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Can American Cars Be Made Safer for Pedestrians?

2 points by twiddling 5y ago

twiddling 5y ago
"For decades, American vehicles have been growing heavier and taller. They are also deadlier, killing more pedestrians in the past 10 years. Better regulations and traffic calming can help. But the pace of change is slow."
KelvinKlin93 5y ago
Yes. I think American cars can be made safer for pedestrians. Example;Adding sensors on each vehicles to detect pedestrians. I think it gonna help alot.
lax4ever 5y ago
Honestly, this feels a little like blaming the tool rather than putting the responsibility where it belongs, which is with the driver AND the pedestrian. Driver's need to be attentive, of course, but so does a pedestrian. We put an incredible amount of effort into making train crossings safe with lights, sounds, physical obstruction, and more than enough literature and warning about don't walk on train tracks but people still get hit by trains all the time. Vehicles, just like trains, cannot stop on a dime so the responsibility of safety falls on both parties regardless of "right of way". Talking about having a vehicle with more sensors doesn't really help if a driver doesn't have time to react to those sensors. Moving a step further, if you allow the vehicle to take control from a driver you add in more complications and danger for a whole host of reasons including 1) a driver reacting poorly to a vehicle taking control from them, 2) an auto driving system that is far, far from ready and could cause more issues, and more. I truly think you could do a lot more to solve the issue by getting drivers and pedestrians to be more attentive around each other than any other sensor or signal.
- culopatin 5y ago
  Why not both?
  - lax4ever 5y ago
    I struggle with the idea of adding more indicators and alarms to a vehicle because drivers are already swamped with a large amount of stimuli when driving. I'm not sure that adding more and possibly taking away control of a vehicle is the answer.
    - culopatin 5y ago
      Why not make cars less deadly is what I meant to ask, sorry.
      - lax4ever 5y ago
        Because cars are not, in and of themselves, inherently deadly any more than a train or a boat or a plane are inherently deadly. The fatality component of a vehicle largely rests on operators and those who are around vehicles. If a pedestrian on their phone steps off the sidewalk onto the road and gets struck by a vehicle is that the vehicle's or even the driver's fault? Of course not, just like a pedestrian is not at fault if they are crossing the street properly and a driver ignores the crosswalk or red lights. This issue cannot be solved by simply putting more sensors in a car, drivers and pedestrians need to take responsibility for their actions and understand exactly what they are doing when they cross each-other's path.
        culopatin 5y ago
        You’re talking about humans, not machines. What you have control over is how cars and humans behave on impact. You don’t have control over what your neighbor does when they walk. Are you perfect? You never get distracted? For those unique scenarios, do you rather be hit by a lifted f350 with a madmax inspired bumper or you rather have a chance of surviving your mistake?
        lax4ever 5y ago
        Of course I would like the consequences of a mistake to be minimal, but I also don't think drivers of large vehicles should automatically be assumed at fault and penalized just because they like to drive a large vehicle. Even the GHSA report's own solutions primarily focus on driver and pedestrian awareness programs and non-vehicle related solutions as opposed to more sensors in a car. EDIT: They do suggest automatic braking solutions but even those can be hampered by inclement weather which large portions of the US are subject to. The last thing I want my car doing is locking up my brakes on a slippery road because it sensed a possible pedestrian.
marto1 5y ago
Oh, the rabbit hole goes much much deeper. American infrastructure is actively hostile to people walking/biking/doing anything else than driving and even then not very safe. I'd recommend the NotJustBikes youtube channel that really drives the point home, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxykI30fS54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxykI30fS54

2 points by twiddling 5y ago

"For decades, American vehicles have been growing heavier and taller. They are also deadlier, killing more pedestrians in the past 10 years. Better regulations and traffic calming can help. But the pace of change is slow."

KelvinKlin93 5y ago

Yes. I think American cars can be made safer for pedestrians. Example;Adding sensors on each vehicles to detect pedestrians. I think it gonna help alot.

lax4ever 5y ago

Honestly, this feels a little like blaming the tool rather than putting the responsibility where it belongs, which is with the driver AND the pedestrian. Driver's need to be attentive, of course, but so does a pedestrian. We put an incredible amount of effort into making train crossings safe with lights, sounds, physical obstruction, and more than enough literature and warning about don't walk on train tracks but people still get hit by trains all the time. Vehicles, just like trains, cannot stop on a dime so the responsibility of safety falls on both parties regardless of "right of way". Talking about having a vehicle with more sensors doesn't really help if a driver doesn't have time to react to those sensors. Moving a step further, if you allow the vehicle to take control from a driver you add in more complications and danger for a whole host of reasons including 1) a driver reacting poorly to a vehicle taking control from them, 2) an auto driving system that is far, far from ready and could cause more issues, and more. I truly think you could do a lot more to solve the issue by getting drivers and pedestrians to be more attentive around each other than any other sensor or signal.

culopatin 5y ago
Why not both?
- lax4ever 5y ago
  I struggle with the idea of adding more indicators and alarms to a vehicle because drivers are already swamped with a large amount of stimuli when driving. I'm not sure that adding more and possibly taking away control of a vehicle is the answer.
  - culopatin 5y ago
    Why not make cars less deadly is what I meant to ask, sorry.
    - lax4ever 5y ago
      Because cars are not, in and of themselves, inherently deadly any more than a train or a boat or a plane are inherently deadly. The fatality component of a vehicle largely rests on operators and those who are around vehicles. If a pedestrian on their phone steps off the sidewalk onto the road and gets struck by a vehicle is that the vehicle's or even the driver's fault? Of course not, just like a pedestrian is not at fault if they are crossing the street properly and a driver ignores the crosswalk or red lights. This issue cannot be solved by simply putting more sensors in a car, drivers and pedestrians need to take responsibility for their actions and understand exactly what they are doing when they cross each-other's path.
      - culopatin 5y ago
        You’re talking about humans, not machines. What you have control over is how cars and humans behave on impact. You don’t have control over what your neighbor does when they walk. Are you perfect? You never get distracted? For those unique scenarios, do you rather be hit by a lifted f350 with a madmax inspired bumper or you rather have a chance of surviving your mistake?
        lax4ever 5y ago
        Of course I would like the consequences of a mistake to be minimal, but I also don't think drivers of large vehicles should automatically be assumed at fault and penalized just because they like to drive a large vehicle. Even the GHSA report's own solutions primarily focus on driver and pedestrian awareness programs and non-vehicle related solutions as opposed to more sensors in a car. EDIT: They do suggest automatic braking solutions but even those can be hampered by inclement weather which large portions of the US are subject to. The last thing I want my car doing is locking up my brakes on a slippery road because it sensed a possible pedestrian.

marto1 5y ago

Oh, the rabbit hole goes much much deeper. American infrastructure is actively hostile to people walking/biking/doing anything else than driving and even then not very safe. I'd recommend the NotJustBikes youtube channel that really drives the point home, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxykI30fS54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxykI30fS54