Another Solution to Reducing Auto Accidents

Norman Y. Mineta, former Secretary of Transportation, had an op-ed published in today's Washington Post in which he pointed out the sobering fact that more than 3,000 people will die in auto accidents worldwide today.  Today!

In the United States, traffic fatalities have been very steady at between 40,000 and about 43,000 annually for well more than a decade (stats here).  Rates of fatalities (per driver, per mile, etc.) have slowly declined, since there are more drivers driving more miles.

Mr. Mineta focuses primarily on safer cars, safer roads and safer behavior as solutions.  I would like to suggest that reducing driving would likely be far more effective.  Imagine: a 10% reduction in driving would save over 4000 lives per year (and more than 80,000 injuries!).  I don't know what the economic value of those avoided deaths and injuries are, but if that money were able to be invested into more and better transit, smarter development and all the other things that reduce the need to drive, I'm sure it would be a positive return.
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Steve Offutt, Arlington

Comments

[Commuter182]

"Mr. Mineta focuses primarily on safer cars, safer roads and safer behavior as solutions. I would like to suggest that reducing driving would likely be far more effective. Imagine: a 10% reduction in driving would save over 4000 lives per year (and more than 80,000 injuries!)"

A 10% reduction in driving across the board will naturally reduce fatalities, though not necessarily by a corresponding 10%. Though there is correlation between miles driven and deaths, remember, the actual mileage is NOT the cause of deaths. It's just that as your mileage goes up, your chances encountering the actual causes of death increases. However, even this deaths per miles driven ratio is decreasing over the years, as the article pointed out.

What are the actual causes of traffic deaths? Unsafe behavior and to a lesser extent, unsafe roads. Rather than a 10% reduction of miles driven for the general population, most of whom are safe drivers, a 10% reduction of certain PEOPLE, or more specifically, their bad behavior, will probably go much further in reducing deaths.
We need to target those who engage high risk activities, such as DUI'ers, aggressive drivers, street racers, as well as unsafe cyclists, or pedestrians who don't cross the street safely. Speaking of which, take note on the referenced statistics that about 4800 pedestrians and 770 cyclists are killed per year (2006 figures). So does that mean we should reduce our walking or cycling as well to lower the fatality statistics, according to the author's reasoning?