Highway fatalities up 22%

[Laconian]

https://archive.is/gMihW

NTSB says that - surprise - distracted driving is the culprit. They claim that it is underreported in official stats. I'm inclined to believe it. It's insane how many people are glued to their phones with their eyes in their laps EVEN WHEN THE CAR IS MOVING.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Zero surprise here, and nobody but the NHTSA and insurance companies seem to give a shit. (therefore, TUNDRA)

[AutobahnSHO]

I have not seen ANY amount of ticketing going on like pre-Covid. Surprises me actually.

Seems everyone is getting more brazen regarding speeding, running red lights, texting while driving, etc...

[Laconian]

I have not seen ANY amount of ticketing going on like pre-Covid. Surprises me actually.

Seems everyone is getting more brazen regarding speeding, running red lights, texting while driving, etc...

You're seeing that too? I've been seeing a huge increase of all those things too! I just blame Californians and their driving habits but I don't think you're seeing the same CA influx over on your side of the country.

[AutobahnSHO]

You're seeing that too? I've been seeing a huge increase of all those things too! I just blame Californians and their driving habits but I don't think you're seeing the same CA influx over on your side of the country.

It's everywhere I've driven since Covid. I was still working right next to DC every other week during the lockdown, and traffic was marvelously sparse. But as soon as it lifted and more people were back on the road, everyone was raging. Super disregard for speed, courtesy, civility.

I see the same nonsense getting worse and worse now that I rarely see any traffic patrolling. No repercussions = do whatever people want.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

It's everywhere I've driven since Covid. I was still working right next to DC every other week during the lockdown, and traffic was marvelously sparse. But as soon as it lifted and more people were back on the road, everyone was raging. Super disregard for speed, courtesy, civility.

I see the same nonsense getting worse and worse now that I rarely see any traffic patrolling. No repercussions = do whatever people want.

Same here in Cleveland........

[r0tor]

Our fatalities locally are almost completely tied to the increase of tractor trailers thanks to the warehouse boom.  Just a couple weeks ago we had another trucker fall asleep on the interstate, hit an embankment on the right that shot him straight across the road, through a guardrail, and killed 3 people in the opposing lanes.

[shp4man]

The commute here is getting more challenging every day. But on the weekends, the slow dogs and the insane lane changers make it incredibly stressful.
That's why I sold the motorcycle.

[Laconian]

I'm aghast at how much red light running I'm seeing too. Where the hell are the cops? And no, they weren't "defunded" - especially my local suburban PD, which has plenty of resources and manpower. I don't like cops writing tickets for minor BS but the infractions I'm witnessing daily are stupid and lethal. Stop signs and stoplights need compliance from everyone in order to function safely.

I know - let's just switch to roundabouts already.

[Soup DeVille]

Our fatalities locally are almost completely tied to the increase of tractor trailers thanks to the warehouse boom.  Just a couple weeks ago we had another trucker fall asleep on the interstate, hit an embankment on the right that shot him straight across the road, through a guardrail, and killed 3 people in the opposing lanes.

With as draconian as hours of service rules are these days, I find it hard to believe that
truckers are falling asleep at the wheel.

Unless you're talking class B drivers doing deliveries or something. Or maybe the truckers don't have the same quality of coke they used to?

[Eye of the Tiger]

The commute here is getting more challenging every day. But on the weekends, the slow dogs and the insane lane changers make it incredibly stressful.
That's why I sold the motorcycle.

This is also why I sold my motorcycle, and largely why I purchased a mega fat truck. Defensive driving only goes so far when everyone is out to kill you.

[Morris Minor]

There's a 4-way stop about 1½ miles from here that I go through most days. I'd say I have to brake/take avoiding action about 30% of the time because someone is not following procedure. And yes it's become worse over the last two or three years - the influx here is mostly economic refugees from the northeastern states seeking better lives.

[r0tor]

With as draconian as hours of service rules are these days, I find it hard to believe that
truckers are falling asleep at the wheel.

Unless you're talking class B drivers doing deliveries or something. Or maybe the truckers don't have the same quality of coke they used to?

Have you seen the quality of truckers anymore?  Too busy sleeping and watching porn to actually pay attention to the road they are speeding on.

Just about every fatal accident around here involves a truck.  Cars today are incredibly safe and can be tossed into each other pretty violently with occupants walking away ok... But they are no match for a 40 ton truck doing 20mph over the speed limit slamming into them.

[giant_mtb]

Have you seen the quality of truckers anymore?  Too busy sleeping and watching porn to actually pay attention to the road they are speeding on.

Just about every fatal accident around here involves a truck.  Cars today are incredibly safe and can be tossed into each other pretty violently with occupants walking away ok... But they are no match for a 40 ton truck doing 20mph over the speed limit slamming into them.

Ope, just talked to a friend of mine that works for county dispatch.  She said there was a fatal accident between a car and a semi-truck.  I asked who was at fault...surprise, it was the driver of the car that fell asleep and crossed the centerline and crashed into the semi.

20mph over the speed limit?  Civilians in normal vehicles can barely get away with that for long...you think semis are always doing 20mph over?  Tell me you have zero experience in the trucking industry without telling me you have zero experience in the trucking industry.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The vast majority of truckers are severely overworked and underpaid. Consider if, at your job, you have to focus on a single task for 11-hours/day, and innocent people are likey to get injured or die if your attention drifts for five seconds. How much should that job pay?

[Soup DeVille]

Have you seen the quality of truckers anymore?  Too busy sleeping and watching porn to actually pay attention to the road they are speeding on.

Just about every fatal accident around here involves a truck.  Cars today are incredibly safe and can be tossed into each other pretty violently with occupants walking away ok... But they are no match for a 40 ton truck doing 20mph over the speed limit slamming into them.

You have a point about quality.

Trucking is now a shit job that you can't make a career out of, so there are fewer experienced drivers on the road.
Still, the assumption that in a car/truck accident that the trucker is at fault is probably less likely to be accurate than the other way around.

[FoMoJo]

Dump truck drivers are the worst imo.  I don't know if they get paid by the load or if they have a quota, but they drive like maniacs; up around here anyways.

[Laconian]

They don't cover their loads either.

[AutobahnSHO]

The vast majority of truckers are severely overworked and underpaid. Consider if, at your job, you have to focus on a single task for 11-hours/day, and innocent people are likey to get injured or die if your attention drifts for five seconds. How much should that job pay?

Definitely, but any job that is "easy" to learn won't pay a ton.

[Laconian]

And so innocent bystanders are dying as a result of profit maximization. We have ways of dealing with this kind of problem.

[r0tor]

Ope, just talked to a friend of mine that works for county dispatch.  She said there was a fatal accident between a car and a semi-truck.  I asked who was at fault...surprise, it was the driver of the car that fell asleep and crossed the centerline and crashed into the semi.

20mph over the speed limit?  Civilians in normal vehicles can barely get away with that for long...you think semis are always doing 20mph over?  Tell me you have zero experience in the trucking industry without telling me you have zero experience in the trucking industry.

I drive on some of the most heavily truck dominated roads in the country on a daily basis.  The trucks are routinely doing 75mph in a 55mph zone... Until they hit a mountain and then do 35mph

[r0tor]

But saying the above, the driver is only part of the equation.  Mistakes are made by both cars and trucks, but consequences are greatly magnified by trucks.  Looking at some basic numbers a loaded truck will take ~20 more car lengths to stop for an incident at just 60mph, can not swerve at speeds around an incident, and will deliver a punch 50x harder when it eventually hits something than an average car.

The more trucks you put on the road the more bad mistakes get magnified.

... and for the record I'm leaving work today on a 2 lane road with a suicide lane separating the two lanes, going down the road doing the 50 mph speed limit, and a tractor trailer pulls out of a bar right in front of me to make a left turn forcing me to slam on the brakes and then proceeded through the suicide lane and cause the car traveling opposite of me to also slam on the brakes.  It was like he had a green light at the non existent intersection.  WTF.