“We face a crisis here in America,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Yahoo News last month, pointing out that the number of people who died on the roads each year (42,795 in 2022) is comparable to the number killed by guns (48,830 in 2021).
Hrm… here’s the list I can come up with off the top of my head:
- too high of speeds.
- Continuous development of stroads, which are demonstrably the most dangerous kind of car infrastructure.
- Leaving in place the “light truck” emissions loophole that is driving ever larger vehicles, especially with the current wave of incredibly tall front ends on trucks, SUVs, and luxury cars - which are shown to be more deadly because of the impact point on pedestrians and on more normal sized cars in collisions.
- Raising speed limits in residential and storefront areas to appease idiots who think that’s a good way to drive around.
- Increased emotional and financial pressures leading to more road rage style driving.
- Continued use of 4-way orthogonal intersections, which are demonstrably more deadly than roundabouts
- Widening of suburban roads to accommodate overly large vehicles, leading to faster speeds and more dangerous interactions.
Shit, it’s a very long list of failures in how the US builds roads. It’s a litany of “cars should go vroom vroom at all costs to everyone around me and bigger is better for my angry ass” that just keeps killing us.
I don’t know what’s more messed up:
Over 40,000 people dead because of automobiles; nearly 50,000 people dead because of guns; or the fact that no government seems to care enough about either to make the much-needed changes to stop either from happening.
Because Americans are fucking morons (I’m an American so hey) when it comes to driving and gun ownership.
