QuarterlyReport

THE NEWSLETTER OF USA TRAINING COMPANY INC.

VOLUME 22 NUMBER 2 NEW YORK April 2019

GROUP RETRAIN

Check your expiration date!

All Driving Safety Instructors must

possess a current drivers license

and attend a recertification class

every 2 years.

See page 5 for

GROUP RETRAIN

May 19th

Also contact USA Trainers

Mary Ann Loiacono,

917.208.1910

Jim Meehan, 718.383.9259

for other scheduled RETRAIN

dates, locations & fees

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

1) Drive responsibly. Duh. We don't care if your friend has to wait

until you get home to find out whether or not you're going to Josh's party. We

would much rather you stay alive to go to said party.

2) Listen to music, podcasts, or audio books. What a great

alternative to handicapping yourself with texting! Jamming out to your tunes

or listening to an epic fight scene is much more entertaining than discussing

what you want for dinner anyway.

3) Take a roadtrip with friends. Not only is this a fun way to bond, but

your friends are actually there. Plus, it's rude to text while visiting with people.

DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH

HISTORY

April is National Distracted Driv-

ing Awareness Month. It may take

only a matter of seconds to glance at

your phone, but, if you are driving at

60 miles an hour, your eyes are blind to

the road while you drive the length of

a football field.

Distracted driving is a public health

issue that affects us all. The latest

statistics show motor vehicle fatalaties

up 6% from 2015. More than 40,000

people were killed on our nation's

roadways in 2017, and distracted driv-

ing is a major contributor.

Each death is 100% preventable.

From cell phones to dashboard

infotainment systems to evolving voice

command features - all pose a threat

to our safety.

HOW TO OBSERVE DISTRACTED

DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH

1886: Automobile is invented.

The first car was invented in Ger-

many by Carl Benz - his wife, Bertha,

proceeded to "borrow" it to drive her

and her two sons to Pforzheim from

Mannheim, proving cars could drive

over longer distances than just short

stints.

1895: First car race won. The

first car race took place in America

and was won by two former bicycle

mechanics: Charles Duryea and J.

Frank.

(Continued on page 2)

Page 2

April 2019 Volume 22, Number 2

EMERGENCY CONTACT

In the event USA is experiencing

trouble with our phone network, scan

your requests and email to

lbagwell@usatraining.com

Make sure to follow all DMV and New York State

laws governing PIRP classes!!

1908: Ford brings cars to the masses. Henry Ford kick-started the

concept of an assembly line building Model T's. The establishment of mass-

produced vehicles made cars accessible for the common folk.

1911: Rear view mirrors invented. Ray Harroun utilized the first rear

view mirror during a race so he could see which cars were catching up to him.

2020: Google releases driverless cars. Google plans to release cars

with an "auto-pilot" for the public (the machine uprising will most likely follow

shortly after).

Put down the phone and pay attention!

DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS

MONTH - HISTORY (Cont. from page 1)

Last year deadliest for pedestrians since 1990Pedestrian deaths continue to climb,

even as other traffic fatalities decline.

Nearly half of the deaths occurred in

just five states.

Last year, 6,227 pedestrians died in

the United States, marking the high-

est number since 1990.

Over the last decade, pedestrian

deaths have risen by 35% while

other traffic deaths declined by

6%.

The Governors Highway Safety

Association attiibutes the rise to

more people driving, population

growth, and the prevalence of

SUVs and smartphones.

Pedestrian deaths have been on

the rise for a decade, reaching their

highest level since 1990 last year.

"While we have made progress

reducing fatalities among many other

road users in the past decade, pedes-

trian deaths have risen 35%," said the

executive director of the Governors

Highway Safety Association

(GHSA).

Pedestrian deaths make up a big-

ger share of overall traffic deaths

than they did a decade ago. The

GHSA predicts they will account for

16% of all traffic deeaths in 2018.

In fact, the number of overall traf-

fic deaths that don't involve pedestri-

ans declined by 6% over that 10-year

span, compared with a 35% increase

in pedestrian deaths.

Arizona, California, Florida, Geor-

gia and Texas accounted for nearly

half (46%) of all the pedestrian deaths

in the country.

Several trends might be contribut-

ing to the number of pedestrian deaths:

The increase in driving linked to the

economic recovery.

Population growth. The 10 fastest-

growing states in the country also

saw the number of pedestrian

deaths increase at a faster pace

than the country as a whole.

The increasing prevalence of SUVs

on the road. The number of SUV-

related pedestrian deaths increased

by 50% between 2013 and 2017,

compared with a 30% increase in

pedestrian deaths involving pas-

senger cars.

The growing use of smartphones,

which contribute to distracted driv-

ing.

Three-quarters of all walkers who

died in traffic were struck at night.

More than a third of the pedestrian

deaths occurred on local streets; 8%

happened on county roads; 25% on

state highways; 16% on federal high-

ways; and 10% on interstate high-

ways. Pedestrians are prohibited on

interstates, but the GHSA noted that

several of the fatalities there involved

motorists who were standing outside

of their cars after breakdowns.

Experience is

something you don’t

get until just after

you need it.

Page 3

April 2019 Volume 22 Number 2

Make sure to follow all DMV and New York State

laws governing PIRP classes!!

WHY DISTRACTED DRIVING MONTH

IS IMPORTANT

A. Texting and swerving. People who text and drive statistically spend

10% of their time on the road outside their lane. Yikes!

B. It's illegal. 43 of America's 50 states have laws prohibiting texting and

driving. South Dakota, New Mexico, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and

Missouri have laws regulating it. Arizona just extended their reckless driving

laws to cover texting.

C. Texting is worse than drunk driving. Texters are six times more

likely to wreck their car than drivers over the legal drinking limit. How

horrifying is that? Answer: VERY.

An aftermarket collision warning

system paired with a telematics de-

vice that provides feedback on driving

can encourage safer habits behind the

wheel, giving drivers of older model

vehicles a safety upgrade to fight dis-

traction and fatigue.

The finding may be especially en-

couraging for families of teenage driv-

ers when newer models with the latest

driver assistance technology aren’t in

the budget. The same applies to busi-

ness owners whose staff drive com-

pany vehicles.

As part of an ongoing internal driver

experience program, twenty-two

Highway Safety Institute staff mem-

bers signed up to have their personal

vehicles outfitted with a Mobileye af-

termarket collision warning system,

and 17 of them also agreed to have

their driving monitored by a Geotab in-

vehicle telematics unit. The volun-

teers made their usual drives during

the 12-week study period in the spring

and early summer of 2017 and com-

pleted surveys about their experiences.

Mobileye (model 630) package ret-

rofit collision warning system featured

an in-vehicle display and included for-

ward collision warning; urban forward

collision warning, which operates at

speeds below 20 mph; pedestrian col-

lision warning; headway monitoring

and warning, which measures follow-

ing distance at speeds above 19 mph;

lane departure warning; and a speed

limit indicator, which displays the

posted speed limit.

Mobileye’s aftermarket system is

a passive one in that drivers still must

brake or make other corrections when

alerted to increase their following dis-

tance, for example.

Studies show that forward collision

warning and lane departure warning

reduce the rates of crashes reported

to police.

Volunteers drove for eight weeks

when alerts were active and received

weekly Mobileye “safety scores”

based on rates of alerts issued per

100 miles driven within each system’s

operating range.

As drivers got used to the system

between the baseline and alert peri-

ods, the rate of forward collision alerts

decreased more among the rural driv-

ers than the urban drivers (45% vs.

30%).

The opposite was true for lane

departure warning. Urban drivers saw

a bigger decline in the rate of alerts

than the rural drivers (70% vs. 54%)

between the baseline and treatment

periods.

Warnings about following too

closely dropped off, too. Headway

alerts fell 63% for rural drivers and

39% for urban drivers between the

baseline and treatment periods.

Volunteers showed safer driving

behaviors across the study period.

They used turn signals more often and

increased following distances after

receiving alerts. Speeding was the

only thing that didn’t change much

between the baseline and alert peri-

ods. Overall, only about 6% of miles

were driven at 10 mph or higher over

the speed limit.

A 2017 study of teenagers who

drove vehicles outfitted with a proto-

type crash avoidance system showed

improved turn-signal use and lane-

keeping ability but not a decline in

following too closely.

In a post-study survey, 62% of the

IIHS-HLDI volunteers agreed that

the Mobileye system helped improve

their safety while driving. Drivers as-

sessed forward collision warning as

the most useful system, followed by

lane departure warning, headway

monitoring and the speed limit indica-

tor.

A safety boost for older vehicles...

Page 4

April 2019 Volume 22, Number 2

Make sure to follow all DMV and New York State

laws governing PIRP classes!!

CEO

Janis Helm Cartwright

President

Phil H. Ward

Staff

Lorie Bagwell

Sue Decker

Sarah Jacobs

Phone: 512-346-2132

Fax: 512-346-0431

USA TRAINING COMPANY INC.

8871 Tallwood Drive

Austin, Texas 78759

2019

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

USA TRAININGUSA Training Company will be

closed on the following dates:

Apr. 19 (Fri) - Good Friday

May 27 (Mon) - Memorial Day

June 19 (Wed) - Emancipation Day

July 4 (Thurs) - July 4th Holiday

August 27 (Tues) - LBJ's Birthday

Sept. 2 (Mon) - Labor Day

Oct. 14 (Mon) - Columbus Day

Nov. 11 (Mon) - Veteran's Day

Nov. 28 &29 (Thurs/Fri)

Thanksgiving

Dec. 24, 25, 26 (Tues, Wed, Thurs)

Christmas

Some vehicles come equipped with

systems that allow parents to monitor

their child's driving or control things

like top vehicle speed and sound sys-

tem volume.

A new IIHS survey shows one

such system, Ford's MyKey, is catch-

ing on. MyKey allows vehicle owners

to program a key for their child. For

example, the owner can set the top

vehicle speed, program speed alerts

at varying levels, limit audio volume

and make it impossible to disable the

do-not-disturb feature.

For the study, 1,500 adults who

Limits on teen driversown or lease a Ford vehicle equipped

with the technology were questioned.

Each respondent had at least one

teenager age 16-19 in their household.

Many parents said they didn't need

it because their child was trustworthy.

"Systems like MyKey have the

potential to reduce the risks faced by

teen drivers by limiting speeds and

distractions," says Rebecca Weast,

an IIHS research scientist and the

paper's author.

For a copy of "Parent awareness

and use of Ford's MyKey system,

email statusreport@iihs.org

Road traffic deaths globally

reached 1.35 million in 2016, ac-

cording to a new report from the

World Health Organization. The

report said road-traffic injuries were

now the top cause of death for

people age 5-29. The findings, the

report said, underscored the need

for better road-safety policies.

Global traffic deaths

REMINDERS....Submit your Class Schedules, per NY DMV rules and

USA procedures NO LESS THAN 30 days in

advance!!!

Review reports and student information sheets to

make sure they are complete and legible.

Plan ahead and order workbooks / student information sheets before your

supply gets too low.

Per NY DMV rules, delivery agencies must keep a copy of completion

reports for a period of at least three (3) years.

It is a good idea to make copies of student information sheets to keep with

completion report (at least until certificates have been processed) so if your

report is lost in the mail you don’t have to re-create it. When you receive

certificates in the mail or confirmation card - then shred them.

Make sure you have enough postage on your envelopes.

Page 5

April 2019 Volume 22 Number 2

CHECK YOUR PIRP CERTIFICATION EXPIRATION DATE

NEW YORK DMV STATE-REQUIRED TRAININGThe New York DMV requires you to take a re-certification course every two (2) years to maintain a valid PIRP instructor license.

This is a DMV mandatory requirement.

If you are due for this class and do not attend, your teaching privileges will be

suspended until you complete continuing education requirements.

This means one-on-one training with one of USA’s trainers.

USA TRAINING COMPANY INC. HEADQUARTERS HAS SCHEDULED A GROUP RETRAIN FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE.

Sunday, May 19, 2019 9:00 a.m.

Arrive Early (8:30-8:45 am) for check-in

Bruno’s On the Boulevard 88-25 Astoria Blvd. East Elmhurst, NY 11369see website: http://www.eventsbybrunos.com

Call 718-335-0505 for directions

The cost for GROUP RETRAIN is $35 per person paid in advanced with reservation form

(Continuing Education/GROUP RETRAIN Reservation Form below -- Due by May 10th

If you do not pre-register, the cost will be $60 (CASH OR CHECK) at the door.

BONUS of ATTENDING GROUP RETRAIN:

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST (muffins, bagels, danish, coffee station & juice bar)

& DELI LUNCH (assorted wraps, sandwiches, salad, bread, etc.)

will be provided compliments of USA Training Company Inc. by Bruno’s

SAVE MONEY - Instructor Renewal/Processing fee will be WAIVED for

ALL PIRP instructors attending this GROUP class ONLY (that are NOT expired).

Some of USA’s best and most experienced instructors will be there to make it a worthwhile day.

If you have any questions, PLEASE CONTACT:MaryAnn Loiacono 917-208-1910 or Jim Meehan 718-383-9259

CONTINUING EDUCATION RESERVATION FORM

Complete information & mail this reservation form and money * DUE NO LATER THAN MAY 10th to:

USA Training Company Inc., 8871 Tallwood Dr., Austin, TX 78759

Print Name:_____________________________________________________________________

Address:________________________________________________________________________

Email:__________________________________________________________________________

Drivers License #:__________________________________ Phone # (____) _________________

Agency__________________________________________________________ _____________

Enclose RETRAIN CLASS FEE of $35 (check or money order) payable to USA

NAME AGENCY #

FIRST NAME LAST NAME

CITY STATE ZIP