By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications

Nearly everyone has driven past a minor crash on a freeway. A handful of you, no doubt, have been involved in such a crash.

So what does one do if, heaven forbid, it happens to you? More to the point: How do you stay safe?

If you are in the fender bender, the most crucial thing to remember is simple: Move over. Get out of the travel lanes. You don’t have to preserve the scene of non-injury crash.

The second thing to remember: Don’t step into traffic to photograph your vehicle. Once your car is safely on the shoulder, you should be too. You and the other driver can exchange pertinent information while waiting safely, out of the way of traffic, for law enforcement to arrive.

This is called Quick Clearance, a strategy that keeps motorists safe and traffic moving. Quick Clearance is one of the practices that the Arizona Department of Transportation, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and other traffic-safety stakeholders are promoting during National Traffic Incident (TIM) Awareness Week.

In addition to providing TIM tips this week, motorists will also see related safety messages on overhead signs and on social media. You'll find examples above and below.

Quick Clearance is also a matter of state law. Drivers in minor crashes with operable vehicles are required to remove their vehicles from the roadway if it is safe to do so.

At the same time, motorists approaching a crash or a vehicle with flashing lights are required to move over one lane or slow down under Arizona’s “Move Over” law.

It’s all part of traffic safety, and it's an important message for motorists.

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

At the intersection of Halloween and transportation, two topics bubble to the top of the traffic cauldron.

The first is that the afternoon commute begins earlier than usual because people are rushing to get home for trick-or-treating and parties. Next, and more importantly, is that drivers should expect to see many more pedestrians on sidewalks because trick-or-treaters will be making their way through neighborhoods.

In an effort to encourage drivers to make safe driving decisions, ADOT will display two Halloween-themed safety messages on overhead signs statewide.

Last year on Halloween, 12 pedestrian-related crashes occurred – that’s more than twice the daily average of pedestrian collisions. ADOT wants to remind drivers to use extra caution and anticipate seeing pedestrians in unexpected places, such as crossing streets outside of crosswalks. And trick-or-treaters should stick to sidewalks, wear bright costumes and look both ways before crossing streets.

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

Next week, Oct. 21-27, traffic safety stakeholders across the country will recognize National Teen Driver Safety Week.

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. With Teen Driver Safety Week coming, it’s a good time for parents to chat with their teen drivers and remind them of the simple actions they can take that make themselves safer in cars:

• Always wear a seat belt.
• Don’t speed.
• Don’t drive impaired or let impaired people get behind the wheel.
• Don’t drive distracted.

Those actions are some of the leading factors in fatal crashes and all are preventable. And, in Arizona, too many preventable crashes involving young drivers happen this month. In Arizona last year, the month of October saw more crashes involving young drivers than any other month. In 2017, there were 5,106 crashes involving drivers ages 16-24.

If there’s a young driver in your family, take a moment and talk about the easy things they can do that increase their odds of avoiding a crash.

This is part of a series we’re calling “Focus On Driving.” This series looks at often-overlooked measures that keep the traveling public safe – from rumble strips and barriers to the reflective paint used in lane striping – as well as timely safety topics, such as when crashes involving particular factors occur most often and nationally-recognized safety efforts.

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

It's a rainy week with the remnants of Hurricane Rosa passing through Arizona. That's why we're urging motorists to slow down, avoid tailgating and sudden braking, and expect the unexpected.

We have plenty of rainy-weather safety tips available at azdot.gov/safety (follow the Weather link). But I want to call attention to a few in particular, starting with allowing extra time to reach your destination safely and, if you can, delaying travel when it's raining heavily or there's blowing dust, as happened Sunday in the Phoenix area.

I also want to make sure you know what to do when a vehicle hydroplanes. That's when you drift due to a thin layer of water between your tires and the asphalt. If you feel you are hydroplaning, ease your foot off the gas pedal until you regain traction. Don't brake suddenly. If you are sliding or drifting, gently turn your steering wheel in the direction of your slide.

Also, avoid sudden braking, which can cause you to slide on wet pavement. Leaving plenty of following room between your vehicle and the one ahead of you is a good way to prevent having to brake suddenly. To slow down on a wet road, take your foot off the gas pedal and brake slowly.

You can get real-time highway conditions on ADOT’s Traveler Information site at az511.gov and by calling 511. I also recommend following ADOT’s Twitter feed, @ArizonaDOT, the source of photo tweets embedded in this post. When a freeway closure or other major traffic event occurs, our free app available at ADOTAlerts.com will send critical information directly to app users in affected areas – where possible, in advance of alternate routes.

That's all the advice I have to give. Now I hope you follow it. Please slow down for safety and always be prepared for the unexpected.

By Tom Herrmann / ADOT Communications

An ADOT project has made crossing US 70 safer for those living in the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation community of Bylas.

Community leaders and ADOT officials have turned on a pedestrian hybrid beacon giving those on foot a signal to use a crosswalk while alerting drivers to stop.

Bylas is located in Graham County, about 44 miles east of Globe and about 34 miles west of Safford.

The beacon is located Centerpoint Road near Mount Turnbull Apache Market, at a marked crosswalk located at a spot with no traffic signal. It uses a system of indicator lights and signs.

Pedestrians push a button to activate the beacon, then cross safely when the WALK symbol appears. For a more detailed explanation of how the system works, click on the video above.

Pedestrian hybrid beacons have been installed across the nation, including the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas, to improve pedestrian safety. This is the second pedestrian-activated beacon in this part of Arizona. The first is near Globe High School on US 60.

By Peter Corbett / ADOT Communications

For vehicles that veer out of control and off the highway, traffic safety engineers have developed barriers designed to soften collisions with walls, poles and other immovable objects.

ADOT uses a variety of these barriers, including sand-barrel crash cushions and an accordion-like system that compresses and then snaps back into place. ADOT also uses semi-crushable concrete modules designed to gradually stop an out-of-control vehicle.

The system is known as an Advanced Dynamic Impact Extension Module. That’s a mouthful, but what’s important is that the replaceable barriers are designed to reduce the severity of crashes and injuries.

It works like this:

Each module has three layers of crushable concrete with the highest strength material at the bottom and the less-dense layers in the middle and on top.

There are generally 10 3-foot modules set side-by-side, designed to slow the out-of-control vehicle and stop it before it hits an immovable object.

“It gets messy if all 10 blocks are struck,” said Ray Baca, an ADOT maintenance superintendent. “It takes about two to three hours to clean up and install new blocks."

A recent crash on Interstate 10 in west Phoenix showed the shattered concrete debris along the edge of the highway.

The modules are used in construction zones and for permanent barriers along highways. One often sees them stacked at angles along slanted barrier walls. An advantage is that these barriers take up less space than sand-barrel crash cushions.

Plus, the barriers can be easily replaced with new modules sliding into place along a fixed metal track.