Both the frequency and severity of roadway automobile crashes have been rising in Arizona and elsewhere around the country. Speeding is a big factor, along with driver distraction. Collisions also tend to be more destructive to vehicles and cause more serious driver and passenger injuries and fatalities because many of today’s cars and trucks are bigger and heavier than in the past. A rising percentage of car and truck accidents on roadways are resulting in fatalities. Research led by Professor Ram Pendyala, a transportation engineer and director of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, a part of the Fulton Schools, has often focused on traffic safety factors. Pendyala says drivers must resist being distracted and keep as much distance as possible between them and larger vehicles.