CCD wrote:In 2014, there were 5.156 million Norwegians and 147 road deaths. In other words, there were 28.5 road fatalities per million Norwegians, or 2.85 road fatalities per 100,000.
In 2013, there were 316.5 million Americans and 32,719 road deaths in 2013. This figures out to 103.4 road fatalities per million Americans, or 10.34 road fatalities per 100,000.
The ratio of US road deaths to Norwegian road deaths last year, then, was 3.6. In other words, you were almost 4 times more likely to die by auto traffic as an American than a Norwegian.
That’s huge.
To put it another way, if our death rate had been as low as Norway’s, even when scaled up to our much larger population, we would only have lost around 9,092 men, women, and children instead of 32,719. Close to 24,000 lives could have been saved.
Anonymous wrote:I live on a residential cut through near a high school and the teenage speeders are the worst. They don't have the maturity or perspective to realize that while zooming through at 45 doesn't feel unsafe to them, there are kids around walking to and from school who are most definitely endangered by their recklessness. I understand why they might not be thinking about that - I probably wouldn't have either as a new driver - but as a parent, it's your job to help your teen understand that This Is A Big Deal and there are reasons speed limits are set as they are and they absolutely will lose driving privileges if they flaunt that.
Anonymous wrote:17yr old DD got a speeding ticket for going 44mph in a 25mph. She knows she has to pay the ticket(has afterschool babysitting job) but she really doesn't care and doesn't think it's a big deal. I asked why she was in such a hurry and she just shrugged and said "it's not like I was doing 80, I just didn't realize I was going fast." Husband thinks we should take away the car but she will be an adult in August and I feel like she needs to manage these kinds of things on her own.
CCD wrote:You’re likely to see 40 (or 45) mph speed limits on the outskirts of towns or on 2-4 lane roadways and expressways through large cities (e.g., Lake Shore Drive in Chicago or State Street or Harrison Avenue in Rockford, IL). They’re pretty common, and the odds are good that you can think of an area close to where you live with 40+ mph speed limits that doesn’t require going on the highway. Yet you can also probably think of a number of times when you’ve seen pedestrians attempting to cross such streets, with or without cross-walks. Here’s what would happen, on average, if 20 people were hit at these speeds.
To put it simply, nearly all of them would die at the scene. The death rate jumps to a near-conclusive 95%. That’s 19 out of 20 people, or pretty much everyone. That’s not the injury rate; it’s the death rate. The 20th person would be injured. That’s a 5% survival rate. There are very few diseases with 95% fatality rates (untreated Rabies is the only one most Americans have any real risk of coming across), but those are your odds of dying if you’re hit by a vehicle at speeds you’re likely to find in every city in the country.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised that wasn't reckless driving charge. I thought 15 miles over in a 25 automatically was. She got lucky.
Me too, I thought 15 over was reckless.
Anonymous wrote:speed kills
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Take away the car.
This is why I don't let my 17 year old drive.
Keep her in a bubble forever. Yeah that works out well. Do you still do her laundry and make her lunch?
Anonymous wrote:17yr old DD got a speeding ticket for going 44mph in a 25mph. She knows she has to pay the ticket(has afterschool babysitting job) but she really doesn't care and doesn't think it's a big deal. I asked why she was in such a hurry and she just shrugged and said "it's not like I was doing 80, I just didn't realize I was going fast." Husband thinks we should take away the car but she will be an adult in August and I feel like she needs to manage these kinds of things on her own.
Anonymous wrote:Take away the car.
This is why I don't let my 17 year old drive.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:"Take the car away" say a whole bunch of people who speed every single day of their lives.
Well, I don't have a car so no I don't speed every day of my life. But I still think this teen shouldn't have one either, at least for a while.
Actually I don't. I got a couple of tickets as a teen/young driver. I'm not saying I don't speed, I'm sure I do. However if I speed I won't be shrugging my shoulders when I get a ticket. The vehicle and all associated costs are paid for out of my pocket.
I should learn to type, too! I don't speed every day. Especially not when I have my teen with me.