Most Car Crashes Caused by....
Discussion
Poor Drivers.
www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=2767863
Link found on Totalfark
www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=2767863
Link found on Totalfark
article said:
(LOUISVILLE, January 5th, 2005) -- Three people were killed in traffic accidents in Louisville this week -- all in the span of 24 hours. And police say even with all the ice, snow and rain, most accidents are the driver's fault. WAVE 3 Investigator James Zambroski has some tips for protecting yourself when you're on the road.
It's something most of us take for granted: get in the car and go. But experts say we all ought to slow down and think about what we're doing before we step on the gas, because for people under 30, the number one cause of death is traffic accidents.
Louisville Metro Police Lt. Kelly Jones is assigned to LMPD's traffic unit. "When that pager goes off in the middle of the night, there's a sense of dread," he says.
There were 954 traffic deaths in Kentucky last year; 73 of those were in Louisville, and there have been three fatalities already this year.
And the experts say don't blame the highways. "I don't think there's any design defects in the roadway," Jones said. "I think that sometimes, as a society, we have begun to accept what I would probably consider some poor driving habits."
Seventy percent of drivers killed in crashes weren't wearing seatbelts, including a man and woman who died in a car crash in Louisville on Monday.
"Following too close is a problem," Jones said. "Failure to yield right of way and not properly watching the roadway ahead, and particularly this time of year, you add wet roadways into the factor, folks are running into each other and crashing left and right."
Jones says distracted drivers are also a problem. "I think anybody can attest to the fact that on their daily commute to and from work, they'll see folks reading road maps, reading the morning paper, trying to shave and put on make-up, eating food."
D. Keith Russell runs the Always First Driving Academy, a private school for beginning drivers. He says a lot of people think cell phones are the biggest distraction, but "cell phones have been found through very intensive study to be only 29 percent of the distraction problem."
Russell says "what used to be called defensive driving is now called strategic driving -- for good reason. We have to think about strategies, getting from point A to point B every time we get behind the wheel."
Jones says the top causes of accidents are people following too closely and excessive speed. But there may be a bigger problem. Police say society has come to accept accidents as an unavoidable part of driving. It's not.
Online Reporter: James Zambroski
Online Producer: Michael Dever
There are millions of poor drivers on the roads. There are millions of good drivers who have poor moments. When poor drivers interact with other people when they are driving poorly, a collision is likely to occur.
When poor drivers are driving at higher speeds, it does not matter who they interact with, whether it be other poor drivers, pedestrians, good drivers driving well or property, the results are usually much worse than if they were travelling slower!
That is why speed is so important in allowing human beings to control machines which have no capcity to avoid each other when someothing goes wrong with the human element which happens all too frequently.
The anatomy of a collision is usually
1. Innattention to the task at hand
2. Poor preparation in relation to the task at hand
3. The density of the objects around at that time
4. The road layout and construction
5. The impact factors around respective vehicle speeds.
It is as simple (or complex as that).
Low speed collsions usually result in damage to vehicles or property and minor injury to people
High or higher speed collisions usually lead to serious or catastrophic damage, serious injury and even death!
When poor drivers are driving at higher speeds, it does not matter who they interact with, whether it be other poor drivers, pedestrians, good drivers driving well or property, the results are usually much worse than if they were travelling slower!
That is why speed is so important in allowing human beings to control machines which have no capcity to avoid each other when someothing goes wrong with the human element which happens all too frequently.
The anatomy of a collision is usually
1. Innattention to the task at hand
2. Poor preparation in relation to the task at hand
3. The density of the objects around at that time
4. The road layout and construction
5. The impact factors around respective vehicle speeds.
It is as simple (or complex as that).
Low speed collsions usually result in damage to vehicles or property and minor injury to people
High or higher speed collisions usually lead to serious or catastrophic damage, serious injury and even death!
Good evening 'gone' - may I suggest that:
A good driver should be able to make considerable use of high(ish) speeds and avoid problems created by normal or poor drivers in his/her vicinity. This should enable the risk of collisions to be kept down to a very low level.
The NSL in particular can frequently be exceeded by substantial margins without introducing any undue risk if you do it right.
Once again it is primarily a matter of ensuring that the speed is not excessive in relation to the circumstances - at least that has been my experience of how it works over a very long period of time.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
A good driver should be able to make considerable use of high(ish) speeds and avoid problems created by normal or poor drivers in his/her vicinity. This should enable the risk of collisions to be kept down to a very low level.
The NSL in particular can frequently be exceeded by substantial margins without introducing any undue risk if you do it right.
Once again it is primarily a matter of ensuring that the speed is not excessive in relation to the circumstances - at least that has been my experience of how it works over a very long period of time.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
While on holiday in Florida last year, the local newspaper carried reports of the previous days car crashes but where in the UK we never seem sure of the cause, it seemed wierd that they always had a fairly precise cause of the accident. I also noticed the vast majority killed were not wearing seatbelts and were usually ejected from the vehicle.
TripleS said:
Good evening 'gone' - may I suggest that:
You may!
TripleS said:
A good driver should be able to make considerable use of high(ish) speeds and avoid problems created by normal or poor drivers in his/her vicinity. This should enable the risk of collisions to be kept down to a very low level.
One fatal flaw in this. There are relatively speaking to the number of licences held or not held in this country, only a few good drivers!
TripleS said:
The NSL in particular can frequently be exceeded by substantial margins without introducing any undue risk if you do it right.
Correct. The problem occurs in that many do not do it right
TripleS said:
Once again it is primarily a matter of ensuring that the speed is not excessive in relation to the circumstances -
You would be surprised if I told you that 'some' people that I teach who are potentially good drivers have a serious deficiency in identifying danger areas until they are pointed out. When they are more aware, they do make truly excellent drivers when they are concentrating fully on the task in hand.
TripleS said:
at least that has been my experience of how it works over a very long period of time.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
May it continue to be so in future
!
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