How’s your county/state on speeding?

There’s a  new report by CoPilot looking at the states and counties with the worst speeding problem in the U.S. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and NHTSA, analysts at CoPilot ranked locations according to the percentage of total traffic fatalities that involve speeding.

Included with the report are some interesting graphics, including a table with data on more than 500 counties and all 50 states: https://www.copilotsearch.com/posts/states-and-counties-with-worst-speeding-problem/

“While NHTSA data shows that both the share of traffic fatalities related to speeding and the speeding-related fatality rate have been declining in recent years, these rates vary at the state level. Nationwide, the average annual speeding-related fatality rate for the five year period from 2014-2018 was 2.97 per 100,000 people. However, at the state level, there is a statistically significant relationship between speeding-related fatalities per capita and the maximum posted speed limit in the state. States with higher posted speed limits often experience more speed-related fatalities.

Please look out for bikers

“Drivers overtaking bike riders are the biggest cause of death among cyclists, says a study released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. Bike safety is a growing problem that appears to be getting more worrisome, and, the board reported, “current available data likely underestimate the level of bicycling activity in the United States.” In 2017, 806 cyclists died in crashes with motor vehicles, which it found “was comparable to the deaths resulting from railroad or marine accidents and more than twice the number of deaths resulting from aviation accidents in the same year.” Last year, the death toll jumped to 857, its highest since 1990. The NTSB report, its most comprehensive look at bicycle safety in 47 years, comes as both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are pushing hard to provide more funding for what they see as a growing problem."

Call me crazy, but I don't expect Congress to solve this--they are much too busy trying to undo the election of 2016. However, why not lessen the hype on bicycles being a healthy lifestyle exercise and answer to fossil fuel global warming? Let's crack down on drivers using their cell phones--we lived nicely for years without talking on phones while driving. You might just save some bikers from death or injury.

I've looked at the report, https://www.ntsb.gov/…/Documen…/2019-DCA18SS002-abstract.pdf and unfortunately, it only includes the number of deaths, not the increase in bicyclists sharing the roads (if there is such a figure which would give the real story). Doesn't include the age of the bikers--is this like the huge increase in number of falls among the elderly--the boomers are taking more chances? Is there really any evidence that ripping up streets to create narrowing spaces for cars with bike lanes is actually decreasing accidents, or does it just encourage more bikers who eventually merge on to more dangerous roadways which have no protected lanes? That's what I think about when I see numbers, without rates, without percentage.

If accidents go up 2x, but the number of bikers has also gone up by 4x, then that needs to be included in the report before suggesting legislation and expensive regulations. Also, if it took 30 years to get to the 1990 number, then what has changed? Cell phones and age of riders trying to be "woke" is still my guess.

Traffic fatalities up

I wonder if it is marijuana? More people texting? Both?

“The nation lost 35,092 people in traffic crashes in 2015, ending a 5-decade trend of declining fatalities with a 7.2% increase in deaths from 2014. The final data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed traffic deaths rising across nearly every segment of the population. The last single-year increase of this magnitude was in 1966, when fatalities rose 8.1% from the previous year."

 https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812318

Drunk driving accidents down

In Ohio in 2007 there were 1,255 traffic fatalities, 389 (31%) were alcohol related. We made headway in 2008--that dropped to 1,190, 356 fatalities, or 30%. A change in one year of 8.5%. Of course, if it was your wife, daughter, son, or dad killed or injured by a drunk driver feeling invincible, that figure runs about 100% doesn't it? Even worse and more dangerous than drunk driving, is allowing teen-agers to drive before age 18. Even riding with a teen makes life more dangerous for the passengers, whether or not he's driving!

Per mile travelled, you're safer in urban areas than rural. In fact, the worst stats are for those states with the wide open spaces--except Utah, bless their tea totalling, Mormon livers.

"State impaired-driving laws have been enacted in all 50 States and the District of Columbia that make it illegal for a driver or a motorcycle rider with a BAC of .08 or above to drive a vehicle. In 2008, the alcohol-impaired-driving fatality rate declined from 0.43 fatalities per 100 million VMT in 2007 to 0.40 in 2008. In 2008, Montana had the highest alcohol-impaired fatality rate in the Nation – 0.84 fatalities per 100 million VMT while Vermont had the low-est rate in the Nation – 0.16 per 100 million VMT. In 2007, Montana had the highest alcohol-impaired fatality rates in the Nation – 0.93 – and Utah had the lowest alcohol-impaired driving fatality rate – 0.21 fatalities per 100 million VMT. Traffic safety facts"

And the man who probably saved more Americans from death by car crash was Robert McNamara of Kennedy/Vietnam fame and "inventor" of the seat belt. He was both safety and fuel conscious when not many others were.

"Soon after taking over at the Ford Division in 1955, McNamara had gone way out on a limb by adding several safety devices to the 1956 model and then making them the focal point of the marketing campaign. By today’s standards it was a modest effort. The 1956 Ford’s five-part Lifeguard System included two standard features, a deep-dish steering wheel that gave way in a crash and safety latches that kept doors from springing open on impact. Three options also were offered: front seat belts anchored to a steel plate; a padded instrument panel and padded sun visors; and rearview mirrors with backing that reduced glass fallout when shattered. Also, the front and back seat supports were redesigned to reduce the possibility of their coming loose in a crash." American Heritage

I used a seat belt for the first time in the mid-50s when I worked for a feed company and the owner had a sporty Ford.