For many years, the United States car industry moved forward in extreme measures when it came to developing vehicles that could get consumers where they wanted to go faster, however it took a while for automotive safety technology to catch up. It wasn’t until 1959 that Congress required United States of America cars to have seat belts, in response to staggering numbers of motorway fatalities resulting from automobile traffic incidents. We can see just by pure numbers that protection technology has advanced quite a bit. In 2009, much less automobile traffic fatalities on United States highways were recorded than there were in six decades, says the Department of Transportation.
Safety advancements and tougher laws make traffic deaths lessen
Seat belts, airbags, more efficient body construction, stability control and other high-tech crash sensors have contributed to fewer traffic deaths, but tighter enforcement of drinking and driving and distracted/fatigued driving laws should not be discounted, writes the Associated Press. By the numbers, traffic deaths decreased by 9.7 percent in 2009 to 33,808, the lowest number on record since 1950. In 2008, there were 37,423 highway accidents resulting in death. The number went down from 2008 to 2009. It was 1.26 deaths per million miles and then went to 1.13 deaths. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proudly exclaimed that the latest report “shows that America’s roads are the safest they’ve ever been.”.
Some blame the recession
Historical data indicates that highway fatalities have tended to decrease when America faces recession. Numbers went down within the late 1970s/early 1980s. This was during the recession and oil shortages. The same thing occurred within the early 1990s. The cost of driving made it so fewer individuals drove. They would choose instead to either use public transportation or just stay home. Less driving always has the same result. Fewer automobile traffic deaths will occur. However, despite the current recession, the Transportation Department found the number of miles traveled by motorists increased by .2 percent in 2009.
Law wants to stop distracted driving
It seems like it is always a bad idea to text or talk on the phone when driving. People should be focusing on the road. It seems like more and more legislation enforcement have been working to stop this from happening. United States of America roads could be safer, reports AP who spoke to LaHood, if each state were to adopt these laws against driving distracted.
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Further 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
