Traffic Fatalities and Fracking in NW Arkansas (Fayetteville, Austin: place to live, dangerous)

[Corporate Orphan]

We are looking to relocate and NW Arkansas is high on our list. I have been doing some searching on the web recently and found a couple of things that sounded "disturbing" about NW Arkansas.

1. Traffic fatalities are high compared to the rest of the country, especially considering the population of the area. (I guess due to winding roads and people going a little too fast on them?)

2. There is a lot of natural gas in Fayetteville so they are or are trying to extract it by "fracking". I have read that "fracking can easily pollute the water tables in an area and have seen some videos where the water from the faucet is can be caught on fire using a match.

Anyone know if there is any truth to these rumors?

Thanks!

[aerotive]

The Fayetteville shale is mostly to the south and east of nwa, so water quality problems likely won't be an issue here.

As far as high traffic fatalities, I'm not sure what the causes would be...I would guess some combination of very poor public transit, long commutes, DWI problems, two-lane roads and general poverty leading people to drive unsafe cars.

BTW where did you get the traffic stats for the area?

[bagelw]

The roads and the drivers are not good here. There are multiple accidents on 540 every week but I'd like to know where you are getting the traffic stats. Eventhough the roads and drivers are not good I'm surprised the fatality rate would be so high.

I've never heard anyone having water issues from fracking.

[nmnita]

I haven't heard of any water problems in NWA and the area is a great place to live: why the accidents, I have no clue, probably a combination of windy roads, drivers driving way to fast or way to slow, seems like no one drives a sensible speed. Someone mentioned bad drivers, and DUIs, we have lived all over the country, there are no more drunk drivers here, maybe fewer than in many places and the drivers are no worse. Try Texas for bad drivers or NM for drunks. Remember also we have fewer people so it doesn't take very many accidents to change the % for better or worse.

Nita

[bagelw]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Someone mentioned bad drivers, and DUIs, we have lived all over the country, there are no more drunk drivers here, maybe fewer than in many places and the drivers are no worse. Try Texas for bad drivers or NM for drunks.

I disagree. I just got back from DFW and Austin and the drivers in NWA are noticeably worse. However, I've said before that it may just be the fact that there are more lanes so you can get around and away from the bad drivers easier.

I also noticed bad Arkansas drivers after driving to Denver last month. Driving thru Kansas if there was someone blocking traffic in the left lane 90% of the time the person had an Arkansas plate.

In other cities traffic is bad due to congestion. Here in NWA there isn't really any congestion. The traffic is usually caused by someone farting along at 60 mph in their SUV in the left lane while 2 miles of cars are tailgating each other to keep the jerks that try to cut in from the right lane at bay. Then there will be a cop or someone on the shoulder changing a tire that causes the SUV driver going 60 to slam their brakes down to 50 mph. Chain reaction of disaster insues.

I have to admit it can be fun to watch (even though it's very dangerous) all the SUVs go flying into the median because they can't brake as well as us car owners.

[aerotive]

Two universals about most every US metro area: nobody thinks anybody else can drive, and everybody thinks that they have interesting, unique weather.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by bagelw

I disagree. I just got back from DFW and Austin and the drivers in NWA are noticeably worse. However, I've said before that it may just be the fact that there are more lanes so you can get around and away from the bad drivers easier.

I also noticed bad Arkansas drivers after driving to Denver last month. Driving thru Kansas if there was someone blocking traffic in the left lane 90% of the time the person had an Arkansas plate.

In other cities traffic is bad due to congestion. Here in NWA there isn't really any congestion. The traffic is usually caused by someone farting along at 60 mph in their SUV in the left lane while 2 miles of cars are tailgating each other to keep the jerks that try to cut in from the right lane at bay. Then there will be a cop or someone on the shoulder changing a tire that causes the SUV driver going 60 to slam their brakes down to 50 mph. Chain reaction of disaster insues.

I have to admit it can be fun to watch (even though it's very dangerous) all the SUVs go flying into the median because they can't brake as well as us car owners.

sorry, I lived in the DFW area for 13 years, the drivers in Texas or at least the Dallas metro drive faster, do not use turn signals, run red lights at a much higher pace. Yes, there is a difference, there are more lanes. Here we are stuck and nothing is more annoying than being behind someone going 30 miles an hour on some of our roads when there is no passing lanes. When I see someone on my ass I pull over at the next corner or whatever and let them pass. The same goes true for those on the highway, in the outside lane driving too fast, but I think the slow drivers here are a bigger hazard than those driving too fast.

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by aerotive

Two universals about most every US metro area: nobody thinks anybody else can drive, and everybody thinks that they have interesting, unique weather.

great response: you are so right. One thing we all forget, most metro areas have a lot of trnasplants thus they all have own unique way of driving.

Nita

[hotair2]

Originally Posted by nmnita

sorry, I lived in the DFW area for 13 years, the drivers in Texas or at least the Dallas metro drive faster, do not use turn signals, run red lights at a much higher pace. Yes, there is a difference, there are more lanes. Here we are stuck and nothing is more annoying than being behind someone going 30 miles an hour on some of our roads when there is no passing lanes. When I see someone on my ass I pull over at the next corner or whatever and let them pass. The same goes true for those on the highway, in the outside lane driving too fast, but I think the slow drivers here are a bigger hazard than those driving too fast.

Nita

I would have to agree about Texas. However, I would also agree that we have way too many slow drivers in the left hand lane.

There was a wreck here in fort smith a couple of weeks ago where the driver was in the left hand lane and came to a near complete stop on I-40. I don't know why, but what resulted was a four car collision.

[bagelw]

Originally Posted by nmnita

sorry, I lived in the DFW area for 13 years, the drivers in Texas or at least the Dallas metro drive faster, do not use turn signals, run red lights at a much higher pace.

My definition of a bad driver is not the same as yours. I don't consider people that drive fast and don't use signals as bad drivers, overly aggressive maybe, but not bad. Bad drivers are the ones that disrupt the flow of traffic and are not aware of their surroundings. Bad drivers clog the left lane forcing people to pass on the right. Bad drivers slow down to stare at the cop sitting on the side of the road or the person changing a flat on the shoulder. Bad drivers are talking on their phones or texting or eating or doing anything in their car that distracts them from the task of driving.

People here run red lights just as much as people in Dallas. I only wish people here drove as fast as they do in Dallas.