In Part One of this weblog publish collection, I attempted to make the case that dashing, driving, and parked automobiles might be the explanation your own home may burn down or emergency responders may come too late to avoid wasting your life. On this half, I wish to comply with up with a couple of numbers and take a look at options.
Why are Rushing Automobiles so Unhealthy for Emergency Response Occasions?
“U Drive. U Textual content. U Pay.” [Old 2023 NHTSA campaign slogan]
“Put the Telephone Away or Pay.” [New 2024 NHTSA campaign slogan]
Ninety p.c of all automobile collisions are attributable to human error … some would argue it’s much more. Nearly all of those crashes come from a mix of dashing, drunk and distracted driving. The Nationwide Freeway Transportation Security Administration (NHTSA) will need to have thought this was the fault for having an outdated slogan. Nevertheless, the World Well being Group (WHO) made clear that ‘Schooling’ with out ‘Enforcement’ doesn’t work with the grownup inhabitants. So, irrespective of how nice, any slogan is simply an costly waste of time. These slogans are as ineffective as “Share The Highway” indicators – who needs to share something with drivers like this – and I’m speaking concerning the man behind the digicam.
With out more durable velocity limits and enforcement, no new slogan will result in change. Solely higher engineering can. Anyhow, just some numbers to heat us up:
- Autos drove over 2.2 billion miles. [NHTSA 2022]
- There are an estimated 12.15 million autos concerned in crashes yearly. [Statista]
- Police-reported visitors crashes common round 6 million per 12 months. [NHTSA 2022]
- There are an estimated 2.38 million accidents on US roadways. [NHTSA 2022]
- Automobile crashes induced over 42,000 fatalities. [NHTSA 2022]
- US has 283,400,986 registered autos [Consumer Affairs – 2022]
- Over 31 million registered automobiles in California.
- However ca. 4.7 million uninsured drivers
- 278,870,463 personal and business autos – 4,530,523 publicly owned [2022]
- In 2022, the U.S. auto trade offered 2.86 million automobiles
- 243.3 million licensed drivers [2023]
- The U.S. has 0.89 autos per capita, second solely to New Zealand’s 0.9. [2023]
- 91.7% of U.S. households had no less than one car. [2023]
- over 21% personal three or extra autos. [2023]
- 45% of U.S. auto gross sales are Crossover SUVs – Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav-4, and the Nissan Rogue.
The typical response time is often decided by a system much like (Consumption Time + Queue Time + Journey Time). That’s the time it takes in your 911 name to attend in line, get to an individual, clarify the scenario, decide which first responders to ship, and at last arrive. And every collision statistic might hurt your probability of getting assist in time. Let’s say your own home has caught fireplace concurrently when emergency responders are en path to a multi-car crash on Woodside Highway or El Camino Actual. Or the one you love has a coronary heart assault whereas a dashing Hummer BEV crashes right into a gas truck downtown. The strains can be occupied, the operators all busy, all fireplace vans some other place, and no ambulance accessible in good time.
Insurance coverage Price – SB-1107
All these crashes might be devastating for all these individuals concerned. All these crashes might be devastating for all individuals needing assist on the similar time. However all these numbers are additionally attacking each automotive proprietor’s purse. The typical new automotive in California now prices over $50,000, the typical used automotive round $30,000, and the yearly price of driving exceeds $12,000 (supply: AAA). This implies all these crashes have gotten increasingly costly as nicely. That’s the place the Shield California Drivers Act or SB-1107 (2021) is coming in. Since 1967, it’s the primary time California has adjusted minimal auto legal responsibility limits. The brand new minimums at the moment are $60,000 per incidence of bodily damage and $15,000 for property harm. Since these numbers nonetheless sound low, lawmakers will unlikely wait one other 55 years for changes like this.
“Automobile restore prices, medical care, and litigation bills have all surged. Add inflation and ongoing provide chain challenges to the combo, and the monetary panorama for accident claims has drastically shifted. Auto insurance coverage claims and bills spiked to greater than $1.12 for each $1 in premium in 2022.” [Insurance Journal]
Regardless of the pleasant title of the ‘Shield California Drivers Act,’ the invoice approved fee will increase of 30% and extra by numerous insurance coverage corporations. Others are threatening to depart sure states with lots of hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and so on., and that gained’t be good for pricing.
The typical yearly insurance coverage price is now transferring in the direction of $2,600 for full protection, which in lots of areas could be larger than house owner insurance coverage.
Swedish vs US Imaginative and prescient Zero
There are an estimated 2.38 million accidents on US roadways. That could be a appreciable price consider well being care, restore or substitute prices, resulting in larger insurance coverage premiums. Autos in California are nonetheless getting greater, heavier, sooner and subsequently extra damaging. The Swedish model of Imaginative and prescient Zero is nice for everybody – the US model of Imaginative and prescient Zero is all about preserving the established order.
The US Imaginative and prescient Zero Community formally favors susceptible highway customers. Nonetheless, it then permits “Sharing the Highway” for individuals on bicycles or “Hawk Alerts” for pedestrians, all whereas taking cash from the automobility trade (GM, Uber, Zoox, Waymo, Cruise, Lyft, Fehr & Friends). And in case you are an everyday reader, you may already know that “Sharing the Road” and “Hawk Signal” tasks don’t work. Whoever is suggesting these must be thought-about extremely suspect. You may additionally have heard from me how Nonprofits just like the Imaginative and prescient Zero Community are used for Astroturfing efforts.
The Swedish model, nonetheless, is not only about essentially the most susceptible highway customers. It’s actually about lowering all collisions. That’s extremely helpful to all of society because it helps to maintain down extreme speeds, reckless driving, costly collisions, accidents and fatalities, the price of driving, the price of insurance coverage, the price of the well being care system and, in fact, the price of first responders.
Nice emergency response instances should be a objective for all our cities and counties. We don’t need to repeat in San Mateo County what we’ve seen in Sonoma, Napa, Paradise or Pacific Palisades.
The variety of accidents and fatalities isn’t coming down with no philosophical and academic change in management. The U.S. Division of Transportation (is that also round?) developed a nationwide model of “Imaginative and prescient Zero” referred to as the Nationwide Roadway Security Technique (NRSS) and distributed it to native jurisdictions.
“Think about a world the place nobody dies on our roadways. In 2023, 40990 individuals misplaced their lives on roadways throughout the nation. That variety of individuals might fill the typical skilled baseball stadium.” [U.S. DOT]
The Nationwide Group has performed its half to develop a primary framework and the advertising marketing campaign that comes with it. But it surely’s the job of regional and native jurisdictions to show that into motion – and with each single challenge. Caltrans, MTC, SMCTA, C/CAG, [your city], all must incentivize lowering velocity, narrowing lanes, separating modes, changing automobile miles traveled by means of mode-switch, creating safer intersections. Up to now, we’re seeing hardly any progress.
Extra Info
Editor’s Word: The views and opinions expressed in all weblog posts are these of the authors and don’t essentially replicate these of the Redwood Metropolis Pulse or its employees.
