Photo: wikipedia
Our cars are getting safer every day, and yet we continue to find ways of turning them into dangerous, death-bringing tools, marring their reputation even though it’s rarely the vehicle’s fault.
With new age come new problems. If cars of a few decades ago didn’t offer the same level of protection, lacking the numerous airbags, crumple zones and smart seat belts our current vehicles have, accidents these days are all about distraction. Driving has become such a drab, that most people feel it’s a waste of time, so they decide to try and do something else at the same time.
We can imagine there were people reading the newspaper during the ‘80s as well, but certainly not as many as those who use their smartphones while at the wheel today. The main accident causes in the US are drunk driving and distractions, while another explanation for the large number of casualties is some people’s reluctance to wearing the seat belt.
The statistics show that during the first three-quarters of 2015, an estimate of 26,000 people lost their lives in accidents on the US roads. That’s a 9.3 percent increase over the same period of the previous year, and the highest value since 2008. It was only the second time in the past decade that the number of accidents increased, the last time happening in 2012 but only by a 5.3 percent margin.
While these numbers don’t cover the whole year, the worrying tendency is expected to be maintained over the course of the 12 months as well, with the release of the official figures following this spring.
As a result, NHTSA is taking upon itself to address the situation, starting with a safety summit held in Sacramento, California, that is to be replicated in other parts of the country as well, culminating with one held right in the capital, in Washington DC.
Speaking on the matter, Dr. Mark Rosekind, NHTSA Administrator said in a statement released today, “We’re seeing red flags across the U.S. and we’re not waiting for the situation to develop further. It’s time to drive behavioral changes in traffic safety and that means taking on new initiatives and addressing persistent issues like drunk driving and failure to wear seat belts.”
Had it been any other cause than human nature, a solution could have been found more easily and addressed more quickly. But since the NHTSA will have to deal with us, it’s probably going to take a while until we have some clear results.
We can imagine there were people reading the newspaper during the ‘80s as well, but certainly not as many as those who use their smartphones while at the wheel today. The main accident causes in the US are drunk driving and distractions, while another explanation for the large number of casualties is some people’s reluctance to wearing the seat belt.
The statistics show that during the first three-quarters of 2015, an estimate of 26,000 people lost their lives in accidents on the US roads. That’s a 9.3 percent increase over the same period of the previous year, and the highest value since 2008. It was only the second time in the past decade that the number of accidents increased, the last time happening in 2012 but only by a 5.3 percent margin.
While these numbers don’t cover the whole year, the worrying tendency is expected to be maintained over the course of the 12 months as well, with the release of the official figures following this spring.
As a result, NHTSA is taking upon itself to address the situation, starting with a safety summit held in Sacramento, California, that is to be replicated in other parts of the country as well, culminating with one held right in the capital, in Washington DC.
Speaking on the matter, Dr. Mark Rosekind, NHTSA Administrator said in a statement released today, “We’re seeing red flags across the U.S. and we’re not waiting for the situation to develop further. It’s time to drive behavioral changes in traffic safety and that means taking on new initiatives and addressing persistent issues like drunk driving and failure to wear seat belts.”
Had it been any other cause than human nature, a solution could have been found more easily and addressed more quickly. But since the NHTSA will have to deal with us, it’s probably going to take a while until we have some clear results.
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