Tag Archives: traffic deaths

Breaking news: a self-driving car “nearly crashes”

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On the day this computer-driven car “nearly crashed”, how many cars driven by human beings actually crashed? How many human beings were killed or horribly injured? How many of these people killed or horribly injured were children? I am not asking the media to suppress news of the imperfection of computer-controlled vehicles, just to provide some context. And I think the context will show that even today’s imperfect technology is able to drastically reduce human lives lost and suffering compared to the status quo. And the technology will continue to improve.

causes of death during the Covid-19 crisis

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CDC has a data table on excess deaths during the March-August 2020 period. Obviously, people died of Covid-19 itself, but they also died of other things indirectly caused by Covid-19.

  • 257,000 excess deaths compared to long-term average (I’m rounding numbers to the nearest thousand and nearest percent or so, although when I do math I will round after I do the math)
  • 174,000 due to Covid-19 disease itself – this is around 70% of the total, so 30% of the excess deaths were indirect (and/or random bad luck)
  • Drug overdoses were 13% higher than normal, but suicides were 6% lower than normal. These two things usually go together so there is a bit of a mystery here.
  • Homicides were 6% higher than normal. They don’t break down how much is domestic violence related versus street violence. I would imagine bar fights were down significantly.
  • “Unintentional injuries” were higher than normal. I imagine this is things like falls and drowning, but not motor vehicle crashes because those are separate. Maybe people hurt themselves doing things around the house. Unfortunately, we tend to take more risks doing similar activities around the house than if we were doing them at work.
  • Motor vehicle crashes were down slightly, but the drop was not statistically significant. Given the very significant drop in traffic last year, this suggests to me that deaths per mile traveled were high. I know pedestrian and bike deaths were disproportionately high last year. I would attribute a lot this to people driving faster and more recklessly on (perceived to be) empty streets and highways. This is unfortunate, but mostly human nature and needs to be solved by better street design. Solutions exist, we just need to reach out and grab them my fellow Americans!

So I think these data support the idea that street designs and a health care system that are at least average compared to modern developed countries would have saved U.S. lives during the pandemic, and would continue to save lives in the future. So can we have nice things or not?

decrease in U.S. child deaths

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This blog crunched the monthly numbers on death from all causes in the U.S. (something the CDC still manages to do well) and came up with an unexpected result: the number of children (under 18) who died each week since mid-March is down 15-20% compared to the long-term average. The conclusion? Children have not been in and around cars, and CARS KILL CHILDREN. “15-20%” seems a bit abstract, but it means 85 U.S. children per week DID NOT DIE, who otherwise would have been killed by cars. Cars are a worldwide serial killer of children – why do we put up with it? Our children need to be able to walk or bike to school, and we all need safe walking and biking infrastructure that is completely separated and protected from cars. Now!

The blogger is a self-described climate change skeptic by they way, and I don’t full endorse all of his views, and there are many nuances to the data that he made choices how to deal with. So have a look and make up your own mind, but I actually find it convincing.

6,000 U.S. pedestrian deaths per year and getting worse

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If you ever wondered how many pedestrian deaths there are per year in the United States, 6,000 is the depressing statistic, and it does not seem to be getting better.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) projects nearly 6,000 pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. in 2017, marking the second year in a row at numbers not seen in 25 years…

“Two consecutive years of 6,000 pedestrian deaths is a red flag for all of us in the traffic safety community. These high levels are no longer a blip but unfortunately a sustained trend,” GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins explains. “We can’t afford to let this be the new normal.”

States reported a total of 2,636 pedestrian fatalities for the first six months of 2017. Adjusting the raw data based on past data trends, GHSA projects that pedestrian deaths in 2017 will total 5,984, essentially unchanged from 2016, in which 5,987 people on foot lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes. Pedestrians now account for approximately 16% of all motor vehicle deaths, compared with 11% just a few years ago.

The worst state for pedestrians, at close to double the national average death rate? Arizona.

They go on to speculate, without providing evidence, that cell phones and legalized marijuana might explain these trends. Interesting, although there are some studies suggesting that marijuana legalization has not impacted traffic deaths, and at least some that contrary to all expectations it has decreased them. I’m not saying drive stoned. I’m just saying the governors may be making a claim not only without providing evidence to back it up, but contrary to evidence that already exists and is very easy to look up. If I were going to speculate on causes of the increased death rate without doing any research, I would go with increased driving spurred by the economic upturn and relatively low gas prices, coupled with the continuation of low-density car-dependent urban design, ignorance of and consequent failure to adopt safer street design practices that have been known and applied elsewhere in the world for decades.