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The economic percent loss of value due to car accidents, per capita is likely the same around the world. What stands out is the extraordinary rate of vehicular

by screye 3y ago

The economic percent loss of value due to car accidents, per capita is likely the same around the world. What stands out is the extraordinary rate of vehicular deaths and serious accidents in the US. [1] [2] Yes, everyone knows it's high. But, 5x the traffic accident and fatality rate of other comparable developed countries is unforgivable. Now high car crash numbers are bad enough, but their breakdown is even worse. It is the primary driver of child death [3]. Cars don't just kill other car-drivers. They kill every type of road user, while the others barely register, even when normalized per capita. [4] [5] Ironically, bigger and safer cars make both the driver and the roads a lot less safe as the prisoners dilemma means everyone loses. [6][7] And these are just the numbers. There are insidious cultural patterns that appear when cars are the only way to travel. The US has a shocking cultural acceptance of DUI. I don't blame them. If the only way to party is to go downtown 20 miles away, and an uber is 75$ each way, then people start making dumb decisions. No one follows the speed limit, frequently exceeding it by 100% in slow neighborhoods. [8] Stop signs are considered optional across the country and the assumption is always that 'might makes right'. I have learnt to never engage with a pick-up truck on a road, and never to trust a car to stop just because you have the right of way as a cyclist/pedestrian. Old people, sick people, the sleep-deprived, 15 year olds, and the soon-to-be-blind all drive in the US, no matter how suited for it. Because the other options are so much worse. Ofc they're out there running over people. What did you expect would happen? The article tries to quantify the damage done by cars with the least relevant metric : "$$". As bad as those numbers look, the economic damage is in fact the most charitable way to look at damage done by car culture in this country. [1] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fk7HavRaYAMRa_w?format=jpg&name=4096x4096 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fk7HavRaYAMRa_w?format=jpg&name=... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4igbmr3Qj30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4igbmr3Qj30 [3] https://twitter.com/buttermilk1/status/1446513576559194118?cxt=HHwWjMC52eKbhpMoAAAA https://twitter.com/buttermilk1/status/1446513576559194118?c... [4] https://twitter.com/ETSC_EU/status/1461356632042979339?cxt=HHwWloCq8aeH5McoAAAA https://twitter.com/ETSC_EU/status/1461356632042979339?cxt=H... [5] https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/1380048368085430274?cxt=HHwWhMC3ibqr9aYmAAAA https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/138004836808543027... [6] https://twitter.com/emollick/status/1568797893888249858?cxt=HHwWhMC42ezXvsUrAAAA https://twitter.com/emollick/status/1568797893888249858?cxt=... [7] https://twitter.com/jdavey_2/status/1533865942731526146?cxt=HHwWhMComde8sckqAAAA https://twitter.com/jdavey_2/status/1533865942731526146?cxt=... [8] https://twitter.com/WarrenJWells/status/1501638281573777408?cxt=HHwWgICqpfSD8tYpAAAA https://twitter.com/WarrenJWells/status/1501638281573777408?... P.S: This is not arbitrary link spam. These are carefully curated links I have accumulated over years of this being my proverbial hobby horse. I am a broken record. I know that.

thatfrenchguy 3y ago
> Ironically, bigger and safer cars make both the driver and the roads a lot less safe as the prisoners dilemma means everyone loses. [6][7] You can have safer cars, like cars with emergency braking, without having bigger cars. Americans have just been severely been marketed to to make horrible financial and social decisions on cars: how many people do you see buying giant SUVs the moment they have a kid and save zero dollar for their college? Absurd.
- bobthepanda 3y ago
  The prisoner’s dilemma I believe refers to the fact that bigger cars often total smaller ones, so others are now forced to adapt by buying a bigger car, which increases the number of big cars, which then creates a cycle.
  - actionablefiber 3y ago
    > bigger cars often total smaller ones And if you have the misfortune of getting hit by a bigger car while not being in a car yourself, you are likely to be critically injured, permanently disabled, or dead. The way to adapt is to drive more, or avoid places with motor traffic. All of these add to the risk and economic cost.
- andbberger 3y ago
  can't cheat the inelastic collision math
cscurmudgeon 3y ago
Part of the reason is we underfund infrastructure: for roads and public transport. E.g., we constantly tax road users to "fund" other schemes and infrastructure (but even those ending needing even more money magically) Example: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/bridge-toll-hike-18166429.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/bridge-toll-hik...
- jeffbee 3y ago

by screye 3y ago

thatfrenchguy 3y ago

> Ironically, bigger and safer cars make both the driver and the roads a lot less safe as the prisoners dilemma means everyone loses. [6][7] You can have safer cars, like cars with emergency braking, without having bigger cars. Americans have just been severely been marketed to to make horrible financial and social decisions on cars: how many people do you see buying giant SUVs the moment they have a kid and save zero dollar for their college? Absurd.

bobthepanda 3y ago
The prisoner’s dilemma I believe refers to the fact that bigger cars often total smaller ones, so others are now forced to adapt by buying a bigger car, which increases the number of big cars, which then creates a cycle.
- actionablefiber 3y ago
  > bigger cars often total smaller ones And if you have the misfortune of getting hit by a bigger car while not being in a car yourself, you are likely to be critically injured, permanently disabled, or dead. The way to adapt is to drive more, or avoid places with motor traffic. All of these add to the risk and economic cost.
andbberger 3y ago
can't cheat the inelastic collision math

cscurmudgeon 3y ago

Part of the reason is we underfund infrastructure: for roads and public transport. E.g., we constantly tax road users to "fund" other schemes and infrastructure (but even those ending needing even more money magically) Example: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/bridge-toll-hike-18166429.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/bridge-toll-hik...

jeffbee 3y ago