Not any more. The adjusted death rate in NV, So. Dakota, Montana and Wyoming for 2016 ( the year after they raised their speed limits) are all greater than California, and in the case of Montana and Wyoming, are double the rate in California. This adjustment includes deaths per 100,000 people and deaths per miles driven.
NY, DC and Hawaii have the lowest death rates.
I suspect what is happening in states with 80 mph speed limits is that they probably did decrease the # of accidents, but increased the fatality rate per accident.
The most lethal states in 2016? Mississippi and So. Carolina by a fair margin.
All this really shows is that safer cars can't compensate for all the other complexities that go into automotive fatalities.
That's why I always tell people that there is no such thing as a "safe car"--some are just less dangerous than others.
I also blame poor visibility. Way to often someone starts drifting into my lane and then jerking the car back. Current car design basically has done away with decent rearward visibility.
Not any more. The adjusted death rate in NV, So. Dakota, Montana and Wyoming for 2016 ( the year after they raised their speed limits) are all greater than California, and in the case of Montana and Wyoming, are double the rate in California. This adjustment includes deaths per 100,000 people and deaths per miles driven.
NY, DC and Hawaii have the lowest death rates.
I suspect what is happening in states with 80 mph speed limits is that they probably did decrease the # of accidents, but increased the fatality rate per accident.
The most lethal states in 2016? Mississippi and So. Carolina by a fair margin.
All this really shows is that safer cars can't compensate for all the other complexities that go into automotive fatalities.
That's why I always tell people that there is no such thing as a "safe car"--some are just less dangerous than others.
More targeted research is needed because the "zones" with increased speeds are very limited in most States with higher speed limits. Don't blame my 75, 80, and 85 MPH highways for deaths on the 55, 65 and 70 MPH sections of roadway!!!!
I think we all agree the higher speed zones with new higher limits are still a minority of the mileage being logged in those States.
'15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Driver's tests have to be harder. It's interesting that in some countries that have reciprocity agreements to turn your international driver's license into the national driver's license of that country, often exclude the United States from the list. Gee, I wonder why? (example--Japan will not accept a U.S. license as a gateway to a Japanese license, but they will take all European countries + UK, Taiwan and.....even Canada!
Are Canadians really better drivers than Americans or do the Japanese just think so?
I also blame poor visibility. Way to often someone starts drifting into my lane and then jerking the car back. Current car design basically has done away with decent rearward visibility.
Car design has nothing to do with it. I used to drive hi cube vans in college with only side mirrors. The problem is people don’t know how to drive to start with and they’re more distracted.
Got my stop/start working again. It seems it got turned off when I brought it in for service. There is a setting 'Auto Engine Off''. The manual didn't say what it really did, but I toggled it and now the engine is shutting off at complete stops again. You can also selectively temporarily disable the stop/start using a button on the center console.
The new 2019 Toyota Avalon. What is up with the styling teams at Toyota and Honda? Strange stuff imho. I guess the idea is that it doesn't look like anything else you've seen before on the road. Ultimately I guess it's just more of the planned obsolescence pioneered by GM starting in the late 1920s and 1930s:
That may be because when you drive something like a truck you know you can't see out the back window. When you are driving in a car the habit formed over the years is to look out over your shoulder and through your rear window. btw, I have had the same thing happen with delivery van type vehicles. So I agree about mirrors, but think it helps when you can use your rear window and have less obstructed C or D pillars.
Got my stop/start working again. It seems it got turned off when I brought it in for service. There is a setting 'Auto Engine Off''. The manual didn't say what it really did, but I toggled it and now the engine is shutting off at complete stops again. You can also selectively temporarily disable the stop/start using a button on the center console.
That’s not what auto engine off is supposed to do. That turns off the engine after it idles for a certain amount of time.
If it does work that way it’s not documented anywhere, and people everywhere have been trying to find such an off switch for the auto-stop/start on many new Fords.
@akirby, I thought it was tied to remote start. All I know is after I changed that setting, the stop/start functioned as I am accustomed to. Could be coincidence.
I've started seeing the new 2018 Accord on the road, and I'm slowly warming up to the unusual styling. Yesterdays I saw an LX close up in a parking lot, and if I hadn't already known it was a c. $23k car I would have guessed low 30s. The LED front turn signals, which I saw in operation for the first time, look good.
The model I might eventually be interested in is the 2018 Accord Hybrid. Honda is usually quite careful in how they do their trims. In other words, each trim seems to represent good value, and is very carefully calibrated that way.
But Honda seems to have thrown that strategy out the window a little bit for the base/LX model of the 2018 Accord Hybrid. Let me try to explain....The upper trims of the 2018 Accord Hybrid are based very closely off of the same 1.5 turbo versions of the car. And so if you get an EX Hybrid, the features are almost exactly the same as the EX 1.5 turbo version of the car, but the hybrid costs $1530 more. So, for EX, EXL and Touring Hybrids that $1530 basically represents the cost of the hybrid powertrain over the 1.5 turbo.
With the base hybrid Accord, however, which is is also $1530 more than the standard LX Accord, Honda also throws in for "free" the following features that are not found on the standard LX Accord....
Remote start 60/40 split folding rear seats Smart entry and walk away lock Upgraded alloys with upgraded Michelin tires Push button transmission with "Sport" mode and paddle shifters
To me personally those features alone seem worth about $1500. For instance, since I park on the street (my wife gets our one-car garage) I love remote start during the winter for defrosting the car. And since I'm used to smart entry, at this point I'd rather not have a car without it. The pushbutton transmission reminds me of the pushbutton transmission on my wife's 1961 Dodge Lancer from when I first met her in 1990. Looks cool and futuristic to me, even if some might make fun of it. And I like the idea of driving with my special sealed cup of coffee without potentially bumping into the shift knob when I take a sip at a stop light. The split folding seats are also a nice touch, although realistically I only use the split folding seats once a year at most. Upgraded wheels and tires almost always works for me. Although paddle shifters on a hybrid seems silly, in fact the Hybrid is almost certain to be faster to 60 than a 1.5 turbo Accord. And no turbo lag!
Anyway, the base model hybrid is a strangely good deal, and I assume it means that Honda wants to sell a lot of them. And probably it cuts down on manufacturing costs a little by just making all the Accord hybrids the same in terms of these features.
But, ultimately, I don't think this model would work for us, because it lacks two features that I really would like—AndroidAuto and Blind Spot Monitoring. To get those you have to go up the EX Hybrid, which costs $3900 more than the base hybrid.
Anyway, here's a video tour of the 2018 Accord Hybrid LX/base. Notice that the LED headlights are tinted blue for just the hybrid models. You can see that about 14 seconds in on this video in the closeup.
Not the increase in speed limits practically nationwide?
That's reduced collisions and fatalities in every State to do so.
I don't recall that's true in Ohio. However, there are folks who will manipulate the statistics used to give the appearance of fewer deaths and injuries. A few months back there was a report that injuries and deaths have increased.
It’s been proven time and again that changing speed limits don’t change how fast people drive. People drive at what they believe to be a safe speed regardless. People don’t go faster when you raise the limit - they’re just less likely to get a ticket.
When I drive from Chicago to Michigan the speed limit changes from 65 to 70. I set the cruise to 5 above posted when traffic permits so when I hit the Michigan border my speed does increase with speed limit increase. That’s just one example but I’m sure I’m hardly alone.
I also blame poor visibility. Way to often someone starts drifting into my lane and then jerking the car back. Current car design basically has done away with decent rearward visibility.
Car design has nothing to do with it. I used to drive hi cube vans in college with only side mirrors. The problem is people don’t know how to drive to start with and they’re more distracted.
Exactly!!!
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport 2020 C43 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
My i3 got a slight tap on the rear bumper so I'm in a renal- an Altima. The ultimate vanilla car. Not terrible(well, the voice recognition/Bluetooth implementation is pretty bad). It's simply light centuries away form my cup of automotive tea.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport 2020 C43 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
When I drive from Chicago to Michigan the speed limit changes from 65 to 70. I set the cruise to 5 above posted when traffic permits so when I hit the Michigan border my speed does increase with speed limit increase. That’s just one example but I’m sure I’m hardly alone.
+1
'14 Buick Encore Convenience '17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Not the increase in speed limits practically nationwide?
That's reduced collisions and fatalities in every State to do so.
I don't recall that's true in Ohio. However, there are folks who will manipulate the statistics used to give the appearance of fewer deaths and injuries. A few months back there was a report that injuries and deaths have increased.
Speed kills.
Speed kills is an absolute myth, proven wrong time and time again, with no alternative evidence to speak of.
Actually, the only manipulation seems to be in the direction of fear-mongering, sensationalism, and headlines. If anything, the manipulators love making it appear as though there are more deaths and injuries!
Collision and fatality rates have been going down almost every single year in the last 30 years. One or two years of an aberration does not change the overall trend.
"The number of fatal and injury crashes increased 22 percent over those two years, translating into five more fatal crashes and 421 more injury crashes.
"On all other Ohio roads during the same period, the number of crashes decreased by 1 percent and fatal crashes dropped by 3 percent."
Not the increase in speed limits practically nationwide?
That's reduced collisions and fatalities in every State to do so.
I don't recall that's true in Ohio. However, there are folks who will manipulate the statistics used to give the appearance of fewer deaths and injuries. A few months back there was a report that injuries and deaths have increased.
Speed kills.
Apparently 55 kills too; best analysis of the failed 55 MPH speed limit federally mandated in recent history:
My i3 got a slight tap on the rear bumper so I'm in a renal- an Altima. The ultimate vanilla car. Not terrible(well, the voice recognition/Bluetooth implementation is pretty bad). It's simply light centuries away form my cup of automotive tea.
If it is painted black, our fellow poster @jmonroe will insist you are driving a chick magnet - "chick" in his case being a lady who is collecting her Social Security.
I’m talking about the majority of drivers, not every single person. Here in Atlanta most people drive 70-75 on the interstates regardless of whether the speed limit is 55 or 65.
Speed only causes an accident if you’re exceeding the speed limit by at least 100%. Below that the vehicle isn’t going to fly off the road. Most accidents are caused by drivers being distracted or following too closely. Speed can make it worse but rarely is an accident caused by speeding.
"The number of fatal and injury crashes increased 22 percent over those two years, translating into five more fatal crashes and 421 more injury crashes.
"On all other Ohio roads during the same period, the number of crashes decreased by 1 percent and fatal crashes dropped by 3 percent."
You do realize your own link finds the cause of the increase in crashes to be, and I quote:
"Crashes attributable to unsafe lane changes increased 66 percent on 70-mph interstates and highways."
Unsafe lane changes are the cause of your accidents in Ohio, not speed. You can make an unsafe lane change at any speed, whether it be 5 MPH, 55 MPH, or 155 MPH. I would say most unsafe lane changes are due to incompetence, obliviousness, distraction, non-situationally aware, and failure to look and use ones own eyeballs.
'15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
So you went to the NHTSA usual drivel backed by Insurance monies no doubt (not to mention a loony anti-car author):
Where to start, so much to pick apart in that poorly crafted propaganda piece.... I think I'll just quote the first comment on the site:
The first commenter on your article sums it up the best:
Ugh, I should have noticed the author’s name and stopped reading. Another nonsense Alissa Walker article.
So this time she claims that traffic deaths are increasing and the increase is due to speeding. Then the only data shown is from a study that shows speeding is cited in a declining share of accidents (from 31-32% down to 28-29%). But of course the uptick in the most recent two years …
Again, distracted driving is a much more likely explanation, Alissa continues to refuse to acknowledge this in her articles. It’s also true that miles driven is increasing again, which is going to lead to more accidents, some of which have injuries and deaths.
Look, there are valid points in the NTSB study a) vehicles travelling faster are going to have more risk of death or injury in a crash, that’s just basic physics. b) speed limits are pretty nonsensical (which is why so many drive above the speed limit)
Police officers will always list speed as a factor if the car was going above the speed limit. So now we have 28% of accidents where someone is driving above the speed limit, with no information about other contributing factors, which the NTSB says are frequent. Yet seems to me > 50% of people are travelling faster than the speed limit , so we’ve proven nothing.
Similarly Alissa tries to establish a false equivalency to drunk driving. Drunk driving kills as many as speeding, but really what is the ratio of people driving drunk to people speeding? Drunk driving is far, far more dangerous than speeding.
Jumping to zero-tolerance enforcement of arbitrarily set speed limits is stupid and just Alissa’s typical anti-driving rhetoric.
'15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Drunk drivers tend to speed. Drunk drivers that speed tend to crash. Drunk drivers that crash tend to kill or be killed. All valid points.
However, why, you should ask, is the NHTSA so quick to pad the "speed kills" stats with drunks that speed? Do we lack the common sense to know that it is the drunkenness that is the cause of death in such situations, not the speeding?
Why must we continue to lump unrelated causal factors to perpetuate the myth?
'15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
It's clear their main goal is automated enforcement which is obviously about $$$$$.
Their first finding:
Speed increases the likelihood of serious and fatal crash involvement, although the exact relationship is complex due to many factors
Now that's laughable. It is so complex because the data and numbers don't support their assertions, assumptions, and conclusions. In this context, complex = non-existent.
The MO seems to be when the studies don't support your political positions, either fudge the numbers or call it "complex."
My favorite line of all:
The relationship between speed and crash involvement is complex, and it is affected by factors such as road type, driver age, alcohol impairment, and roadway characteristics like curvature, grade, width, and adjacent land use. In contrast, the relationship between speed and injury severity is consistent and direct.
So if your 90 years old, blind, drunk, and speeding on a narrow 1-lane road with kids running around, okay maybe just then speed kills.
'15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
If you raised the speed limit to 125, I bet you could prove that speed kills.
I seem to recall a poll taken of experienced race drivers, and they asked them something like this: "At what speed, on a public road, would you stop daydreaming, having a smoke or driving with one hand and seriously start to focus on the road?"
If you raised the speed limit to 125, I bet you could prove that speed kills.
I seem to recall a poll taken of experienced race drivers, and they asked them something like this: "At what speed, on a public road, would you stop daydreaming, having a smoke or driving with one hand and seriously start to focus on the road?"
I agree with you.. My 77 Grand prix with the long hood was a tank. I bounced off cars, tree's ,poles, etc at low speeds back in the day. If I had crashed at 90 / 100 mph I probably would not be here today. Todays car is made out of tissue paper..... a high speed crash in todays times are more likely to result in death than years ago.
Let's be honest about it all. Much too often it is really about the ticket m-o-n-e-y.
Excellent point . Same applies with Religion keeps people in check . If people did not fear the heaven & hell scenario... God only knows what folks may do?
You do realize your own link finds the cause of the increase in crashes to be, and I quote:
"Crashes attributable to unsafe lane changes increased 66 percent on 70-mph interstates and highways."
Unsafe lane changes are the cause of your accidents in Ohio, not speed. You can make an unsafe lane change at any speed, whether it be 5 MPH, 55 MPH, or 155 MPH. I would say most unsafe lane changes are due to incompetence, obliviousness, distraction, non-situationally aware, and failure to look and use ones own eyeballs.
I'll assume you're taking that position on ignoring the speeder component just to make an argument. The greater the frictional speed difference in the traffic, the more lane changes occur. Those lane changes are due to the speed difference.
When the speed limits were 65, e.g., the the higher end of the Bell curve might average 70 mph. But when the speed limits went to 70, the higher end moved to 82 or so. The difference between those and the trucks and the drivers in the right two lanes of a 3-lane freeway just became greater from 82/63 vs 70/63.
The left lane dominator egos among the speeders in the left lane feel the one lane should be kept open, almost unused, except for their high speed pleasure. They tailgate. They flash their headlights at anyone daring to use "their" reserved lane even if going 80. The "other," "little people" drivers, in the mind of the left lane dominator should stay out of their way using only the right two lanes--requiring more lane changes for those drivers to move around slower traffic such as trucks in the right two lanes.
I watched this process of attitude of the left laners on my recent drive to Pigeon Forge. There are two kinds of left laners, the dominators and the users. The dominators never move out of their left lane, even if there is a middle lane open. Yet they are the ones to yell that some highways or some states have a slower traffic keep right rule suggested.
The users are folks who want to get somewhere and speed, but they move safely over making those lane changes they expect all the "little people" to make in their use of the right two lanes out of a 3 lane road, and boogie on ahead. Often they outpace the dominator who's busy trying to play ego war with someone daring to go under 90 in the left lane.
The best use of the highways built by tax money paid by most citizens is for all lanes to be used. Traffic flows best--not just for the 1%ers who feel the left lane swamp is theirs alone for use.
The lane changes caused by the excessive speeds of a few are the causes of the increased accidents.
I can’t decide if anti-speeders have some agenda or if they’re simply incapable of logical thinking. And I’m talking about 5-10 over the limit not 20. That’s reckless driving.
One reason I see for speed limits to be set too low in GA is that only the state patrol can write tickets for less than 10 mph over the limit. So if they set the limit appropriately to let’s say 55 the locals can’t write tickets until 65. If you make it 45 then the local can write tickets at 56. I’d much rather see a 55 mph limit with a 5 mph grace.
I think some math or statistical genius could probably figure out the optimal speed limit--the point at which advantages start to fall off.
My prediction would be that if speeds got too high, we'd see more single-car accidents, the result of some drivers not being able to handle the dynamics of high-speed maneuvers.
You might see more accidents because people don’t know how to drive and keep a safe following distance at higher speeds. But that’s just bad driving.
On interstates the only high speed maneuver necessary would be to avoid something that falls into the road. Even stopped traffic wouldn’t be an issue with proper driving.
"Abandon Car! Ford Dropping All Passenger-Car Models Except Mustang The crossovers have officially won. APRIL 25, 2018 AT 7:45 PM BY CLIFFORD ATIYEH In an unprecedented move that may reshape the entire auto industry, Ford will stop building all sedans and hatchbacks and shift production to crossovers and trucks. It is, by far, the company’s most dramatic production change in its 115-year history since Henry Ford adopted the assembly line.
In its first-quarter statement on Wednesday, the company said it will sell only two car models for the U.S. market within the “next few years” and that it will “not invest in next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America.”
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2014 MINI Countryman S ALL4
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
NY, DC and Hawaii have the lowest death rates.
I suspect what is happening in states with 80 mph speed limits is that they probably did decrease the # of accidents, but increased the fatality rate per accident.
The most lethal states in 2016? Mississippi and So. Carolina by a fair margin.
All this really shows is that safer cars can't compensate for all the other complexities that go into automotive fatalities.
That's why I always tell people that there is no such thing as a "safe car"--some are just less dangerous than others.
I think we all agree the higher speed zones with new higher limits are still a minority of the mileage being logged in those States.
Are Canadians really better drivers than Americans or do the Japanese just think so?
It seems it got turned off when I brought it in for service.
There is a setting 'Auto Engine Off''.
The manual didn't say what it really did, but I toggled it and now the engine is shutting off at complete stops again.
You can also selectively temporarily disable the stop/start using a button on the center console.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence
If it does work that way it’s not documented anywhere, and people everywhere have been trying to find such an off switch for the auto-stop/start on many new Fords.
I thought it was tied to remote start.
All I know is after I changed that setting, the stop/start functioned as I am accustomed to.
Could be coincidence.
The model I might eventually be interested in is the 2018 Accord Hybrid. Honda is usually quite careful in how they do their trims. In other words, each trim seems to represent good value, and is very carefully calibrated that way.
But Honda seems to have thrown that strategy out the window a little bit for the base/LX model of the 2018 Accord Hybrid. Let me try to explain....The upper trims of the 2018 Accord Hybrid are based very closely off of the same 1.5 turbo versions of the car. And so if you get an EX Hybrid, the features are almost exactly the same as the EX 1.5 turbo version of the car, but the hybrid costs $1530 more. So, for EX, EXL and Touring Hybrids that $1530 basically represents the cost of the hybrid powertrain over the 1.5 turbo.
With the base hybrid Accord, however, which is is also $1530 more than the standard LX Accord, Honda also throws in for "free" the following features that are not found on the standard LX Accord....
Remote start
60/40 split folding rear seats
Smart entry and walk away lock
Upgraded alloys with upgraded Michelin tires
Push button transmission with "Sport" mode and paddle shifters
To me personally those features alone seem worth about $1500. For instance, since I park on the street (my wife gets our one-car garage) I love remote start during the winter for defrosting the car. And since I'm used to smart entry, at this point I'd rather not have a car without it. The pushbutton transmission reminds me of the pushbutton transmission on my wife's 1961 Dodge Lancer from when I first met her in 1990. Looks cool and futuristic to me, even if some might make fun of it. And I like the idea of driving with my special sealed cup of coffee without potentially bumping into the shift knob when I take a sip at a stop light. The split folding seats are also a nice touch, although realistically I only use the split folding seats once a year at most. Upgraded wheels and tires almost always works for me. Although paddle shifters on a hybrid seems silly, in fact the Hybrid is almost certain to be faster to 60 than a 1.5 turbo Accord. And no turbo lag!
Anyway, the base model hybrid is a strangely good deal, and I assume it means that Honda wants to sell a lot of them. And probably it cuts down on manufacturing costs a little by just making all the Accord hybrids the same in terms of these features.
But, ultimately, I don't think this model would work for us, because it lacks two features that I really would like—AndroidAuto and Blind Spot Monitoring. To get those you have to go up the EX Hybrid, which costs $3900 more than the base hybrid.
Anyway, here's a video tour of the 2018 Accord Hybrid LX/base. Notice that the LED headlights are tinted blue for just the hybrid models. You can see that about 14 seconds in on this video in the closeup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB31QklS2zQ
Speed kills.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport 2020 C43 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport 2020 C43 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Actually, the only manipulation seems to be in the direction of fear-mongering, sensationalism, and headlines. If anything, the manipulators love making it appear as though there are more deaths and injuries!
Collision and fatality rates have been going down almost every single year in the last 30 years. One or two years of an aberration does not change the overall trend.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_curve
https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-low/
"On all other Ohio roads during the same period, the number of crashes decreased by 1 percent and fatal crashes dropped by 3 percent."
http://www.dispatch.com/news/20171116/state-patrol-ohio-crashes-up-24-percent-since-70-mph-speed-limit
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
https://www.motorists.org/wp-content/themes/nma/pk/lib/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=https://www.motorists.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/55-mph-study.pdf
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
"Crashes attributable to unsafe lane changes increased 66 percent on 70-mph interstates and highways."
Unsafe lane changes are the cause of your accidents in Ohio, not speed. You can make an unsafe lane change at any speed, whether it be 5 MPH, 55 MPH, or 155 MPH. I would say most unsafe lane changes are due to incompetence, obliviousness, distraction, non-situationally aware, and failure to look and use ones own eyeballs.
23 Telluride SX-P X-Line, 23 Camry XSE
Where to start, so much to pick apart in that poorly crafted propaganda piece.... I think I'll just quote the first comment on the site:
The first commenter on your article sums it up the best:
Ugh, I should have noticed the author’s name and stopped reading. Another nonsense Alissa Walker article.
So this time she claims that traffic deaths are increasing and the increase is due to speeding. Then the only data shown is from a study that shows speeding is cited in a declining share of accidents (from 31-32% down to 28-29%). But of course the uptick in the most recent two years …
Again, distracted driving is a much more likely explanation, Alissa continues to refuse to acknowledge this in her articles. It’s also true that miles driven is increasing again, which is going to lead to more accidents, some of which have injuries and deaths.
Look, there are valid points in the NTSB study
a) vehicles travelling faster are going to have more risk of death or injury in a crash, that’s just basic physics.
b) speed limits are pretty nonsensical (which is why so many drive above the speed limit)
Police officers will always list speed as a factor if the car was going above the speed limit. So now we have 28% of accidents where someone is driving above the speed limit, with no information about other contributing factors, which the NTSB says are frequent. Yet seems to me > 50% of people are travelling faster than the speed limit , so we’ve proven nothing.
Similarly Alissa tries to establish a false equivalency to drunk driving. Drunk driving kills as many as speeding, but really what is the ratio of people driving drunk to people speeding? Drunk driving is far, far more dangerous than speeding.
Jumping to zero-tolerance enforcement of arbitrarily set speed limits is stupid and just Alissa’s typical anti-driving rhetoric.
However, why, you should ask, is the NHTSA so quick to pad the "speed kills" stats with drunks that speed? Do we lack the common sense to know that it is the drunkenness that is the cause of death in such situations, not the speeding?
Why must we continue to lump unrelated causal factors to perpetuate the myth?
23 Telluride SX-P X-Line, 23 Camry XSE
https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Documents/2017-DCA15SS002-BMG-Abstract.pdf
It's clear their main goal is automated enforcement which is obviously about $$$$$.
Their first finding:
Speed increases the likelihood of serious and fatal crash involvement, although the exact
relationship is complex due to many factors
Now that's laughable. It is so complex because the data and numbers don't support their assertions, assumptions, and conclusions. In this context, complex = non-existent.
The MO seems to be when the studies don't support your political positions, either fudge the numbers or call it "complex."
My favorite line of all:
The relationship between speed and crash involvement is complex, and it is affected by
factors such as road type, driver age, alcohol impairment, and roadway characteristics like
curvature, grade, width, and adjacent land use. In contrast, the relationship between speed and
injury severity is consistent and direct.
So if your 90 years old, blind, drunk, and speeding on a narrow 1-lane road with kids running around, okay maybe just then speed kills.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport 2020 C43 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I seem to recall a poll taken of experienced race drivers, and they asked them something like this: "At what speed, on a public road, would you stop daydreaming, having a smoke or driving with one hand and seriously start to focus on the road?"
The averaged-out answer was, I believe, 93 mph.
I agree with you.. My 77 Grand prix with the long hood was a tank. I bounced off cars, tree's ,poles, etc at low speeds back in the day. If I had crashed at 90 / 100 mph I probably would not be here today. Todays car is made out of tissue paper..... a high speed crash in todays times are more likely to result in death than years ago.
When the speed limits were 65, e.g., the the higher end of the Bell curve might average 70 mph. But when the speed limits went to 70, the higher end moved to 82 or so. The difference between those and the trucks and the drivers in the right two lanes of a 3-lane freeway just became greater from 82/63 vs 70/63.
The left lane dominator egos among the speeders in the left lane feel the one lane should be kept open, almost unused, except for their high speed pleasure. They tailgate. They flash their headlights at anyone daring to use "their" reserved lane even if going 80. The "other," "little people" drivers, in the mind of the left lane dominator should stay out of their way using only the right two lanes--requiring more lane changes for those drivers to move around slower traffic such as trucks in the right two lanes.
I watched this process of attitude of the left laners on my recent drive to Pigeon Forge. There are two kinds of left laners, the dominators and the users. The dominators never move out of their left lane, even if there is a middle lane open. Yet they are the ones to yell that some highways or some states have a slower traffic keep right rule suggested.
The users are folks who want to get somewhere and speed, but they move safely over making those lane changes they expect all the "little people" to make in their use of the right two lanes out of a 3 lane road, and boogie on ahead. Often they outpace the dominator who's busy trying to play ego war with someone daring to go under 90 in the left lane.
The best use of the highways built by tax money paid by most citizens is for all lanes to be used. Traffic flows best--not just for the 1%ers who feel the left lane swamp is theirs alone for use.
The lane changes caused by the excessive speeds of a few are the causes of the increased accidents.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
One reason I see for speed limits to be set too low in GA is that only the state patrol can write tickets for less than 10 mph over the limit. So if they set the limit appropriately to let’s say 55 the locals can’t write tickets until 65. If you make it 45 then the local can write tickets at 56. I’d much rather see a 55 mph limit with a 5 mph grace.
My prediction would be that if speeds got too high, we'd see more single-car accidents, the result of some drivers not being able to handle the dynamics of high-speed maneuvers.
On interstates the only high speed maneuver necessary would be to avoid something that falls into the road. Even stopped traffic wouldn’t be an issue with proper driving.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2018/04/ford-crossover-company-report-says-ford-swap-cars-cuvs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfEcvBfUY4
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/abandon-car-ford-dropping-all-passenger-car-models-except-mustang
"Abandon Car! Ford Dropping All Passenger-Car Models Except Mustang
The crossovers have officially won.
APRIL 25, 2018 AT 7:45 PM BY CLIFFORD ATIYEH
In an unprecedented move that may reshape the entire auto industry, Ford will stop building all sedans and hatchbacks and shift production to crossovers and trucks. It is, by far, the company’s most dramatic production change in its 115-year history since Henry Ford adopted the assembly line.
In its first-quarter statement on Wednesday, the company said it will sell only two car models for the U.S. market within the “next few years” and that it will “not invest in next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America.”
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.