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The article is mentioning tons of technological measures you can take in the car, but a far more effective way to go about this is infrastructure. As someone fr

The article is mentioning tons of technological measures you can take in the car, but a far more effective way to go about this is infrastructure. As someone from Europe, driving in the US is shockingly dangerous at times. High-speed unprotected left turns at higher speeds are so commonplace, lack of merge lanes on 45mph roads isn't that great either. Something like Vision Zero and making the roads a bit more forgiving can also go a long way in reducing traffic deaths. No need for new tech in new cars.

adwww 4y ago
Even just 4 way stops. Staggering the exits, oblique angles, or roundabouts would be far safer than trusting that every driver pays attention to every red light.
- tzs 4y ago
  Accidents due to drivers running red lights or stop signs are way down on the list of causes of serious accidents in the US, behind speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, reckless driving, and weather on most lists I've seen of accident causes.
  - adwww 4y ago
    Interesting. I remember seeing 1/3 of fatalities involved a signalised intersection, although in fairness I can't find an international comparison.
ftyers 4y ago
One of the things I love in Mexico is the "topes", they're like sleeping policemen, but lot bigger, and you basically have to slow down unless you want to mess up your suspension. I think some of them are implemented by local communities as well, which is pretty cool.
- drdunce 4y ago
  I don't like the disrupting the flow of traffic idea. Accidents happen in places where the flow is disrupted. E.g. junctions, give ways, reasons to stop. It's like making a knife blunt to make it safer, in reality it makes it way more dangerous
  - ftyers 4y ago
    It's hard to have a serious accident when you're going under 10 miles an hour. And I also disagree that blunt knives are more dangerous. One might give their child a plastic knife which is totally blunt, but not a super sharp machete.
    - drdunce 4y ago
      I disagree, it's sadly easy. You can be involved in a serious accident while stationary (broken down on the side of the road). This is an extreme example of how a lot of accidents occur when mixing speeds (being rear ended at lights etc.). It's that mix that road calming measure often create. A plastic knife is barely a knife at all, it's almost completely useless and so is a 10mph road. The solution to road safety can't be to drive at jogging pace. Roads are still a transport infrastructure and for practical reasons, speed has to remain an evaluation metric (a good road is both safe and fast). There's plenty of examples of safe and performant roads. We wouldn't want to make the 50 mile commute to the shops or work over the course of several days.
      - jgwil2 4y ago
        That's why there needs to be a sharp distinction between streets, which are for people and which should be limited to 10mph, and roads, which are for cars and should be physically separated from pedestrians.
  - giraffe_lady 4y ago
    The point isn't necessarily to reduce accidents it's to reduce serious injuries and deaths. Slowing down is safer if there is an accident. That said I'm not convinced things like this do increase accidents. The knife analogy is suspect but potentially accurate for that very reason. This is a common saying, but my first career was as a professional cook and that common saying is a running joke and source of constant mockery in professional kitchens. People who work around knives know that sharp knives are much more dangerous than dull ones. They're valued for other reasons, not safety.
lotsofpulp 4y ago
Also, higher cars with huge grills, lower visibility, and thick A pillars have more capacity to severely injure and kill. Solution is super simple though. Increase gas tax so that it costs $20 per gallon.
- naravara 4y ago
  The high cars have the other downside of minimizing visibility around intersections when parked at corners. Pedestrians can't see cars coming and the cars can't see pedestrians coming. Usually the cars also can't see bikes coming down the road either.
  - cupofpython 4y ago
    I wish parking on busy corners would not be allowed at all
    - funcDropShadow 4y ago
      That is allowed in the US?
      - Avshalom 4y ago
        Usually not like right on the corner, parking aside if there is more than one lane a truck in to your left can easily block sight lines when trying to take a right turn or trying to pull out of a parking space.
      - cupofpython 4y ago
        it is a responsibility of localities. some places do have rules against it, but it isnt universal for example, NYC: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2015/02/27/the-new-york-city-parking-rule-that-makes-intersections-more-dangerous/ https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2015/02/27/the-new-york-city-par... https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/parking-regulations.shtml https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/parking-regulati... see "t-intersections"
- 4y ago
davrosthedalek 4y ago
Fellow European here. Most shocking for me is the overall road "quality". Way too many potholes. I have the impression when the US builds streets, they pour asphalt over a stretch of dirt and call it a highway.

adwww 4y ago

Even just 4 way stops. Staggering the exits, oblique angles, or roundabouts would be far safer than trusting that every driver pays attention to every red light.

tzs 4y ago
Accidents due to drivers running red lights or stop signs are way down on the list of causes of serious accidents in the US, behind speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, reckless driving, and weather on most lists I've seen of accident causes.
- adwww 4y ago
  Interesting. I remember seeing 1/3 of fatalities involved a signalised intersection, although in fairness I can't find an international comparison.

ftyers 4y ago

One of the things I love in Mexico is the "topes", they're like sleeping policemen, but lot bigger, and you basically have to slow down unless you want to mess up your suspension. I think some of them are implemented by local communities as well, which is pretty cool.

drdunce 4y ago
I don't like the disrupting the flow of traffic idea. Accidents happen in places where the flow is disrupted. E.g. junctions, give ways, reasons to stop. It's like making a knife blunt to make it safer, in reality it makes it way more dangerous
- ftyers 4y ago
  It's hard to have a serious accident when you're going under 10 miles an hour. And I also disagree that blunt knives are more dangerous. One might give their child a plastic knife which is totally blunt, but not a super sharp machete.
  - drdunce 4y ago
    I disagree, it's sadly easy. You can be involved in a serious accident while stationary (broken down on the side of the road). This is an extreme example of how a lot of accidents occur when mixing speeds (being rear ended at lights etc.). It's that mix that road calming measure often create. A plastic knife is barely a knife at all, it's almost completely useless and so is a 10mph road. The solution to road safety can't be to drive at jogging pace. Roads are still a transport infrastructure and for practical reasons, speed has to remain an evaluation metric (a good road is both safe and fast). There's plenty of examples of safe and performant roads. We wouldn't want to make the 50 mile commute to the shops or work over the course of several days.
    - jgwil2 4y ago
      That's why there needs to be a sharp distinction between streets, which are for people and which should be limited to 10mph, and roads, which are for cars and should be physically separated from pedestrians.
- giraffe_lady 4y ago
  The point isn't necessarily to reduce accidents it's to reduce serious injuries and deaths. Slowing down is safer if there is an accident. That said I'm not convinced things like this do increase accidents. The knife analogy is suspect but potentially accurate for that very reason. This is a common saying, but my first career was as a professional cook and that common saying is a running joke and source of constant mockery in professional kitchens. People who work around knives know that sharp knives are much more dangerous than dull ones. They're valued for other reasons, not safety.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

Also, higher cars with huge grills, lower visibility, and thick A pillars have more capacity to severely injure and kill. Solution is super simple though. Increase gas tax so that it costs $20 per gallon.

naravara 4y ago
The high cars have the other downside of minimizing visibility around intersections when parked at corners. Pedestrians can't see cars coming and the cars can't see pedestrians coming. Usually the cars also can't see bikes coming down the road either.
- cupofpython 4y ago
  I wish parking on busy corners would not be allowed at all
  - funcDropShadow 4y ago
    That is allowed in the US?
    - Avshalom 4y ago
      Usually not like right on the corner, parking aside if there is more than one lane a truck in to your left can easily block sight lines when trying to take a right turn or trying to pull out of a parking space.
    - cupofpython 4y ago
      it is a responsibility of localities. some places do have rules against it, but it isnt universal for example, NYC: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2015/02/27/the-new-york-city-parking-rule-that-makes-intersections-more-dangerous/ https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2015/02/27/the-new-york-city-par... https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/parking-regulations.shtml https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/parking-regulati... see "t-intersections"
4y ago

davrosthedalek 4y ago

Fellow European here. Most shocking for me is the overall road "quality". Way too many potholes. I have the impression when the US builds streets, they pour asphalt over a stretch of dirt and call it a highway.