3 ms·

This completely fails to account for the fact that 50% of roadway fatalities in the US involve alcohol. Many of the rest involve youth, drugs or inexperience o

This completely fails to account for the fact that 50% of roadway fatalities in the US involve alcohol. Many of the rest involve youth, drugs or inexperience of one form or another. This isn't a "some people don't pay attention" problem. And some "clever" hackish solution to try to deal with this narrow avenue will have precisely zero impact on fatalities and an oversized impact on driver irritation. Want fewer accidents? Outlaw alcohol, use a "provisional" plate system for new drivers, and limit the amount of horsepower drivers under 24 can legally drive.

bobthepanda 3y ago
At least if you replace signals with roundabouts, the theory is that it is just not possible to speed in a straight line for very long, since you’d hit a roundabout circle.
- akira2501 3y ago
  Google "Milwaukee Roundabout."
  - bobthepanda 3y ago
    It works if you have multiple roundabouts in succession. This place looks like it’s a roundabout downhill from a straight bridge, so plenty of room to speed. Probably should narrow the bridge.
dsego 3y ago
Croatia had 0 blood alcohol for a few years if I remember correctly, it was deemed not successful after statistic didn't show a reduction in accidents and fatalities, although I believe it was probably reversed back to 0.5 per mille because of lobbying and tourism. We also had horsepower limits for young drivers, but that was deemed unconstitutional. I think they're now considering a trial driver's license for young drivers, might be an eu thing, I'm not sure about the details.
felipemnoa 3y ago
>>Outlaw alcohol It is already illegal to drive while intoxicated And prohibition has already been tried. Some people just don't care, even if they know the penalties are going to be harsh.
- akira2501 3y ago
  Precisely the point. We drive trillions of miles in a year and the number of fatalities and even permanent disability from accidents is astonishingly low. As modern people in a free democratic society, I wonder if we at some point have to accept, "this is as good as it gets." Your only other options are complete tyranny of the state over motorists.
  - atom058 3y ago
    Looking at the raw statistics, it seems that the US could do more to improve road safety I'm not a traffic engineer, but I believe better street design (meaning slowing cars down) and roundabouts could help. Building more public transport is also an option, but it might not be a feasible solution due to US City design. US: 12,9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Europe: 9.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Sweden: 2,2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Netherlands: 3,8 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...
    - akira2501 3y ago
      It's tempting to pull statistics for the "entire USA" and then try to imagine policy around it. What you should do is pull statistics for different states and then consider policy. For example, Texas has fewer inhabitants than California, yet more people die on Texas roads than California roads. Perhaps there's something to be examined there? Further.. again, so many fatalities in the US involve alcohol that you immediately want to think about how Europe, Sweden and the Netherlands handle drunk driving behavior and what sorts of drunk driving diversion programs they engage in. It's also why I mentioned Australia's "provisional plate" system. I think that's a great idea, and it specifically puts horsepower limits on vehicles for "provisional" drivers. This is also a known risk factor, and it's why insurance coverage for young men under 24 is significantly more expensive than for females in the same age bracket. The fatality ratio is 8:1 across the sexes. So.. sure, roundabouts and traffic calming might be it, but my reading of the data suggests more interesting problems.

bobthepanda 3y ago

At least if you replace signals with roundabouts, the theory is that it is just not possible to speed in a straight line for very long, since you’d hit a roundabout circle.

akira2501 3y ago
Google "Milwaukee Roundabout."
- bobthepanda 3y ago
  It works if you have multiple roundabouts in succession. This place looks like it’s a roundabout downhill from a straight bridge, so plenty of room to speed. Probably should narrow the bridge.

dsego 3y ago

Croatia had 0 blood alcohol for a few years if I remember correctly, it was deemed not successful after statistic didn't show a reduction in accidents and fatalities, although I believe it was probably reversed back to 0.5 per mille because of lobbying and tourism. We also had horsepower limits for young drivers, but that was deemed unconstitutional. I think they're now considering a trial driver's license for young drivers, might be an eu thing, I'm not sure about the details.

felipemnoa 3y ago

>>Outlaw alcohol It is already illegal to drive while intoxicated And prohibition has already been tried. Some people just don't care, even if they know the penalties are going to be harsh.

akira2501 3y ago
Precisely the point. We drive trillions of miles in a year and the number of fatalities and even permanent disability from accidents is astonishingly low. As modern people in a free democratic society, I wonder if we at some point have to accept, "this is as good as it gets." Your only other options are complete tyranny of the state over motorists.
- atom058 3y ago
  Looking at the raw statistics, it seems that the US could do more to improve road safety I'm not a traffic engineer, but I believe better street design (meaning slowing cars down) and roundabouts could help. Building more public transport is also an option, but it might not be a feasible solution due to US City design. US: 12,9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Europe: 9.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Sweden: 2,2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Netherlands: 3,8 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...
  - akira2501 3y ago
    It's tempting to pull statistics for the "entire USA" and then try to imagine policy around it. What you should do is pull statistics for different states and then consider policy. For example, Texas has fewer inhabitants than California, yet more people die on Texas roads than California roads. Perhaps there's something to be examined there? Further.. again, so many fatalities in the US involve alcohol that you immediately want to think about how Europe, Sweden and the Netherlands handle drunk driving behavior and what sorts of drunk driving diversion programs they engage in. It's also why I mentioned Australia's "provisional plate" system. I think that's a great idea, and it specifically puts horsepower limits on vehicles for "provisional" drivers. This is also a known risk factor, and it's why insurance coverage for young men under 24 is significantly more expensive than for females in the same age bracket. The fatality ratio is 8:1 across the sexes. So.. sure, roundabouts and traffic calming might be it, but my reading of the data suggests more interesting problems.