Something to think about when you hear about these claims of sudden auto exceleration

Something to think about when you hear about these claims of sudden auto exceleration

accidentaldeaths

From the Associated Press:

Accidents in which drivers mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake tend to involve older female drivers in parking lots, a new government study has found. One of the study's most striking and consistent findings was that nearly two-thirds of drivers who had such accidents were female. When looking at all crashes, the reverse is true — about 60 percent of drivers involved in crashes are male, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study noted. Another finding: Gas pedal accidents tend to occur more frequently among drivers over age 76 and under age 20. The age disparity showed up in both an analysis of more than 2,400 gas pedal accidents in a North Carolina state crash database and an analysis of nearly 900 news reports of such crashes. In the state database, accidents were almost equally likely to involve drivers under 20 as over 76, but in news reports about 40 percent of accidents involved elderly drivers — four times as many as young drivers. . . .

"Firearms accidents [as a percent of all accidental deaths] are at an all-time low"

"Firearms accidents [as a percent of all accidental deaths] are at an all-time low"

accidentaldeaths gunlocks Guns

Accidental deaths general fall over time. What this is saying is that accidental gun deaths have been falling at a faster rate.

No one blames "our nation as a whole" for the tragic accidents that claim the lives of children, and adults, involving automobiles, swimming pools, poisonings, suffocations and falls, all of which rank far higher than firearms as causes ("Collateral damage," July 25). In fact, less than 1 percent of fatal accidents in the home are the result of firearms, according to the National Safety Council.
Let's not demonize firearms or lawful firearms owners in the search for answers to the unfortunate accidental deaths of three city-area children. Let's instead remind the public that such accidents are rare and can be prevented by taking steps to ensure that guns cannot be accessed by children or other unauthorized persons. Place unloaded guns in locked storage. Store ammunition in a locked location separate from firearms. If a gun is kept in the home for protection, make sure only authorized persons can access it. Quick-access lock boxes are suitable for this. . . .

I don't really think that trying to convince people to lock up there guns makes a lot of sense from a safety campaign because it ignores how much harder all this makes it for people to use guns defensively.

One small way that California is planning on getting out of its financial problems

One small way that California is planning on getting out of its financial problems

accidentaldeaths Taxes

Brett Decker, the editorial page editor at the Washington Times, tells me that there are a lot of studies indicating that these cameras actually increase accident rates -- people who know where these cameras are slow down suddenly and there are rear end crashes. From the Sacramento Bee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is counting on lead-footed California drivers to help dig the state out of its latest budget hole.

Buried in the details of the governor's spending plan released Friday is a proposal to raise nearly $400 million by allowing cities and counties to install "automated speed enforcement systems," also known as speed cameras.

The devices could be attached to existing cameras that monitor red light violations, and would track speeders by license plate. The tickets would come in the mail.

Infractions would result in fines of $225 for going up to 15 miles an hour above the limit, and $325 for more than 15 mph. The state's share of the take, an estimated $337.9 million, would help pay for trial court operations and court security. Local governments would keep 15 percent, an estimated $59.6 million, of the total $397.5 million collected. . . .

"To the extent drivers choose to curb their tendencies to violate speeding laws, there would be significant benefit to public safety in the form of fewer accidents and injuries to drivers," the department said. . . .

The "safest" large cities in the US?

The "safest" large cities in the US?

accidentaldeaths

This is fairly arbitrary, defining safest based on violent crime, workplace deaths, fatal crashes and natural disasters. Why assume that a robbery is as bad as a murder or an aggravated assault is as bad as a murder? Most violent crimes involve aggravated assaults that, not murder, will drive that part of the ranking. Why include work place safety but not accidental deaths of other types? The list of the top forty cities is available here. Thanks to Craig Newmark's website for the tip.

Fewer 16 Year Olds Driving

Fewer 16 Year Olds Driving

accidentaldeaths

I suppose what caught my notice in this New York Times piece is that kids had become terrified of driving. The caption under the picture reads: "Kelsey Sheffer, 16, of Bethlehem, Ga., says she lost the motivation to pursue a full license after she saw accident sites with a police officer. For now, her mother is happy to shuttle her around." It is true that youth have had higher accident rates, but you get some rough idea of the risk from the higher insurance premiums: "it now costs 80 percent to 100 percent more to add a 16-year-old to a family’s auto policy." The lack of subsidies for Driver's Ed training (with many schools no longer subsidizing the training) is also mentioned as a reason for the drop. I think that what bothers me most about the tone of the piece is the lack of understanding of trade-offs. Surely, reducing accidental car deaths is good, but it is not the only consideration. There are benefits to teenagers driving, just as there are benefits to adults driving. What is the cost in parent's time driving their kids around? What are the forgone opportunities of the kids because they can't be involved in certain activities? This seems like one topic that could benefit from some rigorous research.

Now we can add dog leashes to the list of items that take more young lives than guns

Now we can add dog leashes to the list of items that take more young lives than guns

accidentaldeaths Guns

To the list of plastic water buckets and bathtubs, now we can add dog leashes. A new CDC report notes how dangerous leashes and bungee cords are:

At least 82 youths have died from the so-called "choking game," according to the first government count of fatalities from the tragic fad.

In the game, children use dog leashes, bungee cords wrapped around their necks or other means to temporarily cut blood flow to their head. The goal is a dreamlike, floating-in-space feeling when blood rushes back into the brain. . . .