Mayor counts 19 killed in traffic
I was trying to keep count, in the right column of this blog, of pedestrians killed in traffic this year, and had counted 15 incidents, but the mayor says 19 pedestrians have died, mostly older folks.
She, or anyone, can vow to do better, but so long as one of the things our society values most is the right to be in a car and going as fast as we like without hindrance – there’s a reason for all those car commercials showing people driving fast on remote highways while a sexy male voice promises us freedom – it’s all for nothing.
Ephraim 13:52 on 2019-11-16 Permalink
One of the fastest ways to make this change is likely to sue on the liability insurance of the passenger car. Get a few judgement against the car insurance companies and they will pressure the government to make it safer or spend money on advertising to make it safer.
The traditional car companies are all built on obsolescence. They don’t update the car’s computers, they don’t want to make them impossible to steal, they don’t want to make them easier to maintain… the whole chain of industry is built in. There is technology to make this safer… warning systems that can see people even when wearing black, blind spot detectors, radar, lidar, etc. But the traditional car manufacturers are entirely set in helping you get your car into the dump rather than making it safer to drive, harder to steal and extend it’s life. Insurance companies are in the same game… more expensive to insure a car that can be stolen… than a car that can’t be stolen, because it has 256-bit encryption on the “key” so it’s impossible to just jump star. And with all the mobile/cellular technology today… it’s pretty hard to hide a car… except of course, if you don’t put anything in to tell you where the car actually is and you sell it as an “add-on”.
qatzelok 14:31 on 2019-11-16 Permalink
Yesterday, within two hours of riding on very quiet roads, two different SUVs piloted by aggressive drivers zoomed by me on my bike within cms of my arm. I guess, because of snow-narrowed roads, their is an expectation that more peds and cyclists should simply die or stay home.
I wonder what kind of James Bond app would help rid public spaces of that kind of murderous driving.
Or should just all learn to live with poisoned public spaces (like most of us already have).
qatzelok 14:32 on 2019-11-16 Permalink
there