Stacey Nov 28, 2022
So you know that NYT article that showcases American exceptionalism when it comes to Road 💀? And people were wondering what was up with Switzerland? We’ll it’s just as hilarious as you would imagine. Apparently the Swiss had an exceptionally untragic year in 2019, so when things went back to normal in 2020 it seemed crazy. No…we’re the only crazy ones. American road deaths are nearly 5x the rate of Swiss road deaths.
H/T @notjustbikes followers who noted the historical trend.
Show threadpotatoofdestinyNov 28, 2022
@bikingmzstacey @notjustbikes what's always darkly hilarious to me is the US actually does a fairly good job on road safety, but our numbers get skewed because of our insanely high vehicle miles travelled
Show threadStacey Nov 28, 2022
@potatoofdestiny @notjustbikes
I think you mean a *spectacularly awful* job of road safety which sometimes appears good only when VMT is factored into the equation. No?
Show threadpotatoofdestinyNov 28, 2022

@bikingmzstacey @notjustbikes well, like looking at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

picking a number off the list we have the same rate of fatalities per 1bn vehicle-kilometers as Belgium (7.3), but the death rate per 100k *people* is more than double

we just drive an absolutely insane amount compared to, you know, normal countries (I'd also imagine the increasingly tank-like nature of our vehicles probably reduces fatalities somewhat, although that kinda sucks if you're not in one)

List of countries by traffic-related death rate - Wikipedia

Show threadStacey 
@potatoofdestiny @notjustbikes
Yes. We have focused on vehicle occupant safety at the sacrifice of anyone outside of them. The safest vehicle for all is the unsafest one for the driver. It forces them to be more careful.
Vehicle safety has essentially codified vehicle speed.
Nov 28, 2022 at 7:52pmWeb
Show threadCaio XavierNov 29, 2022
@bikingmzstacey That's an interesting paradox. Making driving safer for the person inside the car can end up making it more deadly.
Show threadStacey Nov 29, 2022
@caioxavier 💯 it allows them to be lazier, more relaxed, not pay attention as closely - all while driving faster, in larger vehicles, with limited visibility of humans and animals outside of them. This is also true of road design, the wider you make it, the more soft hit posts, vs. concrete, the more casual they can be.
“To hell with those outside — I have places to be and a seatbelt + 15 airbags to save me.”
Show threadDan LykeDec 10, 2022
@bikingmzstacey @potatoofdestiny @notjustbikes On the one hand I completely agree with the sentiment of that comic, on the other hand Cadillac tried that and Sammy Davis Jr lost an eye.
Show threadStacey Dec 10, 2022
@danlyke @potatoofdestiny @notjustbikes
I don’t know all the details of the incident, but perhaps Sammy should have been driving more carefully.
Show threadDan LykeDec 10, 2022
@bikingmzstacey @potatoofdestiny @notjustbikes Agreed, but I think it points to the problem being a larger design problem than just drivers. We have created a built and social environment that is impossible for drivers to navigate safely. They bear some of the responsibility, but let's reserve some ire for engineering and planning.
Show threadStacey Dec 10, 2022
@danlyke @potatoofdestiny @notjustbikes
💯 the road designers are also responsible. As are the idiots who made things that would go more than say 75 mph. I guess I’d just like the car drivers to also be lobbying for better road design and maybe some of them need to lose an eye to so it. 🤷🏼‍♀️
Show threadDan LykeDec 10, 2022

@bikingmzstacey agreed. I've found myself doing stupid things occasionally in a car, and, yeah, I'm responsible for those, but so is the engineer who put a crosswalk across 4 12' travel lanes, a turn lane, and 2 lanes of parking, in an area with lots of driveways. Either I'm driving 20MPH with lots of honking and unsafe passing, or I'm driving with the flow of traffic with no way to process all of the inputs reasonably.

And, no, RRFBs aren't a solution either.