4 ms·

> nor is drivers education a requirement This is it really. Americans aren't very good at driving. In the UK we are taught that it's one of the most dangerous

> nor is drivers education a requirement This is it really. Americans aren't very good at driving. In the UK we are taught that it's one of the most dangerous things you'll do in your life, which it is. In America it's just like learning to walk. You have to do it and it doesn't matter how you learn. Check out the road safety stats. USA is pretty much an outlier amongst first world countries by most metrics.

crispyambulance 10y ago
The key figure, I think, is number of fatalities per billion vehicle Kilometers. For the USA that is 7.1. Unfortunately, Americans drive A LOT MORE than most other countries, so raw annual fatality count is very high (~34K). By comparison UK has 3.6 fatalities/billion KM and fatality count of 1.8K. Population ratio is ~6:1 US:UK. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...) There are other countries where fatalities are much higher.
- torrent-of-ions 10y ago
  It seems that the fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres will be skewed simply by the average trip length being longer in the US. Fatalities per number of trips is probably a better metric since longer trips tend to use safer roads like motorways. It's just not possible to rack up that many "safe" miles somewhere like the UK, while the number of more high risk miles, ie. towns and country roads, is probably more similar. As suspected, that metric is the one the US does the best on in the article linked. The best metric is probably fatalities per capita. It's not fair to take into account only the number vehicles because the whole population is at risk when it comes to cars. And it's not fair to take into account number of miles travelled due to the difference in trip lengths.
  - hx87 10y ago
    > It seems that the fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres will be skewed simply by the average trip length being longer in the US. Trip length figures into the denominator (deaths/billion kilometers), so everything else being the same, longer trip lengths won't skew the statistic.
    - Dylan16807 10y ago
      Not that the statistic will be skewed with respect to itself. But that it will be skewed against what really matters. It might be the wrong decision to factor out distance.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
strictnein 10y ago
> nor is drivers education a requirement Not sure what state they're referring to, but it's a requirement in every place I know of. The general process when you're 15-16 typically includes: - A number of Driver's ed classes that typically end with behind the wheel training - Learners permit granted that only allows you to drive with an adult (21+) in the car. - Drive without incident for a certain period of time - Pass a written test - Pass a full road course - Full license granted
- pc86 10y ago
  I went to HS in rural PA in 00-04 and the only "drivers ed" we got was one class a week for a month or two where we just went over the DMV handbook. No practical training or testing, it was expected that your parents taught you how to actually drive.
- Broken_Hippo 10y ago
  I'm originally from Indiana. All that is actually required is that you hold a learner's permit for a set time and pass the driving and written test. To actually learn to drive, you just gotta have an adult in the car. In theory, this is to teach you how to drive. Outside of that, there are a few restrictions on the license after you start driving, mostly on passengers from what I can remember. Some folks do take drivers ed, which is usually offered at the high school after school or during the summer. When folks do this, they can get their learners permit at a younger age. It is quite common in the rural areas for kids to learn to drive tractors when they are 13/14 or younger.

crispyambulance 10y ago

The key figure, I think, is number of fatalities per billion vehicle Kilometers. For the USA that is 7.1. Unfortunately, Americans drive A LOT MORE than most other countries, so raw annual fatality count is very high (~34K). By comparison UK has 3.6 fatalities/billion KM and fatality count of 1.8K. Population ratio is ~6:1 US:UK. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...) There are other countries where fatalities are much higher.

torrent-of-ions 10y ago
It seems that the fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres will be skewed simply by the average trip length being longer in the US. Fatalities per number of trips is probably a better metric since longer trips tend to use safer roads like motorways. It's just not possible to rack up that many "safe" miles somewhere like the UK, while the number of more high risk miles, ie. towns and country roads, is probably more similar. As suspected, that metric is the one the US does the best on in the article linked. The best metric is probably fatalities per capita. It's not fair to take into account only the number vehicles because the whole population is at risk when it comes to cars. And it's not fair to take into account number of miles travelled due to the difference in trip lengths.
- hx87 10y ago
  > It seems that the fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres will be skewed simply by the average trip length being longer in the US. Trip length figures into the denominator (deaths/billion kilometers), so everything else being the same, longer trip lengths won't skew the statistic.
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    Not that the statistic will be skewed with respect to itself. But that it will be skewed against what really matters. It might be the wrong decision to factor out distance.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

strictnein 10y ago

> nor is drivers education a requirement Not sure what state they're referring to, but it's a requirement in every place I know of. The general process when you're 15-16 typically includes: - A number of Driver's ed classes that typically end with behind the wheel training - Learners permit granted that only allows you to drive with an adult (21+) in the car. - Drive without incident for a certain period of time - Pass a written test - Pass a full road course - Full license granted

pc86 10y ago
I went to HS in rural PA in 00-04 and the only "drivers ed" we got was one class a week for a month or two where we just went over the DMV handbook. No practical training or testing, it was expected that your parents taught you how to actually drive.
Broken_Hippo 10y ago
I'm originally from Indiana. All that is actually required is that you hold a learner's permit for a set time and pass the driving and written test. To actually learn to drive, you just gotta have an adult in the car. In theory, this is to teach you how to drive. Outside of that, there are a few restrictions on the license after you start driving, mostly on passengers from what I can remember. Some folks do take drivers ed, which is usually offered at the high school after school or during the summer. When folks do this, they can get their learners permit at a younger age. It is quite common in the rural areas for kids to learn to drive tractors when they are 13/14 or younger.