
Collision course: why are cars killing more and more pedestrians? - anarbadalov
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/oct/03/collision-course-pedestrian-deaths-rising-driverless-cars
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flyingfences
Cars aren't killing more pedestrians. Drivers are.

Drivers are distracted. They've got their phones out. The cars themselves have
awful touchscreen controls that takes driver attention off the road. Rear
windows are shrinking more and more each year.

The other answer, I think, is that people have been driving more and more
during the years of note in this article. Since 2010, the economy has been
improving (generally), so cars, gas, etc. have become more affordable to most
people, so people in general are driving more. More miles on the road at the
same rate of collisions per mile means more collisions.

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greenonions
This article directly refutes this claim. The US has 50% more road deaths than
the UK. Are US drivers that much more likely to be distracted by their phones?

The key issue is that our roads are designed to maximize vehicle speed, and
this kills people.

Focusing on the responsibilities of drivers ignores the environment that they
operate in, which is clearly the worst in the developed world.

Americans will demand big roads, big cars and long distances, all at taxpayer
expense, and then try to blame some other group when these things kill people.

Shrink roads, shrink cars, reduce amounts driven, or continue killing ~6000
Americans per year for your personal convenience

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happytoexplain
>The US has 50% more road deaths than the UK. Are US drivers that much more
likely to be distracted by their phones?

It sounds like you're being rhetorical, but that sounds totally reasonable to
me. It seems believable that one country might have some variables that cause
drivers to be more distracted by phones, and when the safety margins of
attention are _so_ small, even a small difference in average distractedness
could equate to 50% more deaths.

~~~
kspacewalk2
It's road design, speed limits and enforcement (or lack thereof on the US).

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tomatotomato37
One of the new safety standards in recent years has been a mandatory space in
between the hood and anything hard like the enine, which is intended to act as
a crumble zone for pedestrians. This has caused auto manufacturers to raise
the hood above the chassis to provide this distance. This makes the beltline
of the car taller, which with the roof unmoved results in a skinnier
greenhouse. A skinnier greenhouse now means there is less driver visibility as
windows aren't as tall.

Another increase in safety standard in recent years has been advances in
rollover protection. Auto manufacturers implement these protections by
reinforcing the columns leading to the cars roofs. These reinforcements add
thickness and mass to these pillars, especially around the C pillar. These
thicker columns take up more room in the greenhouse's corners, which now mean
drivers now have less visibility into the critical blindspots of the car's
rear. The reinforcement also are heavy, which decreases a car's ability to
execute evasive maneuvers due to an increase in inertia.

A third increase in safety culture was the expansion of air bags to more
portions of the interior, which allows protection in additional collision
directions. These new airbags are mounted on the roof and pillars of the car.
The mass of these airbags decrease available space in the greenhouse of the
car, which decreases driver visibility. The mechanisms for these airbags are
also heavy, which decreases a car's ability to execute evasive and braking
maneuvers.

One easy way to combat an undersized greenhouse in a car is to make the entire
car bigger. This can enhance the feeling of safety of its users and improve
aesthetic proportions. A bigger car is also a heavier car, which results in a
decrease in maneuverability, braking, and fuel economy while also causing an
increase in collision energy.

The conclusion of all this in that our pursuit of safety we may have actually
increased the risk of getting into accidents overall

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dsaavy
Pretty good article that mentions a lot of the theories and variables behind
the increase in pedestrian deaths.

As a biker, the culture towards pedestrians and cyclists has seemed to have
been getting dramatically more hostile. I’m in a share the road state where
roads that don’t have dedicated bike lanes means that cyclists have the right
to the entire lane. Even while riding at the speed limit of 25 mph, drivers
yell at me and try to run me off the road by coming inches to my tire. It’s
wild. Not to mention seeing vehicles try to hurriedly take a right turn before
the pedestrians who have a walk signal can take their second step across the
street.

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foxyv
"In the US, much like anywhere that cars have taken hold, drivers screaming at
pedestrians (and cyclists) that they are doing it wrong is a fixture of
national life."

Just walking or riding down the road you get people screaming at you that you
should "Get Off the Road!" At which point you are stuck wondering where the
heck they want you to go! There aren't any bike lanes or sidewalks. So where?
Sometimes they yell at you in the bike lane. It's insanity!

The US has become a slice of Fahrenheit 451 dystopia where it is illegal to
travel without a car. (At least in the minds of 1-2% of drivers)

