The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "highway traffic accidents" ...
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Jeep Grand Cherokee Investigation
Currently, there are “three million Jeep Grand Cherokees on the road today”. Furthermore, they have been involved in “hundreds of fatal fire accidents in the past 11 years”. The investigation revealed a flaw in the vehicle; the fuel tank is located in the rear of the vehicle. This flaw is the main cause of these fatal deaths. After these accidents had occurred, the automaker has relocated the gas tank in a more secure location and since then zero accidents have occurred.
Tags: Chrysler; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; SUVs; consumers; automobiles; crash; damage; defect; auto safety; transportation
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Speed Unlimited
In fiscal year 2005-06, only 2.4 percent of people with serious speeding tickets (going more than 55 mph and more than 15 miles over the limit) were convicted as charged. This series reveals loopholes in state law that encourage prosecutors and judges to let speeders get away with their crimes. This sort of leniency is dangerous, as many people each year die from speed-related collisions.
Tags: speeding; traffic accidents; highway; transportation; state government; police
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I-95 Speed zones are not most dangerous
This investigation found that speed zones in Brevard County, FL, were established not necessarily because of high rates of speed-related accidents, but merely in areas where people who supported the law lived. Some of the zones are actually in places with very low rates of speeding-related crashes.
Tags: traffic; transportation; highways; department of highway safety; microsoft access
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Our Deadly Traffic
The authors investigated why fatality rates on the roads had sky-rocketed in Lee County, FL.
Tags: traffic fatalities; accidents; Department of Transportation; the Florida Highway Patrol; Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
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Ford Sudden Acceleration
This story examined Center for Auto Safety records and discovered 25,000 instances of sudden acceleration since the early 1980's. Ford vehicles were involved in almost one third of all incidents and were twice as likely as General Motors vehicles to have sudden acceleration problems. Fords were connected to 69 death caused by sudden acceleration accidents.
Tags: FOIA; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Ford; cars; car safety; sudden acceleration; accidents
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Miles of Mishaps
WTVD-TV wanted to know why there were so many accidents on a particular stretch of I-40 in Durham County. Every day, one hundred thousand vehicles travel through the 11 mile construction zone, the site of more than 11 hundred wrecks over the past three years. After submitting a Freedom of Information Act request, documents obtained revealed design mistakes, mismanagement, and other problems that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
Tags: interstate construction zones; highway traffic accidents; North Carolina Department of Transportation; Interstate 40; Durham County
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Moving Targets
Reporters at the Las Vegas Sun look into the high number of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities on Las Vegas roadways. Using data and statistics from the NHTSA and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, the reporters discovered that the problem lies in roadway design, motorist carelessness, and lenient laws.
Tags: traffic accidents; pedestrian fatalities; National Highway Transportation Safety Administration; UNLV Transportation Research Center; manslaughter; jaywalking
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Deadly Roads: A Special Report
A special report from the Orlando Sentinel looks at the number of fatal accidents in the lesser travelled highways in Florida. Deliberating on fatal accidents on the Colonial Drive in Central Florida, the in-depth report reveals that even though the traffic on the highways has lessened, the rate of accidents remains high. As a result of this series, the highway police are beefing up security in the area and there have also been initiatives to rebuild certain sections.
Tags: Transportation; road safety; Florida roads; Orange County; fatal road accidents; Colonial Dr; Central Florida; Florida Highway Police
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Danger Zone
The Gazette investigation found that nearly half the fatal accidents on Interstate 80 in Iowa from 1994-2001 involved semi-trailer trucks. No other interstate in Iowa had a rate that high. Traffic counts are growing on a 60-70 mile stretch of I-80 in Eastern Iowa, where many of the semi-trailer trucks are concentrated. Despite the growth in traffic, state officials have no plans to improve safety by widening the highway because traffic counts are just shy of the threshold for widening the road.
Tags: fatal accidents; Interstate 80; semi-trailer trucks; traffic accidents; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; stopping distance; Iowa Department of Transportation; Iowa Office of Driver Services; Iowa Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement; Iowa Office of Design; University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute; Cedar County; Iowa State Patrol; FARS
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Collision Course: Brent Spence Bridge obsolete, dangerous
A two-part look at a long interstate bridge that doesn't meet federal safety standards and the problems entailed in fixing or replacing it.
Tags: bridge; traffic; interstate; cars; trucks; accidents; highway safety