Traffic Deaths Up Slightly, Truth Among The Victims
16,290 people were killed in road accidents from January through June, says the NHTSA. For the first time since 2006, deaths are up. The NHTSA does not know why fatalities are up, but the usual suspects have already been rounded up.
Said Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, to Reuters:
“Clearly there’s room for improvement in distracted driving – we would like all 50 states to pass texting bans. We’d practically eliminate alcohol impaired driving if we could get all offenders to use an ignition interlock.”
In the meantime, even the NHTSA warns that one should not jump to conclusions:
“It should be noted that the historic downward trend in traffic fatalities in the past several years —a pattern which has continued through the early estimates for 2011 released recently that show deaths at a 60-year low — means any comparison will be to an unprecedented low baseline figure. In fact, fatalities during the first half of the year have declined by about 27 percent from the recent high in 2006 to the low during the first half of 2011 (from 20,500 fatalities in 2006 to a projected 14,950 fatalities in 2011 during the first six months of the year).”
Apparently, Ms. Harsha did not read that part. Instead she says that “We may just be going back to the way it was before.”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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So it hasn't been tried and you were fibbing. Thanks for being honest.
Darwinism. Which I'd agree to, if it didn't seem like 50% of Houston's fatalities were caused by the other driver.
Let's just make it legal to discharge a firearm at the vehicle of anyone who's texting. That'd clear things up pretty quick.
When I buy a car I pay close attention to the safety features. Not because I want to be able snooze, eat, drink, chat to my friends or text while I drive, but because I like to believe I have a well developed sense of self preservation and I know that there are people out there who do not. I choose not to text and drive. Legislation banning texting while driving would have zero affect for me and might lead to less stressful drives for everyone. The ignition lock, though, is just insidious and draconian. About the same as forcing cell phone makers to comply with disabling phones while driving... Just make it against the law and let the normal law enforcement processes take place.