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US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

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Re: US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

#21

Post by giantg2 »

zamzoid wrote: post #10
rootusrootus wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they cause all the deaths And have all the utility, too. It's not a simple problem.

The problem is simpler than your framing alludes. There are other modes of transit that are much safer with far fewer negative externalities than private cars, like walking, bike, bus, and rail. We repeatedly make a political decision in the US not to prioritize them. This spending for street safety is a step in the other direction, but by and large does very little to change the dominance of public spending on priva…

That political decision is due to a lack of support. Preferences have to change. One major factor standing in the way is the overwhelmingly poor service by most cities. So it's a bit of a catch-22 since service can't improve without money.

I'm not even going to bring up places like rural or lower density suburbs as the service there is almost non-existent.

Re: US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

#22

Post by giantg2 »

zip1234 wrote: post #17

> $10.4 million to address roadway departure crashes along approximately 50 miles of roadway through shoulder widening, rumble strips and other low-cost treatments. They including a road widening as 'street safety'. Very generous interpretation of the term.

How so? Your quote is talking about shoulders, not additional lanes.

Re: US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

#25

Post by bilsbie »

Maarten88 wrote: post #5

As long as safety for people is not prioritized over car speed, no amount of spending will make streets substantially more safe. Cars are the problem, they cause all the deaths.

How come everyone doesn’t bike everywhere? That’s what I do. So easy pEople

Re: US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

#26

Post by notch898a »

Maarten88 wrote: post #5

As long as safety for people is not prioritized over car speed, no amount of spending will make streets substantially more safe. Cars are the problem, they cause all the deaths.

I wouldn't feel safer if food, medical products, construction materials, and other materials for our wellbeing became less accessible due to the increased labor cost of transport associated with significantly lower speed limits, however.

Re: US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

#27

Post by giantg2 »

zip1234 wrote: post #16
giantg2 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Speeding kills more than 10,000 people each year in the U.S." That's a little misleading. Excessive speed is a factor in about 30% of US traffic fatalities. That can have an overlap with other factors, like DUI, inattentive driving, or failure to yield. Speed itself is not the issue, as we see with lower fatality per mile on the autobahn, including areas without limits or with high limits. Speed mixed with bad decis…

"Excessive speed" in the statistics is purely based on posted speed limit. The way posted speed limits are set in the US is not based on safety.

"The way posted speed limits are set in the US is not based on safety."

That's an opinion. Any source to back that up? The limits are set based on safety and flow considerations, with safety taking precedent.

""Excessive speed" in the statistics is purely based on posted speed limit."

Not true. This can include going too fast for conditions, such as in snow. Or exceeding the recommended speed for a turn, even if you're going the posted speed limit.

Your interpretations seem very biased so far. I'd love to see your data/facts and not just opinion.

Re: US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

#28

Post by SQueeeeeL »

bilsbie wrote: post #25
Maarten88 wrote: post #5

As long as safety for people is not prioritized over car speed, no amount of spending will make streets substantially more safe. Cars are the problem, they cause all the deaths.

How come everyone doesn’t bike everywhere? That’s what I do. So easy pEople

If you live in most American cities, biking is basically a life hazard on par with smoking imo

Re: US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

#29

Post by notch898a »

digdugdirk wrote: post #11
rootusrootus wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they cause all the deaths And have all the utility, too. It's not a simple problem.

They don't have all the utility. In fact, they're grossly overused for the utility they do provide. There was a great article on here the other day about the evolution of pickup trucks, the user-survey statistics about how trucks are typically used was pretty eye opening. As was the size of the forward facing blindspot for your everyday stock F-150. Kids don't stand a chance.

The ever growing size of trucks is in part because the government outlawed the more reasonable economical compact trucks, through an absolutely bone-headed combination of CAFE and the chicken tax and various regulation.

Re: US DOT awards $800M toward street safety

#30

Post by mjmahone17 »

giantg2 wrote: post #22
zip1234 wrote: post #17

> $10.4 million to address roadway departure crashes along approximately 50 miles of roadway through shoulder widening, rumble strips and other low-cost treatments. They including a road widening as 'street safety'. Very generous interpretation of the term.

How so? Your quote is talking about shoulders, not additional lanes.

Adding more shoulder space induces higher speeds, unless you also add obstructions in the widened shoulder.

If it feels like your car is not squeezed, the natural inclination is to drive faster. You need to resist that inclination to stay within the speed limit. Basically, increasing the perceived width of the lane you’re in increases speed, and speed of crash is one of the core determinants of crash fatality.

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