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We know, though, that there are certain patterns and behaviors that contribute to car accidents. For example, we know that speeding was a factor in something li

We know, though, that there are certain patterns and behaviors that contribute to car accidents. For example, we know that speeding was a factor in something like a third of all car deaths. And I’m pretty confident that’s an underestimate, because there are lots of roads where the speed limit almost certainly should be slower and speed would not be indicated in the accident report, even though it was a factor. (I also think it’s pretty easy to think of additional reasons speed might sometimes not be mentioned in the accident report, even when it was a factor, but I don’t have any numbers on that.) If we regulated automobiles the same way we regulate aircraft, every single automobile would have a speed governor installed. We also know that size is a significant factor. This is especially true anytime an accident involves a pedestrian or cyclist. And here again, despite clear, common sense evidence, cars are getting larger and heavier over time, not smaller and safer. (Cars have of course gotten safer, but mostly not through commonsense measures like, “make them smaller” or “make them go slower.” And so safety features inside the car are always fighting against our intransigence on those two fronts.) Size and speed. This is really obvious stuff, if anybody cared.

sokoloff 4y ago
> If we regulated automobiles the same way we regulate aircraft, every single automobile would have a speed governor installed. With regards to airplane speed limits in FAR 91.117, the responsibility is entirely on the pilot. There are no speed governors to prevent the pilot from busting this reg and it’s somewhat common for pilots to struggle with this in their first jet transition. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.117 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.117
- cmonagle 4y ago
  The parent comment is presenting a hypothetical of how a similar degree of regulation would look for cars, not saying that airplanes have that specific regulatory mechanism.
- dionidium 4y ago
  The situation with cars is that there are posted limits on every public road, so it's not up to the driver, but drivers exceed these limits routinely, anyway, and doing so directly contributes to something like 12,000 deaths per year. The point here is that if anything that obvious and predictable were happening with air travel it would already have been addressed.
bobthepanda 4y ago
The problem is also that generally, engineering takes what is best practice for an interstate with speeds in excess of 55 MPH, and then apply it to local roads with driveways where people are trying to cross the street. Even a street dead ending in a cul-de-sac and no legal steeet parking is often in excess of 30 feet wide. All that width encourages speeding.

sokoloff 4y ago

> If we regulated automobiles the same way we regulate aircraft, every single automobile would have a speed governor installed. With regards to airplane speed limits in FAR 91.117, the responsibility is entirely on the pilot. There are no speed governors to prevent the pilot from busting this reg and it’s somewhat common for pilots to struggle with this in their first jet transition. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.117 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.117

cmonagle 4y ago
The parent comment is presenting a hypothetical of how a similar degree of regulation would look for cars, not saying that airplanes have that specific regulatory mechanism.
dionidium 4y ago
The situation with cars is that there are posted limits on every public road, so it's not up to the driver, but drivers exceed these limits routinely, anyway, and doing so directly contributes to something like 12,000 deaths per year. The point here is that if anything that obvious and predictable were happening with air travel it would already have been addressed.

bobthepanda 4y ago

The problem is also that generally, engineering takes what is best practice for an interstate with speeds in excess of 55 MPH, and then apply it to local roads with driveways where people are trying to cross the street. Even a street dead ending in a cul-de-sac and no legal steeet parking is often in excess of 30 feet wide. All that width encourages speeding.