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U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

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Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#181

Post by bb86754 »

glimshe wrote: post #114
luxurytent wrote: post #11

I guess pickup trucks fall under the category of SUVs? It's wild how we've lost access to our streets and neighbourhoods for the convenience of mostly suburban vehicle users. Actually not wild, but disgraceful. The majority of roads are too wide and with little options for alternative modes of transport, drivers are growingly frustrated and angry on the road. We continue to make the mistake of thinking the solution i…

My suburb does as much as it can to make itself walkable. There are crossings and sidewalks everywhere, but it's still a low density suburb so it doesn't make much sense to walk almost anywhere (my kid does walk to school as it happens to be close, but that's it). So while they are trying to address this problem, very few people actually walk. But all of this said, I want low density. Having lived many years in a hig…

The whole high rise situation in almost every U.S. city you described (i.e. small central cluster of high-rises) is more a result of insane zoning policies, not traffic safety. High density and peace and quiet really aren’t mutually exclusive, although admittedly 99% of towns and suburbs in the U.S. fail to build such places, largely, in fact, because of traffic engineering.

For example, I lived in a town of around 100k in the Netherlands called Delft for a while - high density, walkable, and far quieter than the two suburbs I lived in the United States.

Not saying the situation will ever change here. But it is possible.

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#182

Post by ryukafalz »

BorgHunter wrote: post #87
ecshafer wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a relatively easy fix. Remove zoning regulation and the market should build towards denser towns. It is outright illegal to build dense right now in most of the US. There are other ares that need to be fixed that all exacerbate the issue: The NHSTA recommends large wide roads for moving vehicles faster, CAFE standards makes cars heavier and larger since trucks / suvs don't have the same regulations, FHA loans…

Is zoning regulation as a concept really the root cause, though? Houston famously has no zoning code and is fairly lax with land use generally (although it isn't completely the Wild West), and it isn't very dense. It seems like zoning could even be a key part of the solution, being a tool that could be used to mandate that new construction be more dense around mass transit hubs, for instance. There are lots of anti-d…

Houston might not have something specifically called a "zoning code" but it has plenty of the sorts of regulations that lead to sprawl.

Take a look at this table of parking requirements for Houston, and keep in mind that a typical parking space takes up 320 square feet: https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/DevelopRegs/docs_pdfs/par...

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#183

Post by underbluewaters »

mech7654 wrote: post #19

A pillars are getting wider, and the bottoms of windows are getting higher. These changes are being made for crashworthiness, the effects of visibility on accidents are understudied.

I just purchased a 2018 F-150 and was concerned about being able to drive it safely after reading threads like these. Surprisingly, I can be much more aware of my surroundings and have fewer blind spots in the truck than my CR-V. Even directly in front of the tall hood I can see fine.

There are a lot of valid criticisms of big trucks but most of the discussion around them is pretty ignorant.

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#184

Post by e40 »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #13

Article ignores it, but looking at the source data you can see pedestrian deaths were flat, then a large spike in 2020 during Covid, and now we are at a new higher plateau. Cause is not a change in roads, or cars, or more SUVs. Covid/lockdowns changed the way people drive. Less civility, less police enforcement, more chaos. Driving is noticeably worse and more stressful than pre-Covid.

This is certainly true. The number of red light runners in the Bay Area has skyrocketed, but not only that, the number of people driving fast and running red lights has gone way up, too. It feels like chaos out there.

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#185

Post by acuozzo »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #165
apsec112 wrote: post #23

I'm not even slightly surprised by this, sadly. Cops need to start ticketing people who drive like maniacs. I drive in DC, and every week I almost get hit by some loon going 30+ over the limit who doesn't care that I'm in the lane they're merging into. I've never seen anyone get ticketed. The roads have become something out of Mad Max , just pure developing-world anarchy.

Speed Cameras are a lot cheaper than cops, they don't get killed and they don't need a pension. They should do gofundmes for installing speed cameras in your hood, I'd fork some money.

The efficacy of speed cameras depends on the socioeconomics of the area.

The "car culture" lunatic drivers I've met in the Baltimore / DC area just make a hobby of fighting tickets. They have lawyers they regularly work with and somehow always make it out with their license intact.

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#186

Post by drivers99 »

zubiaur wrote: post #26
foxyv wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Ford and Chevy have contributed more. The proliferation of high profile vehicles has made accidents that would normally be a broken leg into a crushed chest cavity.

Intuitively I would agree. Modern pickup trucks have such high, long hoods nowadays. There is a big blind spot on the front of the vehicle, especially pronounced with short objects, kids and pets. Wonder if there is data that to run a hypothesis test?

There's also the fact that if you get hit by the high moving wall called a pick-up or SUV, the person goes under the vehicle which is called a "frontover" (opposite of a backover for when a car backs over a person, often a kid).

I'm not sure what it's called when you have a curved, low car hit someone and they go over the hood, but it's somewhate safer, especially at lower speeds. Speaking of which, designing streets so cars go 20 MPH makes collisions much safer compared to 30 MPH (or 40 MPH) which is highly fatal. https://www.tigard-or.gov/your-government/departments/commun...

Keep in mind that signs alone won't slow down cars.

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#187

Post by vel0city »

cactusplant7374 wrote: post #139

We need cameras that enforce actually stopping at stop signs. It would force more people to pay attention.

Too many people push back against cameras with arguments like "how do they know who was driving at the time?!"

I don't care. The car has a registered owner. The registered owner needs to be responsible for the actions of whoever they delegate access to the car. Start sending tickets, send that information to the insurance companies, let their rates skyrocket.

Be responsible for your shit!

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#188

Post by Toutouxc »

AlwaysRock wrote: post #98
poly_morphis wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The merging and the lane etiquette are the two biggest for me, though I do a lot more driving now than a few years ago. People going below the speed limit in the leftmost lanes regularly back up the freeway since no one can pass. Also is way more dangerous since some weave in the middle lanes (or right) to make the pass.

Yeah that is a weird one because no one is going to get ticketed for going the speed limit or 5 over in the passing/leftmost lane and technically they are doing nothing wrong. It just makes driving more difficult for everyone else. The rightmost lane is somewhat similar. You really shouldnt travel in it. It's for getting on and off the road. If you are in it you're making it harder for other to merge on/off the road.…

It's funny how "going the speed limit or 5 over in the leftmost lane" and "actually using the rightmost lane" are exactly the things I wish more people were doing in this country in Europe.

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#189

Post by walleeee »

glimshe wrote: post #114
luxurytent wrote: post #11

I guess pickup trucks fall under the category of SUVs? It's wild how we've lost access to our streets and neighbourhoods for the convenience of mostly suburban vehicle users. Actually not wild, but disgraceful. The majority of roads are too wide and with little options for alternative modes of transport, drivers are growingly frustrated and angry on the road. We continue to make the mistake of thinking the solution i…

My suburb does as much as it can to make itself walkable. There are crossings and sidewalks everywhere, but it's still a low density suburb so it doesn't make much sense to walk almost anywhere (my kid does walk to school as it happens to be close, but that's it). So while they are trying to address this problem, very few people actually walk. But all of this said, I want low density. Having lived many years in a hig…

It is unrealistic to expect this lifestyle in the long term. The era of the car will come to an end, likely in the next few decades. The personal car is a profligate use of materials and energy. We can afford them at the moment only thanks to market distortion and a massive one shot energy surfeit. When the real costs are priced in, very few people will be willing or able to pay. Had the real costs been priced in from the beginning, we might not have designed an entire way of life around them.

Your cookie cutter neighborhood (mine too) depends on circumstances which are unlikely to last. I say this with the utmost respect, and as an SUV owner!

Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high

#190

Post by e40 »

ethanbond wrote: post #34
WillPostForFood wrote: post #13

Article ignores it, but looking at the source data you can see pedestrian deaths were flat, then a large spike in 2020 during Covid, and now we are at a new higher plateau. Cause is not a change in roads, or cars, or more SUVs. Covid/lockdowns changed the way people drive. Less civility, less police enforcement, more chaos. Driving is noticeably worse and more stressful than pre-Covid.

Why would COVID/lockdowns have “changed the way people drive?” Any proposed mechanism? Seems more likely you had a lot of shifting around of people’s driving (e.g. city dwellers moving to suburbs)

The "defund the police" movement that happened just before Covid has contributed to police pulling back enforcement of all sorts of things.

Also, many cities have a "no chase" rule for police now because of high-profile crashes which killed people. Guessing the lawsuit payouts were large and contributed to the decisions.

I think people realized there are no consequences so decided to do what the heck they wanted.

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