3 ms·
What isn't clear to me is, do safer cars translate into fewer traffic injuries and deaths? I recall reading an economics paper that indicated that safer cars e
by SlowOnTheUptake 17y ago
What isn't clear to me is, do safer cars translate into fewer traffic injuries and deaths?
I recall reading an economics paper that indicated that safer cars encouraged more reckless driving and the two competing factors canceled each other out; as cars got safer, the number of accidents increased until the number of deaths and injuries returned to their prior levels.
I wonder if we all still drove 1959 cars would we be using cell phones while driving?
- godDLL 17y agoNot directly, no. Since 1959 cars are going faster, there is more of them, and the bar for driving one is lower because of ubiquity and social expectation. So it's about the same. Just more cars, and more people driving them, so we see more crashes. I'd say the percentages don't matter as much because of how many more cars and roads there are. Even if they'd be marginally lower -- you still get many, many more crashes and injuries.
- dmv 17y agoThere is an interesting table at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/crash-test-1959-chevy-vs-2009-chevy.aspx http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar... "Highway safety then and now" Registered vehicles: 1959 - 71.5 million 2008 - 255 million Miles driven: 1959 - 700 billion 2008 - 2.9 trillion Fatalities: 1959 - 37,910 2008 - 37,261
- Periodic 17y agoA 75% reduction in fatalities per million-miles-driven in 50 years. That's very good to see. Thank you for bringing in the numbers.