Posted on 10/01/2015 1:54:24 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Traffic fatalities in the United States have been plummeting for years, a major victory for regulation (strict drunken driving laws have helped) and auto innovation (we have safer cars). But that progress obscures a surprising type of inequality: The most disadvantaged are more likely — and have grown even more likely over time — to die in car crashes than people who are well-off.
New research by Sam Harper, Thomas J. Charters and Erin C. Strumpf, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, finds that improvements in road safety since the 1990s haven't been evenly shared. The biggest declines in fatalities have occurred among the most educated. As for people 25 and older with less than a high school diploma, fatality rates have actually increased over time, bucking the national trend.
The underlying issue here is not that a college degree makes you a better driver. Rather, the least-educated tend to live with a lot of other conditions that can make getting around more dangerous. They own cars that are older and have lower crash-test ratings. Those with less education are also likely to earn less and to have the money for fancy safety features such as side airbags, automatic warnings and rear cameras.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I've read car accident fatality reports in my area carefully for the last 20-30 years. In many cases when people under 30 are killed, the accident reports say they were often thrown from the vehicle and crushed by the car or smashed their heads on the road or off road objects. It means they weren't wearing their seat belts.
I don't know what the percentage of teen and young adult drivers who wear seat belts is, but I would bet it's a lot smaller than the percentage of older adults who use them.
With all the electronics for amusement, communication, etc even if the driver is just driving-if others in the vehicle are watching video, texting, etc I’d think the noise would be distracting enough to distract the driver into teeth-grinding fury at the aural assault-and into carelessness. I’ll be the first to admit that when I put the key into the ignition I also crank up the rock music and jam-but that is all-my phone does not get used or answered, I don’t wear headphones, no hands-free devices, etc...
Pardon the redundant use of “distract”...
An older Saab is about the only thing better than an older Volvo. I have been on three multiple-fatality incidents involving Jeep Grand Cherokees. Minivans are like Jiffy Pop containers in a rollover and they are always packed with kids. 5he best car? The one driven to the prevailing conditions of the road by a driver who insists that all passengers wear seat belts.
Average age of my cars is about 16 years. I guess I need the taxpayers to buy me some new safe cars. Nothing from GM or Chrysler/Fiat, please.
Rich people live in cities, where the Interstate traffic seldom exceeds 8-MPH. :-/
Hey - here’s an idea - let’s get the government to buy a new Cadillac every year for everyone earning less than the median US income that year - it almost worked when the ‘rats did it for housing a bit back - except for the financial crash of 2008, of course.....
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