Something that seems to be absent here is a discussion of turn-right-on-red laws. In conjunction with the SUV hypothesis of increasingly deadly vehicles (in conjunction with the trend of modern cars having increasingly huge A-pillars which inhibit visibility), the existence of such laws could explain the US as an outlier, the urban/rural difference, and the anomaly of NYC, where right-on-red has been banned since 1977.
Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
141–150 of 268 posts
Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#142Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right turns are really dangerous for pedestrians. A lot of localities started banning right-on-red because cars look left only.
There's an intersection here where the crosswalk button lights up a "no right turn" light hanging next to the usual stoplights.
That's brilliant. I just wish the crosswalk button could pop up some bollards too.
Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, european roads are not as wide, since they make place for proper sidewalks and bike lanes. Another advantage is that narrower roads make drivers drive more carefully and slowly, reducing accidents even further.
Not in my experience. The road widths were set hundreds of years ago and the buildings have not changed. Walking around European and UK towns I find myself much closer to cars than walking around in the US. This is a factor in keeping car speed low, which likely affects how often and severe pedestrian collisions are.
You seem to agree with the parent comment
Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#145Since 1930, 30K or more people have been killed every year in car accidents in the US. That's over 3_000_000 people in the past 100 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in... (corrected, thanks!)
Um, 3 million, perhaps? Technically over 300k, I guess.
Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#146>Relatedly, in the majority of pedestrian deaths, the pedestrian is blamed for the accident. In 66% of cases, pedestrians are described as “failing to yield right of way,” “jaywalking,” or “in roadway improperly.” In 87% of cases, the driver is not charged with anything following the accident
It's insane that society has come to accept that some parts of the public space are deadly, and it's your fault if you're not cautious and get killed on them. Just to have more cars.
Now kids can't go to school by themselves
Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#147in other countries at an intersection with a stoplight... is it normal for the light to turn green (allowing for a right turn) while a crosswalk also simultaneously activates to cross that path? this always feels strange to me in some US cities... why would you give a car a green light to turn into an active crosswalk? I've been honked at by drivers like I'm doing something wrong while having a cross signal
That's the standard way stoplights work in Italy. Cars have to yield to pedestrians so it's common to see cars start the right turn and then wait in a line until all pedestrians have crossed the street.
Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
Smartphones + US culture is limited to the US.
That's a deeply silly assertion. Culture is one of our major and most successful exports. Afghan tribesmen have seen The Simpsons. Osama Bin Laden played Half-Life and showed his kids Pixar films. https://www.history.com/articles/bin-laden-compound-abbottab...
And the US isn't under Sharia Law. Saying that The Simpsons in syndication is the reason why two cultures behaves the same is the sillier of the two statements.
Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#149This morning while jogging in the US I came to an intersection. Green lights and walk on in my direction. A car approaching from my left had a red light, the driver glanced to his left and without stopping or looking in my direction, turned right across my path. I expected this of course, so avoided being run over. If I wasn't watching for this, it likely would be a different outcome. So why do so many pedestrians ge…
Even when they do see you they have an air of entitlement and/or don't know any of the right-of-way rules. I've had drivers honk and yell at me when they want to cross a sidewalk driveway I'm currently moving through.
Re: Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US?
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not in my experience. The road widths were set hundreds of years ago and the buildings have not changed. Walking around European and UK towns I find myself much closer to cars than walking around in the US. This is a factor in keeping car speed low, which likely affects how often and severe pedestrian collisions are.
You seem to agree with the parent comment
I do agree that European roads are safer, but not because they have made large segregated sidewalks (which is what I disagree with as reality and the root cause).