Wonder how much of this can be tied to the economy getting better and more people buying/driving (used and less safe) cars when they previously couldn't afford to.
Moving 12-Month Total Vehicle Miles Traveled
U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
21–30 of 81 posts
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#22also conducted a survey that indicates some possible causes for the steady increases, including speed, texting via touch input or voice, as well as driving while under the influence. I think most of it can be attributed to cellphone usage while driving. And now that most drivers choose to use their smartphones as GPS rather than a dedicated GPS device, I think it's going to get much worse.
I think some of it must be an unintended consequence of usage bans. People still do it, they just keep the phone out of sight, and this keeps their concentration off the road for longer. (And of course you can't type by feel on a virtual keyboard.)
This. I text while driving very rarely, but when it was legal I would with my arm straight ahead so I could see the road and my phone. My phone's now been relegated to below the dash.
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#23Does anyone know if (and where) it's possible to download a data set of all car accidents (or just fatals) for the last few years? I'd like to see things like date and time, weather conditions, lat/lon, make and model of cars involved, etc.
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
unless some other change is offsetting the difference? FTA: "Many studies and observers cite the rise of mobile devices and their growing role in our lives as a possible cause behind the recent spike in traffic fatalities." Anecdotally, in my area, teens often receive the current family car (which is often 8+ years old), or one of the families secondary vehicles. Then another vehicle is purchased for the parents, oft…
But that's always been the case, and today's 8 year old car is safer then it was 10 or 20 years ago, so I wouldn't think this was causing an upward trend.
Maybe it was safer to T9 and drive.
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#25automated enforcement for speed limit violations That is a concerning recommendation. How would this be achieved? GPS tracking? Speed limit cameras? Both methods can have serious privacy implications.
You do not have an expectation of privacy while operating a vehicle upon the public highway. That is why your car has a giant number plate on it, why you must carry and present a license to operate said vehicle, and why you provide implied consent for a search of /your own blood/ by driving one.
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#26also conducted a survey that indicates some possible causes for the steady increases, including speed, texting via touch input or voice, as well as driving while under the influence. I think most of it can be attributed to cellphone usage while driving. And now that most drivers choose to use their smartphones as GPS rather than a dedicated GPS device, I think it's going to get much worse.
Distracted driving could be come epidemic if not curtailed somehow.
I'd say "is" rather than "could become", personally.
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#27Wonder how much of this can be tied to the economy getting better and more people buying/driving (used and less safe) cars when they previously couldn't afford to.
Also, how much ridership do Zipcar and Uber take away from public transportation since they mostly operate in cities? Uber goes further in that it creates additional driver-miles while drivers are getting to or waiting for passengers.
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#28also conducted a survey that indicates some possible causes for the steady increases, including speed, texting via touch input or voice, as well as driving while under the influence. I think most of it can be attributed to cellphone usage while driving. And now that most drivers choose to use their smartphones as GPS rather than a dedicated GPS device, I think it's going to get much worse.
I don't think there's any data to support that.
Smart phone penetration in the US has been above 75% for many years now, so you'd have to explain why there's a jump in fatalities now but wasn't as smart phone penetration went from 0% to 75%.
Secondly, this data should be controlled for miles driven. Otherwise a growing population and a growing economy can be misconstrued as roadways becoming more dangerous.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_i...
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#29I haven't found a link to less generalized data. What were road/traffic/driver conditions in the fatal accidents? Were there more accidents, or were accidents themselves more fatal? What percentage of fatalities involved a semi? Happened on freeways? What if climate change is the culprit? Road conditions have deterioriated as a result of changing weather patterns. Drivers have deteriorated as mobile devices become mo…
Unfortunately there isn't a standard way to collect this data on a national level. Believe it or not its up to that local jurisdiction, or State (in the case of state patrol) to dictate what information they gather and how it is gathered. This makes comparisons and real statistical analysis quite difficult. Source: I'm in the traffic safety industry.
There is no federal database of traffic fatalities? In terms of human resources we lose on the order of 150 billion (40000 *7,000,000 /2 ) dollars a year in traffic fatalities. That's not including the lost work from injuries. That's like 1% of the GDP. You would think that this would be a good enough reason to at least compile a database of causes.
Even an incomplete one could be useful.
Re: U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC
#30"it does advise accelerated standardization and introduction of features including automatic emergency warning, blind spot monitoring and lane departure warning systems" If these things actually made a difference wouldn't vehicle deaths be falling unless some other change is offsetting the difference?
I'd be surprised if automatic emergency warnings didn't increase fatalities. The absolute last thing I want my car to do in an emergency driving situation is add an additional distraction.
The idea is they let you know when an emergency situation is occurring. Otherwise, particularly if you're distracted, the first indication you may have that you have left your lane is when you strike another vehicle.