There are no speed limits on German motorways yet the death and accident rate is not higher that in their neighbours’ countries. Go figure.
Comment on There you go little guy
Maggoty@lemmy.world 1 month agoThat’s an issue yes, but objectively America needs to slow down. Accidents above 70 have a sharply increased chance of death. Nobody needs to be doing more than 65. Electric cars also use a lot more energy and tire material to go above 65 and gas cars are using more gas to do it. This generally happens because in order to maintain those speeds they’re constantly accelerating and braking around other cars.
I’m sorry driving isn’t fun, it was never meant to be once we obliterated mass transit in the US. It’s meant to get you to the destination, preferably safely.
FelixCress@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Maggoty@lemmy.world 1 month ago
The statistic here isn’t accidents. It’s fatalities in accidents at X speed. Germans aren’t driving cars that are any safer than the rest of Europe. If they get into an accident at 70mph or higher then their chance of death is also sharply increased.
The big difference between German roads and American ones is Germans can generally opt out by taking a train. Americans cannot.
FelixCress@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Are you a little bit slow?
Maggoty@lemmy.world 1 month ago
So it doesn’t matter that the accidents that do happen are more deadly? As long as there are less over all?
Why can’t we have less accidents and less death?
SuperSpruce@lemmy.zip 1 month ago
You’ve never been in a fun car on a fun twisty back road. This is what driving should be, as we should not be dependent on driving to get everywhere.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Oh I have. I used to ride motorcycles and there’s no better way to feel out those roads, I’ve been off-road too.
But the reality is it is the main form of transportation and it is not optional for most Americans. Which means we have a duty to make it as safe as possible. Yeah that also means boring. We’ve largely let capitalism and personal preference rule the day and motor vehicle accidents are the largest non-disease cause of death because of it.
And before anyone gets all up in arms about the every day person knowing a ton of regulations, this should all be taken care of on the manufacturer and seller side of things. The size requirements for commercial licenses should come right down to invalidating future purchases of giant pickup trucks, you know the ones, so big they can’t park properly and an M1A2 tank has better visibility. Speed governors should prevent going over 80mph. Headlights should have a max capacity and a thermal camera should be standard to make night driving clear as day.
But the biggest thing by far is we need to make a project of mass transit such that driving becomes a profession and a hobby, not the main means of transportation. If we can get commuters and road trippers off the road then motor vehicle accident deaths will fall dramatically.