The Chainlink

Read a great article today, almost a history of cars on the road. How they were inconvenient and then not so much. I'm not anti-car, but I love a good driver, just the same as my fellow bicyclist. 

Crazy to think that according to the statistics provided in this article, cars(and drivers) will kill slightly less than the population of my hometown in Michigan this year.

Murder Machines: Why Cars Will Kill 30,000 Americans This Year

Views: 640

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

In the 2 days since the Malaysia Air jet went missing, more Americans have been killed by cars than the number of passengers on that jet.

Used to be 40,000 a year through 2008.

That's a HUGE drop, that's great.

Mike Schwab said:

Used to be 40,000 a year through 2008.


I suspect the drop in US road deaths is largely down to safety features for people in automobiles - airbags and the like. Such safety features are of no use to cyclists and pedestrians who, I suspect, may be further endangered by drivers reducing safety margins because of their own enhanced safety. 

These days I live in Houston, TX and in the city at least, most drivers are surprisingly aware and courteous. However, the worst and most dangerous drivers almost all drive those big pick-ups they advertise during football games (oooh, so manly!), or large SUVs.


Julie Hochstadter said:

That's a HUGE drop, that's great.

Mike Schwab said:

Used to be 40,000 a year through 2008.

Yet, were someone to say that people buying bikes are oooh, so girly, you'd have your panties in a twist. Even if the stereotypes were true, didn't you get the memo that assailing people's sexual orientation is so...nineties?

Bike Bloke said:

However, the worst and most dangerous drivers almost all drive those big pick-ups they advertise during football games (oooh, so manly!), or large SUVs.

34,000 in 2012. Not quite cause to celebrate.  The biggest drop was when the economy tanked and a lot of people had no jobs to drive to.  I'm missing where the 30,000 figure comes from.

Julie Hochstadter said:

That's a HUGE drop, that's great.

Mike Schwab said:

Used to be 40,000 a year through 2008.

Self driving cars. That is the answer. They knew it from the start. 

h' 1.0 said:

34,000 in 2012. Not quite cause to celebrate.  The biggest drop was when the economy tanked and a lot of people had no jobs to drive to.  I'm missing where the 30,000 figure comes from.

Julie Hochstadter said:

That's a HUGE drop, that's great.

Mike Schwab said:

Used to be 40,000 a year through 2008.

Thank you for that link, Jaik, excellent reading. A really cool website all together!

What is worse, to stereotype SUV drivers as manly, or to stereotype them as a danger to cyclists?   Stereotyping is offensive when we judge someone without actually knowing them.  to say that people were assailed during the nineties is also a stereotype, its just that the "nineties" won't feel pain due to a false accusation.  I'm not even sure of the exact definition of "stereotype", and I'm too lazy to look it up at the moment.  I would say that most taxi drivers treat me with a great deal of respect and courtesy.  But its ok to stereotype when saying something nice.  oops, that was sarcasm.
 
Reboot Oxnard said:

Yet, were someone to say that people buying bikes are oooh, so girly, you'd have your panties in a twist. Even if the stereotypes were true, didn't you get the memo that assailing people's sexual orientation is so...nineties?

Bike Bloke said:

However, the worst and most dangerous drivers almost all drive those big pick-ups they advertise during football games (oooh, so manly!), or large SUVs.

It's more likely to do with the drop in per capita miles driven since that's been going down far more than vehicle safety technology has gone up since 2008. This is of good use to cyclists and pedestrians. 

Bike Bloke said:


I suspect the drop in US road deaths is largely down to safety features for people in automobiles - airbags and the like. Such safety features are of no use to cyclists and pedestrians who, I suspect, may be further endangered by drivers reducing safety margins because of their own enhanced safety. 

These days I live in Houston, TX and in the city at least, most drivers are surprisingly aware and courteous. However, the worst and most dangerous drivers almost all drive those big pick-ups they advertise during football games (oooh, so manly!), or large SUVs.


Julie Hochstadter said:

That's a HUGE drop, that's great.

Mike Schwab said:

Used to be 40,000 a year through 2008.

There are fewer fatalities because there are fewer miles driven. I'd have guessed that's due to the effects of our recession and rising gasoline prices, but the price of gas doesn't correlate.

RSS

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service