Automobile Industry

The Absurd Primacy Of The Automobile In American Life.

The Absurd Primacy Of The Automobile In American Life.

"The numbers are so huge they are not easily grasped, and so are perhaps best understood by a simple comparison: If U.S. roads were a war zone, they would be the most dangerous battlefield the American military has ever encountered. Seriously: Annual U.S. highway fatalities outnumber the yearly war dead during each Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, the War of 1812, and the American Revolution. When all of the injuries from car wrecks are also taken into account, one year of American driving is more dangerous than all those wars put together. The car is the star."

More Driving Means More Dying.

More Driving Means More Dying.

Cheaper gas prices have lead to increased driving which has lead to more gore on the roads. It turns out the relationship between miles driven and fatal crashes isn't just proportional, it's actually logarithmic.

In other words, 1 mile extra driven doesn't equal 1 more fatal accident or a ratio like that, it's more like 1 mile extra equals 1.4 extra deaths.

The reasons probably are complicated, but increased congestion and drivers spending more time on the road, leading to increased distracted and drowsy driving, at leading to increased fatalities. Congestion means your more likely to hit another car in your path then free-flowing, empty roads.

Long hours on the roads mean more drivers are distracted. 2/3rds of all distracted driver collisions (per NTSHA) are caused by day dreaming and paying attention to the scenery (or the guy in the clown suit at the big box retailer) rather then the road ahead.