US road deaths reach ‘crisis’ levels

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US road deaths reach ‘crisis’ levels

by MSI » Tue Mar 29, 2022 2:58 pm

From LinkedIn Post:

A Morning Brew Article: US road deaths reach ‘crisis’ levels
It’s the biggest percentage increase over a nine-month period since records began in 1975.
From the article:
  • What’s going on? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has cited more reckless driving since the pandemic began, including drivers not wearing seatbelts and blowing through speed limits.
    • But Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who called the surge in road deaths a “national crisis,” thinks blaming humans won’t solve anything. “People make mistakes, but human mistakes don’t always have to be lethal.”
    According to Buttigieg, the key to bringing down traffic deaths is a combo of redesigning roads to be safer, boosting safety standards for vehicles, and incorporating technology like automated braking into vehicles.
Our Comment:
  • main reasons are higher speed/lower enforcement and distracted driving.
    add speed cameras and red light cameras...penalize THE CAR so none of the silly anti-camera FREEDOM BS issues take them away (Europe uses cameras!)
    and MAKE SPEEDING MORE PUNITIVE since speeding is as toxic as DUIs.
    Also technology is available to limit or block texts and phone calls while the car is moving by seat location
    (and seat sensors for airbags can be used to be sure someone is in seat
    Main points
    1. technology is available for making drivers drive safer
    2. technology is available for monitoring and alerting and braking vehicle to help (lidar, etc)
    3. roads can be changed/designed better to try to make safer
    however
    that takes TIME and MONEY
    so talk the talk but to walk the walk who's gonna PAY?
    It will take more than folks trying to excuse BAD DRIVING by blaming design!
    It's a diversion from the essential component which needs to be addressed: DRIVERS!
    DRIVING IS AN ACTIVE TASK WHICH REQUIRES AN ATTENTIVE DRIVER WHO OBEYS THE LAWS
    you can't fix stupid
    until and unless we make all cars automatic (and then here come the programming glitches, oh my! oh my!)
    we MUST get folks to PAY ATTENTION TO THE DRIVING TASK

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