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Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

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Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#861

Post by troxy1 »

Thlom wrote: post #781
MichaelCollins wrote: post #773

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes there isn't much you can do. One I grew up near is a T intersection, between three farm fields. The road that butts into the other crests a hill, and the other road is right behind the crest of that hill, about 20-30 meters. There is a T intersection sign on the hill before you reach the top, but some people didn't see it or heed it. If you're following the speed limit with a dry road, it's probably safe ev…

Replace the T with a roundabout and reduce the speed limit significantly 200 meters before the roundabout.

I think the best/cheapest solution would be some rumble grooves 2-300 meters before the intersection to help alert you to it.

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#862

Post by fzeroracer »

wrycoder wrote: post #236
jvm___ wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which baffles the rest of the world as we see the aggregate number and are dumbfounded that nothing is done.

The question under dispute is what is to be done. Removing guns from law abiding citizens is preferred by one vocal faction, rather than imprisoning criminals who use them in committing crimes (and who usually don't possess their guns legally). The other faction says that removing guns from law abiding citizens actually increases crime[0]. [0] https://twitter.com/AnneMarieWTHR/status/1549484122497843200...

As others have mentioned, we're already one of the leading countries in terms of imprisoning people. You're saying the gun violence problem is therefore because we don't imprison enough people?

What % of the population do you think needs to be imprisoned before we recognize that maybe its guns that are the problem?

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#863

Post by fennecfoxy »

MichaelCollins wrote: post #625
dcsommer wrote: post #594

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US has this concept of "black spots" too. However, they are ironically named "safety corridors." We get a nice sign [0] to mark the death zone and then traffic continues unabated. [0] https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2010/04/inflated_traffic...

We also mark deadly intersections and turns with white crosses, one for each person who's died there. They're worth paying attention to, and I think locals at least learn to be weary of those locations.

If they go to that effort why not, you know, fix the intersection/road? TBH now that I'm driving in the UK there's all sorts of weird inconsistencies while driving/the roads, but their attitude to it seems to be that it's fine.

I'd just love it if roundabout signs posted before the entrance showed: * The lane starting from the left, that you need to be in to get to a certain exit * Number of lanes/exit

Atm it's a bunch of guesswork involving: * Not being able to see the arrows/road names painted on the road because THEY'RE COVERED BY CARS OH HOW DID WE NOT THINK OF THIS * Not being able to see the arrows/road names painted on the road because they're so faded because they haven't been painted in 5-10 years

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#864

Post by fzeroracer »

WalterBright wrote: post #221
CodeAndCuffs wrote: post #155

I was a cop for several years. I worked hundreds of crashes, and a few fatalities. If cars had a max speed limit of 85 mph, and required the seatbelt to be engaged to work, we'd cut our fatality rate in half. Most nations' DUI laws consider a 0.05 BAC as illegal. In most US states 0.08 is presumed under the influence, 0.06 - 0.079 is considered no presumption either way, and under .06 is considered not under the infl…

Not wearing a seatbelt is an individual choice, and should not be a crime. P.S. Growing up, my dad had the dealer install seatbelts in the family wagon before he picked it up. We never moved an inch unless everyone was buckled up. Nobody else, and I mean nobody else, had seatbelts in their car at the time. P.P.S. Seatbelts also saved my life.

I've seen your exact same argument made by people who believe the BAC limit should be abolished and it's just as disingenuous to engage with there as it is when applied to seatbelt laws.

A family that refuses to wear seatbelts and doesn't buckle in their children is an individual choice as well in your world, but the end result can be killing someone that didn't have a choice in the first place. And your argument around seatbelt laws seems to assume that the driver is the one at fault, not the one being rear ended or involved in an accident outside of their control resulting in them being ejected from their vehicle.

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#865

Post by jodrellblank »

dcsommer wrote: post #594
hibikir wrote: post #569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't have to be like this though: Other countries pay attention to crashes, especially with fatalities. One of my uncles was a civil engineer working in Spain's government, now retired. All crashes reported to the police would be marked in maps, with an extra layer for fatalities. Then they'd be grouped by the kilometer of road, to look for the sections of road that were the most dangerous. The worst locations…

The US has this concept of "black spots" too. However, they are ironically named "safety corridors." We get a nice sign [0] to mark the death zone and then traffic continues unabated. [0] https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2010/04/inflated_traffic...

And the colloquial Dead Man’s curve, like in the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Man%27s_Curve

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#866

Post by throwaway0a5e »

daedalus_j wrote: post #668
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #662

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or you could simply make it so that the threat of driving drunk was so high that people actually thought twice. Every jackboot says this but in reality it does nothing because everyone thinks they're good and won't get caught.

Well, then we just have to accept is as a cost of doing business and not try to stop it, because the same could be said about anything short of a full all-knowing surveillance state. People commit murder because they think they're good and won't get caught. Some don't. Better that ten guilty persons go free than one innocent be convicted though. So we just have to decide how far down "convicted" really means, and if…

Why does the DUI body count need to be so low that the only options for getting there running out society like 1984 or running it like ISIS?

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#867

Post by yreg »

glogla wrote: post #857
yreg wrote: post #553

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, I wouldn't expect it to be reasonably possible to avoid that rule. More difficult than driving without a license anyway. I believe over here the traffic inspectorate would want the plates back if you stop paying the insurance and then if you drive without the plates that's an instant hefty fee from the first cop that sees you. (The insurance is tied to the car, not to the driver.)

The way it works around here is that every car is registered to a person in central registry to get plates. The registry is crosschecked daily with central insurance database to make sure all vehicles have insurance, which is mandatory by law. If you don't have it you get fine automatically, which might go to collections. People without insurance are unheard of. This of course requires the government to have central…

Yes, actually that would probably happen first here (Slovakia) as well. And then if you continue to not pay, they remove the car from the registry and take the plates back.

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#868

Post by yreg »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #767
yreg wrote: post #553

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, I wouldn't expect it to be reasonably possible to avoid that rule. More difficult than driving without a license anyway. I believe over here the traffic inspectorate would want the plates back if you stop paying the insurance and then if you drive without the plates that's an instant hefty fee from the first cop that sees you. (The insurance is tied to the car, not to the driver.)

> Interesting, I wouldn't expect it to be reasonably possible to avoid that rule. More difficult than driving without a license anyway. > if you drive without the plates that's an instant hefty fee from the first cop that sees you How so? Said cop would have to stop you and check you have insurance. In almost 18 years of driving in France, some of I which I would drive twice a day, I've only been stopped for a police…

If you don't have the plates, the cop doesn't have to check anything. It is very visible that you don't have them.

Doesn't France keep the registry of all cars and whether they have an insurance or not?

I've just realized I'm not completely safe though, because — if what you are saying is true — someone from France can drive their non-insured car to my country and crash into me :)

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#869

Post by lioeters »

jodrellblank wrote: post #865
dcsommer wrote: post #594

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US has this concept of "black spots" too. However, they are ironically named "safety corridors." We get a nice sign [0] to mark the death zone and then traffic continues unabated. [0] https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2010/04/inflated_traffic...

And the colloquial Dead Man’s curve, like in the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Man%27s_Curve

It feels like in every American city that I've lived in, there was at least one "dead man's curve" that locals would tell me about. In some places, like up in the mountains, there were entire stretches of road that only consisted of such dangerous curves.

Re: Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes

#870

Post by kwijybo »

fennecfoxy wrote: post #863
MichaelCollins wrote: post #625

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We also mark deadly intersections and turns with white crosses, one for each person who's died there. They're worth paying attention to, and I think locals at least learn to be weary of those locations.

If they go to that effort why not, you know, fix the intersection/road? TBH now that I'm driving in the UK there's all sorts of weird inconsistencies while driving/the roads, but their attitude to it seems to be that it's fine. I'd just love it if roundabout signs posted before the entrance showed: * The lane starting from the left, that you need to be in to get to a certain exit * Number of lanes/exit Atm it's a bun…

> If they go to that effort why not, you know, fix the intersection/road?

It's several orders of magnitudes different amounts of effort. Putting up a cross can be done one person in an hour. Fixing a road or intersection is months of work for tens of people,several machines, tonnes of material. Source: I've worked on making several dangerous intersection less dangerous

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