34 ms·
Statistics on Cause of Crashes in the US (2008)
- 11thEarlOfMar 10y agoI recalled a fatal accident in San Jose a few years ago where the driver was suffering a hypoglycemic event and lost consciousness after reaching an exit on I-280. He did not reduce speed and crashed into another vehicle, killing both passengers. [0] That led me to search for statistics on how many crashes are caused by incapacitated drivers, and to this NHTSA report from 2008 [1]. Page 30 shows driver-caused, critical pre-crash events involving "Heart attack or other physical impairment" as the cause of 2.4% of accidents where the cause is attributed to the driver (as opposed to mechanical failure, act of God, etc.), numbering an estimated 48,822 crashes from 2005 to 2007. However, scanning the table, I note that 40% of crashes attributed to the driver are due to: - Inadequate Surveillance - Internal Distraction - External Distraction - Inattention (i.e. Daydreaming, etc.) All of these are resolved, to a large degree, by the proliferation of driver assistance technologies that are coming into the market today. From my perspective, the moral question is that some people will die because of this technology. Other people will be saved. In the end, it is like vaccination in that the peril is shifted from one population to another, but overall, life expectancy is improved. It's here to stay. [0] http://www.protectconsumerjustice.org/two-wrongful-death-cases-involve-diabetic-reactions-while-driving-company-vehicles.html http://www.protectconsumerjustice.org/two-wrongful-death-cas...