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posted by martyb on Saturday July 23 2016, @10:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the 'hit-the-road'-but-don't-take-it-literally dept.

ScienceNews reports on a report from the CDC (informative graph):

U.S. drivers love to hit the road. The problem is doing so safely.

In 2013, 32,894 people in the United States died in motor vehicle crashes. Although down since 2000, the overall death rate - 10.3 per 100,000 people - tops 19 other high-income countries, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported July 8. Belgium is a distant second with 6.5 deaths per 100,000. Researchers reviewed World Health Organization and other data on vehicle crash deaths, seat belt use and alcohol-impaired driving in 2000 and 2013.

Canada had the highest percentage of fatal crashes caused by drunk drivers: 33.6 percent. New Zealand and the United States tied for second at 31 percent. But Canada and 16 other countries outperformed the United States on seat belt use - even though, in 2013, 87 percent of people in the United States reported wearing safety belts while riding in the front seat.

Spain saw the biggest drop - 75 percent - in its crash death rate. That country improved nearly all aspects of road safety, including decreasing alcohol-impaired driving and increasing seat belt use, the researchers say.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 24 2016, @06:48AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 24 2016, @06:48AM (#379315)

    My driver test was trivial. I didn't have to go on a highway, rotary, or hill. I did have to answer insulting questions about drugs and dangerous questions about hand signals. (if you see an arm out the window, it's actually just an arm because nobody does hand signals -- heck, most don't do any signals)

    Lots of people drive without licenses. The punishment is trivial. They get right back on the road. IMHO, when this is obviously intentional (not recently expired) the punishment should be death.

    Lots of people drive drunk. Sure, they get in trouble, but see above. It's the same deal. Nobody commits a second offense in Saudi Arabia.

    Generally, we treat the situation like bumper cars. We are big into mandating passive protection, like the seatbelt stopper thing that nearly kills me when I urgently need to look over my shoulder and it triggers. Some of our mandated passive protection is even really expensive. Hit somebody? Oh, no big deal, get back on the road. WTF!!!

  • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday July 24 2016, @12:31PM

    by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Sunday July 24 2016, @12:31PM (#379379)

    We are big into mandating passive protection, like the seatbelt stopper thing that nearly kills me when I urgently need to look over my shoulder and it triggers.

    They make these things called mirrors. Newer cars even have cameras now. You really should not have to move that far around to look. A quick glance at any blind spots (adjust your mirrors correctly to minimize these!) should be sufficient.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 24 2016, @02:30PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday July 24 2016, @02:30PM (#379411) Journal

      Mirrors don't give you full coverage, and rear cameras are still somewhat rare. A driver should always turn his head to double check what he thinks his mirror is showing him.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 24 2016, @11:45PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 24 2016, @11:45PM (#379561)

        A driver should always turn his head to double check what he thinks his mirror is showing him.

        Or just drive facing backwards, so he can see where he's been!

      • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Wednesday July 27 2016, @09:01PM

        by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Wednesday July 27 2016, @09:01PM (#380888)

        Mirrors don't give you full coverage, and rear cameras are still somewhat rare.

        True, but one should still not need to do gymnastics to glance for a double check. That's the point I was trying to make, even if I perhaps did so poorly. I probably also should consider that I'm fairly tall so maybe I'm not as affected by this.