Traffic Deaths On The Rise - What's Really To Blame? (gas price, laws)

[jmking]

Originally Posted by saltine

It is?

Yes it is. Now I must drive............and send text messages whilst driving.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by chadgates

Definitely speed.
Just look at the autobahn.
Deadliest road on the planet.

I don't know about that.

The autobahn is about 8000 miles of road. There are speed limits in congested urban areas where most accidents occur.

The prerequisites for licensing in Germany are substantially greater than the U.S. and a license costs nearly $2000.

Third party liability insurance minimums are significantly higher than in the US.

Cars are routinely inspected for safety and appearance. Rust is unacceptable.

DUI is a most serious offence and can result in permanent loss of license after one conviction.

( I am not a fan of high speeds)

[dman72]

Originally Posted by jmking

Data phones.

Yes.


In addition to drifters who are looking down by driving, how much road rage is caused by people not paying attention at lights? Almost every light I'm at, someone has to get honked when it turns green because they are looking at their phones. It really is madness.

[jmking]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

I don't know about that.

The autobahn is about 8000 miles of road. There are speed limits in congested urban areas where most accidents occur.

The prerequisites for licensing in Germany are substantially greater than the U.S. and a license costs nearly $2000.

Third party liability insurance minimums are significantly higher than in the US.

Cars are routinely inspected for safety and appearance. Rust is unacceptable.

DUI is a most serious offence and can result in permanent loss of license after one conviction.

( I am not a fan of high speeds)

Also, slower traffic must stay to the right, left lane is for passing only, and it is strictly enforced.

[burdell]

Originally Posted by chadgates

Definitely speed.
Just look at the autobahn.
Deadliest road on the planet.

Have anything factual to support that?, because it's certainly easy to find things like: Autobahn Vs. American Highways: High Speeds Equal Fewer Accidents? | Imagine Lifestyles Luxury Blog that dispute that allegation.

I'd much rather be on the road with speeders paying attention to the road than nitwits too busy looking at their phones to bother looking at the road.

[rbohm]

too many distractions these days. cell phones, both hand held and in dash, among other things are a big cause of problems.

[Dbones]

phone use.

[texdav]

Generally we are in times of conflict and self defense because of it.

[Wanderer0101]

Originally Posted by Dockside

From Yahoo - "The National Safety Council reported this week that traffic deaths and serious injuries in the U.S. are on a pace to rise for the first time in nearly a decade. If the trend for the first six months of this year continues, the NSC says traffic fatalities in the nation will exceed 40,000 for the first time since 2007 and deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled also will increase."

The Traffic View function on Google maps is my bff for my daily commute. There is an accident every day of the week on one of the two highways I drive to work. Everyone points their fingers at cell phones for being the culprit, and I'm always amazed when I pass someone going 60 and they're looking down at their laps. But the complex multi-function interfaces on auto dashboards don't help - I recently rented a popular SUV with a separate 250 page instruction manual just for the radio, GPS and hands-free cell phone.

However, IMO there is a level of anger and rudeness on the roads that is far more troubling than any digital device. A lot of accidents I observe happen around highway entrances where cars try to merge into oncoming traffic - people get very passionate about their place on the road. I hate the idea of driverless cars, but as the highways get more crowded it sounds like a better idea.

There are all kinds of PSA's on radio and TV about texting and driving, but I'd love to hear an equal number of ads about general rudeness on the roads.

While all the things you mention are factors I don't think you can ignore the government mandated requirement for fuel economy that have resulted in a lot of smaller, lighter, less robust vehicles. Some of these things are just mobile coffins.

[Know Nonsense]

Basically, in a nutshell, a bigger and faster rat race.