.

Today, vehicles have many different safety features. Seat belts, ABS, airbags, stability control, traction control…, all make our vehicles safer to drive, but also gives us a false sense of security. Ultimately, driving safety is in the hands of the driver and no technology can help us when making unsafe decisions behind the wheel.

In Mumbai, India, Satish Sawant, a software engineer, was driving him and his family home from the car dealership in his band new Nano automobile. Shortly after leaving the dealership they began to smell smoke coming from the engine compartment in the back of the car. Satish and his family safely exited the car as it became engulfed in flames.

This is not the first time there have been complaints about the Nano. Last fall there were three Nano’s where customers complained about their car starting to smoke. Tata Motors attributed the problem to a faulty electrical switch and said it had changed suppliers and done additional tests to rule out a recall or redesign. A Tata Motors spokesman assured that the incidents are not related.

Tata Motors, which also owns Jaguar and Land Rover, have bragged about their Nano vehicle as one of the world’s cheapest cars. The company hoped it would be part of a safety revolution as it would get people off of dangerous motorbikes and into an affordable car.

Tata Motors plans to start selling versions of the Nano in Europe in 2011 followed by an introduction into America. Some say the Nano’s smoke and fire problems are a result of the poor quality control issues at India’s number three car maker, which must be addressed before Tata can successfully take its brand global.

Street by street, people are starting to see some big changes in Long Beach California. This started last summer when green paint, also known as “sharrows” (shared lane marking) appeared on the roads of the city’s busiest streets. These lines were put there as a reminder for motorist to share the roads with cyclists. According to a December report by the city, the number of cyclists on 2nd Street increased by 29% while the number of bikes on the narrow sidewalks decreased by 22%. The amount of incidents on the streets has also decreased.

The success of the “sharrows” has prompted the city to undertake other bicycle oriented enhancements such as adding more “sharrows” on streets where bikes tend to congregate and adding “bicycle boxes” that give cyclist a safe place in front of cars to wait for signal changes. The city is also working with businesses to provide incentives such as 20% lunch discounts to prompt cyclist to ride their bikes more.

The program has also sparked interest from other cities. This week, the city is hosting delegate transit planners from Los Angeles, Glendale and other nearby cities who would like to draw inspiration from the Long Beach bike plan. City manager Patrick West (who rides a road bike around town on the weekends) jokes that the rise in recent bike thefts is a good thing, because it means that there are more people out riding bikes.