Safe Travel Tips [Driver's Toolbox]

Important Safety Tips for the Bay Bridge

The Maryland Transportation Authority wants you to have a safe and happy journey. Drivers should maintain a higher level of awareness when traveling on bridges, which do not have full road shoulders and, therefore, do not offer motorists the same maneuvering space found on other roadways to avoid accidents. For your safety and that of your passengers, please follow these tips when traveling across the Bay Bridge:

• Obey and maintain posted speed limits and "Pace Your Space" —don’t follow other cars too closely!
• Stay alert, especially during "contraflow" (two-way traffic patterns) and lane closures.
• Nervous about crossing the Bay Bridge - Request a Drive-Over.
• Obey overhead lane signals and maintain posted speed limits.
• A steady DOWNWARD GREEN ARROW means that you are permitted to drive in the lane.
• A steady YELLOW X means move to a lane with a GREEN ARROW.
• A steady RED X means the lane is closed; do not use it.
• Report disabled vehicles by calling #77, or report accidents by calling 911.
• Make sure your car is “road ready."
• If your vehicle breaks down, turn on your flashers and wait for emergency assistance.

Maryland's Child Safety Passenger Laws

Maryland's new child safety seat law went into effect on June 30, 2008. The new law requires that all children younger than eight years of age be secured in a federally approved child safety seat* according to the safety seat and vehicle manufacturers' instructions, unless the child is 4 feet, 9 inches or taller, or weighs more than 65 pounds. The child restraint must be right for the child's size, age, and weight.  

 

*Child safety seats include: infant seats, convertible seats, forward-facing seats, booster seats, or other safety devices federally approved for use by children in motor vehicles.

 

A person may not transport a child younger than 16 years of age unless the child is secured in a child safety seat as specified above or by a vehicle's seat belt.

 

A child younger than 16 years may not ride in an unenclosed cargo bed of a pick-up truck.

 

A vehicle can be stopped and the driver issued a citation for violating these laws. Currently the fines for failing to buckle children and for allowing a child to ride in an unenclosed cargo truck bed are $48 and $50, respectively.

 

It is very important that all children be properly secured in child safety seats and/or seat belts. The safest location in a car to buckle-up a child is in the middle of the back seat.

 

Buckle-up your children- follow our law!

 

Questions? Call Maryland Kids in Safety Seats at 1-800-370-SEAT or Maryland State Highway Administration at 1-800-323-MSHA.

 

Please click on the link below for answers to many frequently asked questions regarding Maryland's seat belt laws, child safety seat laws, and recommended practices.

 

http://www.marylandroads.com/faq/oc/faq_oc3.asp

 

E-MAIL ALERTS AVAILABLE

More than 5,800 customers get our email alerts.  Do you?  Click here to sign up now!

HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED CARPOOLING?

Call 1-800-745-RIDE  

 

Click here for weekly scheduled lane closure information.