U.S. Traffic Deaths Rise for a Second Straight Year

[Tugg Speedman]

Since the life expectancy thread is popular, I thought this one would be too.  Similar in the result (more people dying) but the reason is far different ... STOP LOOKING AT YOUR PHONE!!!  We are so distracted when driving that we reversed a 50-year trend of declining auto fatalities.


U.S. Traffic Deaths Rise for a Second Straight Year
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/business/highway-traffic-safety.html

Over the last decade, new cars have gotten electronic stability control systems to prevent skids, rearview cameras to prevent fender benders and more airbags to protect occupants in collisions. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on campaigns to remind the public of the dangers of drunken driving, failing to buckle up and texting while on the go.

Despite all that, more Americans are dying on roads and highways than in years, and the sudden and sharp increase has alarmed safety advocates.

The latest batch of bad news arrived Wednesday in traffic fatality estimates released by the National Safety Council, a nonprofit organization that works closely with federal auto-safety regulators. According to its estimates, 40,200 people died in accidents involving motor vehicles in 2016, a 6 percent rise from the year before.

If the estimates are confirmed, it will be the first time since 2007 that more than 40,000 people have died in motor vehicle accidents in a single year. The 2016 total comes after a 7 percent rise in 2015 and means the two-year increase — 14 percent — is the largest in more than a half a century.

Part of the increase is believed to stem from the improving economy, which has led Americans to drive more miles for both work and pleasure. But safety advocates say that explains only part of the trend because the number of deaths as a percentage of miles driven is also increasing.

They also point to data suggesting an increase in distracted driving. While cars and phones now offer advanced voice controls and other features intended to keep drivers’ eyes on the road, apps like Facebook, Google Maps, Snapchat and others have created new temptations that drivers and passengers find hard to resist.

“It’s not just talking on the phone that’s a problem today,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. “You now have all these other apps that people can use on their phones.”

[GGGG]

Just as bad as the phones IMO are the new electronic control panels.  I mean, they look cool and all, but it clearly adds to the distraction.  Case in point, when I wanted to defrost my windshield, it used to be a turn of the knob to the right setting, turning another knob to make it warmer, etc.

Now I have to push the climate button on my touchpad, then find the right button to push to turn on the defrost, and another to turn up the temp...  I have to do more than a simple glance.

And of course it has a map setting, which is nicer than a phone's map, but it is more difficult to load a destination.  I never do it when driving, but I guaranty some people do.  (And the voice recognition still sucks IMO.)

[Dr. Blackheart]

You would have thought with car services becoming more prevelant that these numbers would have dropped on the opposite side of this, especially with DUI deaths. Which leads to the future with robotic cars and their impact...what would the benchmark be on auto deaths in the future?  40,000 or 0?

It seems the press takes every robotic car accident and blows it up in the news while regular auto deaths are barely featured on a day to day basis. 40,000 annually is closer in number of US killed in action deaths during the entire Vietnam War (41,000). This also creates an interesting discussion on liability.  Do you sue Apple and Goggle for software errors? Or the car service owner? Or the manufacturer? There will be no or limited personal car ownership or liability theoretically.

[mu_hilltopper]

As we drove over the river and through the woods this week ..  during a decent snow-storm highway drive .. I saw a dude with his hazard lights on.   

Eventually, we passed him.  He was looking at his phone during the snowstorm.

Good on him, right?  He's saying to the world, hey, I AM THE HAZARD.  WATCH OUT.

Maybe that's the tech we need.   Your car is connected to your phone anyway .. if the screen is on, your hazard lights go on with it so everyone knows of your idiocy.

[jesmu84]

If we really cared, tickets for phone usage would result in suspended licenses.

But we're not going to change humans on a basic level. We're just not good drivers. So take the humans out of the equation. Bring on the age of robotic cars. Government could offer huge incentives for them, provide even more funding for r&d, etc

[Hards Alumni]

Just as bad as the phones IMO are the new electronic control panels.  I mean, they look cool and all, but it clearly adds to the distraction.  Case in point, when I wanted to defrost my windshield, it used to be a turn of the knob to the right setting, turning another knob to make it warmer, etc.

Now I have to push the climate button on my touchpad, then find the right button to push to turn on the defrost, and another to turn up the temp...  I have to do more than a simple glance.

And of course it has a map setting, which is nicer than a phone's map, but it is more difficult to load a destination.  I never do it when driving, but I guaranty some people do.  (And the voice recognition still sucks IMO.)

+1  We have voice activated everything else, why not make it compulsory in a car?

If we really cared, tickets for phone usage would result in suspended licenses.

But we're not going to change humans on a basic level. We're just not good drivers. So take the humans out of the equation. Bring on the age of robotic cars. Government could offer huge incentives for them, provide even more funding for r&d, etc

I've always been an advocate that at fault accidents should require drivers to turn over phone records.  Any texts, phone calls, or data activity within a minute of the accident should double the fines and double the points removed from the license.  Hit people where it hurts.

[naginiF]

I've always been an advocate that at fault accidents should require drivers to turn over phone records.  Any texts, phone calls, or data activity within a minute of the accident should double the fines and double the points removed from the license.  Hit people where it hurts.

.....or if there are fast food wrappers in the car, or it smells like they were smoking and driving.

(only half joking)

[mu_hilltopper]

But we're not going to change humans on a basic level. We're just not good drivers.

I think I disagree.  I was thinking about this recently .. I've driven for 30 odd years, likely north of 300k miles.  I've witnessed two fender benders.

If I look around at all the idiots on the road around me .. I'm flabbergasted that I can drive 20 miles and not see someone hit something.  Yet it happens for 10s of thousands of miles.

[Hards Alumni]

I think I disagree.  I was thinking about this recently .. I've driven for 30 odd years, likely north of 300k miles.  I've witnessed two fender benders.

If I look around at all the idiots on the road around me .. I'm flabbergasted that I can drive 20 miles and not see someone hit something.  Yet it happens for 10s of thousands of miles.

Sounds pretty anecdotal. 

Something for everyone to think about.  In 2009, 87% of the driving age population of the US had a driver's license.  Now, think about what percentage of the population has an IQ below 70.  I'm certainly not advocating taking away people's right to drive a car, but it is pretty scary to think that we allow people to drive two ton vehicles after having taken only one written test and one on the road test... likely when they were teenagers.

I work in transportation, and I can tell you (anecdotally, of course ), that driving habits have gone downhill in the last 10 to 15 years.  People often blame 'the young people' for driving with their phones... but in my observations, its everyone.  My 67 year old FIL does it.  Its awful.

[buckchuckler]

Just as bad as the phones IMO are the new electronic control panels.  I mean, they look cool and all, but it clearly adds to the distraction.  Case in point, when I wanted to defrost my windshield, it used to be a turn of the knob to the right setting, turning another knob to make it warmer, etc.

Now I have to push the climate button on my touchpad, then find the right button to push to turn on the defrost, and another to turn up the temp...  I have to do more than a simple glance.

And of course it has a map setting, which is nicer than a phone's map, but it is more difficult to load a destination.  I never do it when driving, but I guaranty some people do.  (And the voice recognition still sucks IMO.)

Most (if not all) manufacturers lock out screens like destination input while the car is in motion.  And the VR, in my experience, is actually pretty good.  It works in 1 try just about every time and you don't have to enter, state, city, street, number anymore, at least in my vehicle you can just say "find address 1530 W. Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee WI" and it hits it right away.  Much of the problem with the in vehicle technology is that sales people can't explain (or buyers don't want to spend the time) it so drivers don't know how to use it. 

I wish there were some way to report those using their phones, but I guess the only way to prove it is to take out your phone and take a picture, and well, that seems counter productive.  Maybe I will start carrying fruit with me and just throw it at cars where the driver is using their phone.

[Tugg Speedman]

You would have thought with car services becoming more prevelant that these numbers would have dropped on the opposite side of this, especially with DUI deaths. Which leads to the future with robotic cars and their impact...what would the benchmark be on auto deaths in the future?  40,000 or 0?

A couple of years ago the head of Google's autonomous car unit was speaking at an investment conference.  He was being peppered by a bunch of "what if" questions.  Then, in a moment of exasperation, he said something to the effect of "look, human drivers kill 40,000/year and injury nearly 2 million/year.  We don't have to be perfect, we just have to be better than that!"

What is said was completely accurate but not good from a PR standpoint.  That is why he was criticized.

Or as a friend of mine said, Google marketing pitch is not "hey we kill less than 40,000/year so we're better!"

[mu_hilltopper]

Sounds pretty anecdotal. 

Google tells me:  6.7 crashes per million miles driven.  (1 per ~150k miles.)

I find that to be amazingly safe .. especially as you mentioned, half the people out there have below average intelligence.

[rocket surgeon]

I have the app, waze and if you are driving and want to input a destination, it asks you if you are driving or a passenger.  If you are driving, it will not allow you to enter a destination.  So I guess it’s thinking everyone who uses its app is as honest as the day is long, eyn’a?

I use voice search for my destinations anyway cuz it’s hard to eat a double stack Arby’s, swig from a big slurpee, pull the undies out my crack and whip the bird to a passing driver while looking for the next kwik trip to fill’er up

[Tugg Speedman]

I have the app, waze and if you are driving and want to input a destination, it asks you if you are driving or a passenger.  If you are driving, it will not allow you to enter a destination.  So I guess it’s thinking everyone who uses its app is as honest as the day is long, eyn’a?

I use voice search for my destinations anyway cuz it’s hard to eat a double stack Arby’s, swig from a big slurpee, pull the undies out my crack and whip the bird to a passing driver while looking for the next kwik trip to fill’er up

Navigation apps are turning quite neighborhoods into traffic Nightmares
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/nyregion/traffic-apps-gps-neighborhoods.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

Even before the proliferation of navigation apps, Leonia was no stranger to traffic. Ringed by Interstate 95, and in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge, Leonia sits next to some of the most congested roadways in the country.

But Leonia is not alone. FromWith services like Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps suggesting shortcuts for commuters through the narrow, hilly streets of Leonia, N.J., the borough has decided to fight back against congestion that its leaders say has reached crisis proportions.
In mid-January, the borough’s police force will close 60 streets to all drivers aside from residents and people employed in the borough during the morning and afternoon rush periods, effectively taking most of the town out of circulation for the popular traffic apps — and for everyone else, for that matter.

“Without question, the game changer has been the navigation apps,” said Tom Rowe, Leonia’s police chief. “In the morning, if I sign onto my Waze account, I find there are 250,000 ‘Wazers’ in the area. When the primary roads become congested, it directs vehicles into Leonia and pushes them onto secondary and tertiary roads. We have had days when people can’t get out of their driveways.”

[jsglow]

As we drove over the river and through the woods this week ..  during a decent snow-storm highway drive .. I saw a dude with his hazard lights on.   

Eventually, we passed him.  He was looking at his phone during the snowstorm.

Good on him, right?  He's saying to the world, hey, I AM THE HAZARD.  WATCH OUT.

Maybe that's the tech we need.   Your car is connected to your phone anyway .. if the screen is on, your hazard lights go on with it so everyone knows of your idiocy.

Not a bad idea at all.  We've all seen these 'drunk' drivers going down the road far too many times.

[1990Warrior]

Anyone else's auto insurance premiums going up?

[tower912]

Yeah, but my wife totalled her car in August, so not really unexpected.