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Isn't it obvious? Distracted drivers and distracted pedestrians from cell phones. I was just rear-ended last week by a distracted driver, luckily I wasn't injur

Isn't it obvious? Distracted drivers and distracted pedestrians from cell phones. I was just rear-ended last week by a distracted driver, luckily I wasn't injured. There needs to be a measure as to how distracting a car's interface is, and there needs to be regulations around this. Tesla's interface for example, takes far too much time and attention to do simply things like change the fan speed or temperature. I think we need a way to quantify this, and enforce regulations so that our 2023 mini-Batmobiles don't cause more problems than they solve. In terms of pedestrians, that's a harder problem to solve because I've come across so many pedestrians that just walk out onto the street without looking, or even thinking of looking because they're on their phones.

michaelsshaw 3y ago
There are a few more factors that drive this number up. First is the absolute reliance on cars for basically everything; anyone not in a car is a second-class citizen that can be killed at any time without much thought given by the public other than the typical "It's just unavoidable, these things happen. What can you do?" Another factor driving this number up is the massive increase in average car size, as SUVs and pickup trucks are pushed harder on average citizens by car companies so they can skirt taxes and make more profits. Add on top of this huge roads and extremely anti-pedestrian laws and you have successfully created a death trap for people walking.
Tiktaalik 3y ago
People in Europe have iPhones too, but their pedestrian death rate is plunging in compared to the USA. USA is an outlier and there's something else going on. It's likely SUV related given that the most popular cars in the EU are small hatchbacks.
- blindriver 3y ago
  I think American drivers are much more selfish and more glued to their phones than Europeans. However I think your point about SUVs make sense too. I guess we could tell the difference between pedestrian accidents vs pedestrian deaths to see how similar they are between Europe and the US.

michaelsshaw 3y ago

There are a few more factors that drive this number up. First is the absolute reliance on cars for basically everything; anyone not in a car is a second-class citizen that can be killed at any time without much thought given by the public other than the typical "It's just unavoidable, these things happen. What can you do?" Another factor driving this number up is the massive increase in average car size, as SUVs and pickup trucks are pushed harder on average citizens by car companies so they can skirt taxes and make more profits. Add on top of this huge roads and extremely anti-pedestrian laws and you have successfully created a death trap for people walking.

Tiktaalik 3y ago

People in Europe have iPhones too, but their pedestrian death rate is plunging in compared to the USA. USA is an outlier and there's something else going on. It's likely SUV related given that the most popular cars in the EU are small hatchbacks.

blindriver 3y ago
I think American drivers are much more selfish and more glued to their phones than Europeans. However I think your point about SUVs make sense too. I guess we could tell the difference between pedestrian accidents vs pedestrian deaths to see how similar they are between Europe and the US.