From: BillK (bill@wkidston.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Wed Feb 12 2003 - 13:39:17 MST
Mon Feb 10, 2003 10:22 am Mike Lorrey wrote:
> Actually, since the US road death toll has been DROPPING as a
> percentage for a number of years,
The figures we have been discussing are the total numbers of traffic
deaths, which have been generally reducing in the OECD countries over
the last ten years. But *not* in the USA.
The USA road deaths figures for 1991-2001 are:
1991 41,462
1992 39,236
1993 40,150
1994 40,716
1995 41,817
1996 42,065
1997 42,013
1998 41,501
1999 41,717
2000 41,821 = 15.2 per 100000 population
2001 42,116
2002 not available yet
from http://www.oecd.org
There is a bit of fluctuation here, but the trend looks slightly
upwards, or level, to me. Almost every other OECD country has succeeded
in substantially reducing road deaths over the same period. If the USA
had achieved the same reductions as Canada, Australia or UK, then there
would have been about 15,000 fewer deaths in year 2000 in USA.
You can play around with percentages of cars / population, miles driven,
journeys made, etc. if you like, but the USA is virtually the only OECD
country not currently reducing the death toll on its roads.
Mike wrote:
> The paramount contributor to traffic deaths in the US is the
> prevalence of youth drivers with insufficient training, and elderly
> drivers who hold onto drivers licenses long after they are no longer
> physically able to be responsible drivers. Other countries are much
> more strict about these two groups, which cause some 80% of all
> accidents.
This is correct about young drivers, but a bit unfair to the old folk.
See: http://www.hwysafety.org/
'People 65 years and older represented 16 percent of the driving age
population in 2001 and were involved in 16 percent of fatal motor
vehicle crashes. This is largely due to their increased susceptibility
to injury, particularly chest injuries and medical complications, rather
than an increased tendency to get into crashes. Fragility begins to
increase at ages 60-64. At age 75, older drivers do begin to be markedly
overinvolved in crashes, but fragility is the predominant factor
explaining the elevated deaths per mile among older drivers.'
(As an aside, if Mike also wants to get rid of public transport
services, he isn't leaving much for the old folk).
FATALITY FACTS as of November 2002
http://www.hwysafety.org/safety_facts/fatality_facts/general.htm
This annual report gives a fascinating analysis of US traffic deaths,
cross-analysed under many different headings. This site provides many
reports on highway safety, even analysing by type of car.
A few highlights:
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among Americans
1-34 years old. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the
total societal cost of crashes exceeds $200 billion annually.
Contributing to the death toll are alcohol, speed, lack of belt use and
other problematic driver behaviors.
Deaths in pickups and utility vehicles have more than doubled since
1975.
Highest death rates in midsize sports cars: The vehicles with the
highest death rates are all sports cars -- the Chevrolet Camaro, Camaro
convertible, and Pontiac Firebird. These three models have very high
death rates in single-vehicle crashes, and this has been true model year
after model year (see Status Report, Oct. 9, 1996). The single-vehicle
death rates, including high rollover rates despite low centers of
gravity, reflect both the performance capabilities of the sports cars
and the risk-taking characteristics of many of their drivers.
BillK
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