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Yes, still pathetically small. The DOT spent $375 billion on roads in 2022. Most of it went towards making roads more dangerous by increasing traffic volumes an

Yes, still pathetically small. The DOT spent $375 billion on roads in 2022. Most of it went towards making roads more dangerous by increasing traffic volumes and speeds.

walterbell 4y ago
We can still celebrate this one-time increase from $0 to $1B/year for 5 years.
giantg2 4y ago
Increasing throughput could result in a safety gain if density is reduced. The thing is, none of this will address the real issue - drivers making bad decisions because they're ignorant. Education, testing, and consistent enforcement is how things get better.
- brucedawson 4y ago
  The built environment can make a huge difference to how dangerous drivers are. Slip lanes that allow right-turns without slowing down could be eliminated, thus reducing or slowing many vehicle/pedestrian crashes. Right-turn-on-red could be eliminated. More speed bumps or other traffic calming measures, separated bike lanes, bike-priority streets - all these things can help to make pedestrians and cyclists less likely to be killed by drivers making bad decisions. Education and testing alone won't stop drivers from making mistakes. I would love to see more enforcement however.
  - giantg2 4y ago
    I agree with the overall premise. However, some of it depends on location and specific factors. Right turn lanes could be less dangerous overall in areas with little to no pedestrians as distracted drivers would be more likely to rear-end a turning car. In a city with lots of traffic, that right turn lane might be more dangerous. "Education and testing alone won't stop drivers from making mistakes." It very well could. Many of these mistakes are founded in ignorance. I see people doing things like passing on the right/shoulder and having no idea why that's dangerous. Or they have no idea what the vehicle dynamics are like for their car. Doing something like a skid pad or autocross (TireRack had a driver safety program associated with them) can really wake people up to their vehicles limitations. Things like following too closely on the road is generally not a true mistake, but a product of what is essentially negligence. Edit: why disagree?

Yes, still pathetically small. The DOT spent $375 billion on roads in 2022. Most of it went towards making roads more dangerous by increasing traffic volumes and speeds.

walterbell 4y ago

We can still celebrate this one-time increase from $0 to $1B/year for 5 years.

giantg2 4y ago

Increasing throughput could result in a safety gain if density is reduced. The thing is, none of this will address the real issue - drivers making bad decisions because they're ignorant. Education, testing, and consistent enforcement is how things get better.

brucedawson 4y ago
The built environment can make a huge difference to how dangerous drivers are. Slip lanes that allow right-turns without slowing down could be eliminated, thus reducing or slowing many vehicle/pedestrian crashes. Right-turn-on-red could be eliminated. More speed bumps or other traffic calming measures, separated bike lanes, bike-priority streets - all these things can help to make pedestrians and cyclists less likely to be killed by drivers making bad decisions. Education and testing alone won't stop drivers from making mistakes. I would love to see more enforcement however.
- giantg2 4y ago
  I agree with the overall premise. However, some of it depends on location and specific factors. Right turn lanes could be less dangerous overall in areas with little to no pedestrians as distracted drivers would be more likely to rear-end a turning car. In a city with lots of traffic, that right turn lane might be more dangerous. "Education and testing alone won't stop drivers from making mistakes." It very well could. Many of these mistakes are founded in ignorance. I see people doing things like passing on the right/shoulder and having no idea why that's dangerous. Or they have no idea what the vehicle dynamics are like for their car. Doing something like a skid pad or autocross (TireRack had a driver safety program associated with them) can really wake people up to their vehicles limitations. Things like following too closely on the road is generally not a true mistake, but a product of what is essentially negligence. Edit: why disagree?