Posted on 08/24/2016 8:06:12 AM PDT by KeyLargo
U.S. Traffic Fatalities Continued to Surge in First Half of 2016
Deaths rose 9%, extending a trend that began two years ago as the economy improved and travel increased Traffic fatalities were up 9% in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year.
By Beckie Strum
Traffic fatalities rose 9% in the first six months of 2016, compared with a year earlier, as a stronger economy and falling gas prices encouraged Americans to spend more time behind the wheel, the National Safety Council said on Tuesday.
Traffic fatalities have been trending upward since 2014, when the price of gasoline plummeted and a strengthening economy spurred more travel. The average price at the pump has dropped more than a $1.30 per gallon, or 35%, since this time two years ago, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
States including Vermont, Oregon and New Hampshire have been particularly deadly since the upward trend started in 2014, according to preliminary estimates compiled by the NSC, an Illinois-based nonprofit that collects data from state authorities.
Deaths on the road nearly doubled in tiny Vermont, population 620,000. The state recorded an 82% increase this year compared with the first six months of 2014.
Vermont is so small that even one bad crash can send its year-over-year change skyrocketing, said Scott Davidson, chief of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. It had 57 fatal accidents in 2015, he said. “If I have a bus crash, my numbers go through the roof,” said Mr. Davidson.
In most states, Vermont included, people are simply driving more, leading to more crashes, Mr. Davidson said. “Nationally, there’s just more miles being traveled,” he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Not surprising; anger + heroin, I’d say.
Imagine how bad it would be if the 94,000,000 people not working were working and driving to and from work!
Texting while driving…as bad as drinking and driving. Also, don’t forget the tremendous increase in illegal aliens on our roads since 2011. We should list the fatalities by ethnicity, and insurance should be higher for those groups. Otherwise, why should my teen grandsons pay more for their insurance when they are very safe, well-trained drivers with no accidents on their record?
Distractions is my bet. People are doing everything but paying attention to driving. Cell phone texting, pokemon, you name it. I’m ALWAYS glancing behind me now, making sure the person behind me is watching the road instead of looking down at their phone.
one cause: Texting
might as well drive with your eyes closed if you text and drive
Texting and phone use in general. When I drive, about 80% of the drivers around me have their noses in their smart phones, as they wander into my lane or off nearly off the side of the road.
I watched an older woman take a left hand turn in front of oncoming traffic going about 45 mph. When she was hit and her airbag deployed, her phone smacked into face and left a visible mark.
they wander between lanes, cross the center divide, go 15 miles per hour below the speed limit, miss green light and fail to stop at red lights. And they kill people.
Illegal aliens probably account for half of these fatalities. The other half are giddy females busy typing on their wireless devices.
To really know anything, we need to know the deaths per 1000 miles driven over time.
The rest is speculation with no basis.
I have a feeling it is also partially due to the vast amount of illegals legally driving in CA,
Yes, infuriates me! I do not enjoy driving like I used to because I’m constantly on edge watching these foolish people. Hang up and drive!
It sure as heck ain’t due to the “improving economy”, as the WSJ states. People are either driving to look for jobs, or they are driving to the store to spend on their EBT cards.
Two other factors....those humongous trucks...as many as three huge ones attached. Add that to the blind spots so many cars have, and there are very often impossible situations and blocked vision.
I guess giving all those free drivers licenses to those Illegal Aliens wasn’t such a bright Ideal after all.
Thank You to all the States that did it and made this slaughter on the Nations Highways ..... all possible.
1. Auto travel has grown (cited by the article).
2. Vehicles have far more safety features today, but I suspect they are increasingly unsafe in many high-impact collisions as fuel efficiency standards have pushed manufacturers to build lighter cars.
3. We've seen an awful decline in driving skills in general, with distracted driving a particular factor. Add our aging driver population to the mix, too.
4. With the growth of walking and cycling in urban areas all over the country, there is more exposure to injury and death among people who have almost no protection in a crash. Dangerous designs in many roads that have crosswalks or bike lanes aren't helping, either.
Vermont began issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens on January 1, 2014.
Distractions is my bet.
...
Why bet when the article tells us that it’s because more miles are being driven?
Vehicle insurance carriers were a big backer of drivers licenses for Illegals, which now are common.
The insurance companies knew that they could get most of the illegals without insurance to buy their policies once they were given drivers licenses by the States.
Distracted driving (cell phones), impaired driving (opioids), and higher speed limits (Newton).
“Dangerous designs in many roads that have crosswalks or bike lanes aren’t helping, either.”
The local “progressive” county commission pushes cycling and walking as viable alternatives to auto commuting but without providing the funds to fix the streets to make these alternatives safer. Pedestrians and cyclists are lured into a false sense of safety just because there are crosswalks with pavers or some painted bicycle lanes. Through distracted drivers into the mix and it is a recipe for increased carnage along commuter routes.
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