Highway Deaths Hit Lowest Level Since 1954

[cjforumadmin]

http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Highway-Deaths-Hit-Lowest-Level-Since-1954.html

[moparmaniac07]

Re: Highway Deaths Hit Lowest Level Since 1954

I like that quote too. Much better than "we will mandate tons of unnecessary features on every vehicle sold so people don't have to actually know how to drive anymore"

[Super Sport]

Re: Highway Deaths Hit Lowest Level Since 1954

Your read on this is spot on. There are definitely fewer people on the road. My wife works at an oil refinery; demand is down by any objective measure.

The only thing missing is the White House taking credit for the decline. Oh well, week isn't over yet...

[Swepty]

Re: Highway Deaths Hit Lowest Level Since 1954

Pssst Brian.... I think that's deaths per 100 "million" miles traveled. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody.

[Barry Donovan]

Re: Highway Deaths Hit Lowest Level Since 1954

my locales take is definately the economy gone. A downtown street out my window, and it does get quiet...worrisome.

it is an interesting outcome....
rusty ricers, bent pickups and other atrocities finally giving up. In some countries socialism is used to acheive this. america just simply waits until suiciding.

[mopar57]

Re: Highway Deaths Hit Lowest Level Since 1954

Could some of the reductions of deaths be the result of performance? Better tires, brakes, etc? I am not speaking of the government mandated efforts to save us from ourselves, but over the years racing/performance vehicles have brought better technology to the forefront. Even some roads are better today I think.

[Super Sport]

Re: Highway Deaths Hit Lowest Level Since 1954

Could some of the reductions of deaths be the result of performance? Better tires, brakes, etc? I am not speaking of the government mandated efforts to save us from ourselves, but over the years racing/performance vehicles have brought better technology to the forefront. Even some roads are better today I think.

Credit where it's due and all that, I am sure that Highway safety, from a technological standpoint at least, is better than it's ever been. The point of this story is that it does not take a rocket scientist or a statistician to see that in an economic recession cycle, there is less overall driving being done, in commerce, commuting, travel and otherwise.

I'm not making this up, there are barometers to judge this by. My wife's refinery processes about 100,000 barrels of light sweet crude per day. It is located in Southern California, which might be the busiest region for automotive travel in the world. They have traditionally had no problem selling every drop of what they process, mostly as gasoline, but also as diesel, and Jet A. Since things have slowed in the economy, they have seen a noticeable downturn in total demand. And they are not alone.

The story Brian linked to was actually pretty matter of fact and even handed. They cited hard facts, stated goals, and did not try to create a political angle to it.

But yeah, there are less total miles being driven, so it was a foregone conclusion that this result was going to be achieved.