Safety hasn’t moved nearly as easily as developing vehicles that can get customers to places faster as the United States car market moved forward quite a bit. A large number of fatalities in traffic incidents caused Congress to pass a legislation in 1959 requiring vehicles to have seat belts in them. It has shown in the numbers that safety technology in cars is more advanced. The Department of Transportation reported fewer automobile traffic deaths in six decades in 2009 on U.S. streets.
Safety advancements and tougher laws make traffic deaths lessen
Much less commuter traffic deaths are attributed to airbags, body construction, stability control and seat belts although, the Associated Press reports, drinking and driving laws along with distracted/fatigued laws help also. By the numbers, traffic deaths decreased by 9.7 percent in 2009 to 33,808, the lowest number on record since 1950. By comparison, 37,423 deaths related to highway accidents occurred in 2008. That’s 1.13 deaths per million miles driven in 2009, in contrast to 1.26 the previous year. .
Could it be as a result of the economic recession?
History shows us what typically happens during recessions. Generally, freeway fatalities go down. For instance, in the late 1970s/early 1980s when Americans suffered via recession and oil shortages, the numbers were down. The very same thing occurred within the early 1990s. In both cases, the cost of driving more than likely kept more people at home or pushed them toward public transportation. Fewer vehicles on the road will naturally decrease the number of traffic fatalities. The Department of Transportation shows how this isn’t the case. In 2009, there was a .2 percent increase in miles traveled by motorists.
Distracted driving what law is preventing
Talking on cell phones without hands-free technology, texting or doing something other than focusing on the road ahead is always a bad idea. That’s why police force across The United States has paid special attention to such offenses recently. LaHood told the AP that if all states adopt more stringent laws against such activities behind the wheel, U.S. roads could be safer and lives can be saved.
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Additional reading
Star Tribune
startribune.com/business/102500979.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUI”
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt
The PSAs are working
youtube.com/watch?v=OXUjdBnWVMM
