Bowser promised “zero traffic deaths” 10 years ago, but fatalities have doubled

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sending a cop to prison because a drug dealer doesn't know how to drive, taught cops not to enforce traffic laws. It's absurd to think otherwise.

DC cops can’t even pursue a reckless driver going 80 mph in a school zone. And, unlike alcohol-related DWI, MPD have no means to test and cite a driver for operating under the influence of marijuana even if the vehicle reeks of it. And then one wonders why deaths are up.

high speed chases are actually really dangerous. I’m not sure that’s the ultimate issue although I am definitely in favor of better enforcement.

[Anonymous]

People are not being killed at an alarming rate. The numbers have been very steady over time. If anything most of the counter measures have made things worse by increasing congestion on high congestion roads. It's always been a stalking horse and I for one am glad to now have more names attached to these morons whose ideas are so bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are not being killed at an alarming rate. The numbers have been very steady over time. If anything most of the counter measures have made things worse by increasing congestion on high congestion roads. It's always been a stalking horse and I for one am glad to now have more names attached to these morons whose ideas are so bad.

If your goal is fewer pedestrian deaths that increasing congestion does not "make things worse" because congestion is not a cause of pedestrian deaths. Congestion slows down drivers and speed is the #1 cause of pedestrians being hit by cars (even a car going the speed limit can kill a pedestrian if they go through a traffic signal or stop sign or turn without signaling or yielding right of way).

Congesting may make other things worse but it does not lead to pedestrian deaths which is the subject of this thread.

Also I will probably regret this but what rate of pedestrian deaths would you consider "alarming." I am guessing you think there is a number of deaths that is okay which is interesting because what you are saying is that there is a human death toll that is "worth" having shorter commutes or being able to drive faster. That's interesting to me. What if every time we built a highway or highway bridge 30-40 people died during construction. Would that be alarming. Or would that just be the cost of making sure people can get from Point A to Point B -- some people are gonna have to die.

[Anonymous]

The mayor really doesn't care. Do you?

Seriously though, she is a failure and should never have been given a third term. Someone, anyone viable needs to step up. How do we have such a crappy bench in this city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are not being killed at an alarming rate. The numbers have been very steady over time. If anything most of the counter measures have made things worse by increasing congestion on high congestion roads. It's always been a stalking horse and I for one am glad to now have more names attached to these morons whose ideas are so bad.

52 people dying on DC streets last year is fairly alarming to me. That’s 52 people whose lives were needlessly ended.

It’s nice that you know the names of a few people you think of as morons. Can you please share your name so that we can know your identity also?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are not being killed at an alarming rate. The numbers have been very steady over time. If anything most of the counter measures have made things worse by increasing congestion on high congestion roads. It's always been a stalking horse and I for one am glad to now have more names attached to these morons whose ideas are so bad.

If your goal is fewer pedestrian deaths that increasing congestion does not "make things worse" because congestion is not a cause of pedestrian deaths. Congestion slows down drivers and speed is the #1 cause of pedestrians being hit by cars (even a car going the speed limit can kill a pedestrian if they go through a traffic signal or stop sign or turn without signaling or yielding right of way).

Congesting may make other things worse but it does not lead to pedestrian deaths which is the subject of this thread.

Also I will probably regret this but what rate of pedestrian deaths would you consider "alarming." I am guessing you think there is a number of deaths that is okay which is interesting because what you are saying is that there is a human death toll that is "worth" having shorter commutes or being able to drive faster. That's interesting to me. What if every time we built a highway or highway bridge 30-40 people died during construction. Would that be alarming. Or would that just be the cost of making sure people can get from Point A to Point B -- some people are gonna have to die.

If dozens of people were being killed on WMATA trains and buses every year, the system would be shut down. But dozens of people die on DC streets and we are supposed to shrug and moving along while changing absolutely nothing. I fundamentally do not understand this attitude. It’s as if those who are killed in vehicular crashes are some kind of less worthy species whose demise we shouldn’t be much concerned about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There were 35 traffic fatalities in 2022. Here's what happened per the DC government:

12 deaths -- pedestrian error
9 deaths -- speeding driver
4 deaths -- drunk/stoned driver
4 deaths -- driver error
2 deaths -- bicycle error
2 deaths -- medical emergency
1 death -- scooter/motorcycle/atv error
1 death -- hit and run/unknown

A majority of traffic deaths in Washington D.C. are chalked up to pedestrians/drivers/cyclicts/scooters making mistakes. Maybe we should go back to calling these accidents (not "crashes")

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are not being killed at an alarming rate. The numbers have been very steady over time. If anything most of the counter measures have made things worse by increasing congestion on high congestion roads. It's always been a stalking horse and I for one am glad to now have more names attached to these morons whose ideas are so bad.

If your goal is fewer pedestrian deaths that increasing congestion does not "make things worse" because congestion is not a cause of pedestrian deaths. Congestion slows down drivers and speed is the #1 cause of pedestrians being hit by cars (even a car going the speed limit can kill a pedestrian if they go through a traffic signal or stop sign or turn without signaling or yielding right of way).

Congesting may make other things worse but it does not lead to pedestrian deaths which is the subject of this thread.

Also I will probably regret this but what rate of pedestrian deaths would you consider "alarming." I am guessing you think there is a number of deaths that is okay which is interesting because what you are saying is that there is a human death toll that is "worth" having shorter commutes or being able to drive faster. That's interesting to me. What if every time we built a highway or highway bridge 30-40 people died during construction. Would that be alarming. Or would that just be the cost of making sure people can get from Point A to Point B -- some people are gonna have to die.

If dozens of people were being killed on WMATA trains and buses every year, the system would be shut down. But dozens of people die on DC streets and we are supposed to shrug and moving along while changing absolutely nothing. I fundamentally do not understand this attitude. It’s as if those who are killed in vehicular crashes are some kind of less worthy species whose demise we shouldn’t be much concerned about.

Get a grip. Are you worried about being murdered? Because you're far, far more likely to be murdered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Critics say that’s because city leaders have refused to meaningfully limit traffic on the major arterial roads, where people drive like they are on highways but are on urban streets dense with pedestrians and cyclists.

There's an insidious form of NIMBYism in DC whereby residents of neighborhood streets will advocate strongly against the installation of traffic calming measures on arterial roads. The "Save Connecticut Avenue" nonsense was just the latest and most obnoxious example of this. Residents of neighborhood streets, of course, want as much traffic to go quickly as possible on arterial roads as they drive these roads and want nothing less than for traffic to spill over to their streets. That people are being killed at an alarming rate on arterial roads due to their obstructionism doesn't seem to faze them much.

Please provide the alarming statistics for Connecticut Ave.

[Anonymous]

Ironically there is not much daylight on the Venn Diagram of the Vision Zero crowd and the DC crime sentencing “reform” crowd. It’s like you can carjack a car and face no punishment but if you run a red light in a car they want you to do hard time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ironically there is not much daylight on the Venn Diagram of the Vision Zero crowd and the DC crime sentencing “reform” crowd. It’s like you can carjack a car and face no punishment but if you run a red light in a car they want you to do hard time.

I'd love to know what data you are using to populate your Venn Diagram. Are you running polls of real DC residents or do you just make up fictitious characters in your head to impart your ridiculous prejudices and keep you company?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are not being killed at an alarming rate. The numbers have been very steady over time. If anything most of the counter measures have made things worse by increasing congestion on high congestion roads. It's always been a stalking horse and I for one am glad to now have more names attached to these morons whose ideas are so bad.

If your goal is fewer pedestrian deaths that increasing congestion does not "make things worse" because congestion is not a cause of pedestrian deaths. Congestion slows down drivers and speed is the #1 cause of pedestrians being hit by cars (even a car going the speed limit can kill a pedestrian if they go through a traffic signal or stop sign or turn without signaling or yielding right of way).

Congesting may make other things worse but it does not lead to pedestrian deaths which is the subject of this thread.

Also I will probably regret this but what rate of pedestrian deaths would you consider "alarming." I am guessing you think there is a number of deaths that is okay which is interesting because what you are saying is that there is a human death toll that is "worth" having shorter commutes or being able to drive faster. That's interesting to me. What if every time we built a highway or highway bridge 30-40 people died during construction. Would that be alarming. Or would that just be the cost of making sure people can get from Point A to Point B -- some people are gonna have to die.

If dozens of people were being killed on WMATA trains and buses every year, the system would be shut down. But dozens of people die on DC streets and we are supposed to shrug and moving along while changing absolutely nothing. I fundamentally do not understand this attitude. It’s as if those who are killed in vehicular crashes are some kind of less worthy species whose demise we shouldn’t be much concerned about.

Get a grip. Are you worried about being murdered? Because you're far, far more likely to be murdered.

Nope. I'm far more likely to be hit by a vehicle. As is everyone in my neighborhood.

And your argument is just stupid. DC residents can expect the city to take action to both reduce murders and road deaths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ironically there is not much daylight on the Venn Diagram of the Vision Zero crowd and the DC crime sentencing “reform” crowd. It’s like you can carjack a car and face no punishment but if you run a red light in a car they want you to do hard time.

I'd love to know what data you are using to populate your Venn Diagram. Are you running polls of real DC residents or do you just make up fictitious characters in your head to impart your ridiculous prejudices and keep you company?

It’s not hard to correlate. Just follow most of the ANC Commissioners on Twitter. It’s largely the same crowd.

[Anonymous]

The way to make the city safest is to get rid of the cars. Expand metro all over the place (we need a loop train) and toll cars as they enter the city at $20 a pop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are not being killed at an alarming rate. The numbers have been very steady over time. If anything most of the counter measures have made things worse by increasing congestion on high congestion roads. It's always been a stalking horse and I for one am glad to now have more names attached to these morons whose ideas are so bad.

If your goal is fewer pedestrian deaths that increasing congestion does not "make things worse" because congestion is not a cause of pedestrian deaths. Congestion slows down drivers and speed is the #1 cause of pedestrians being hit by cars (even a car going the speed limit can kill a pedestrian if they go through a traffic signal or stop sign or turn without signaling or yielding right of way).

Congesting may make other things worse but it does not lead to pedestrian deaths which is the subject of this thread.

Also I will probably regret this but what rate of pedestrian deaths would you consider "alarming." I am guessing you think there is a number of deaths that is okay which is interesting because what you are saying is that there is a human death toll that is "worth" having shorter commutes or being able to drive faster. That's interesting to me. What if every time we built a highway or highway bridge 30-40 people died during construction. Would that be alarming. Or would that just be the cost of making sure people can get from Point A to Point B -- some people are gonna have to die.

If dozens of people were being killed on WMATA trains and buses every year, the system would be shut down. But dozens of people die on DC streets and we are supposed to shrug and moving along while changing absolutely nothing. I fundamentally do not understand this attitude. It’s as if those who are killed in vehicular crashes are some kind of less worthy species whose demise we shouldn’t be much concerned about.

Get a grip. Are you worried about being murdered? Because you're far, far more likely to be murdered.

Actually the fact that society seems to collectively shrug at the traffic deaths and freak out loudly about murders is pretty weird. FWIW they seem to be related since the historical low in traffic deaths was the same year as historical low in murders. Plenty of ppl concerned with both.