jammess posted:Find me a traffic safety specialist that will tell you high vehicle speed does not directly influence traffic fatality statistics then add high congestion like on the I285 and what do you get? Montana is un-populated yet has a high vehicle death rate per capita. Why do you suppose that is? Wouldn't have anything to do with speed would it? Duhhhhhhhh... I mean I been there and done it!
Take away speed on the I285 and using some of you guys logic the death rate would not drop??? Double duhhhhhh...
Speed is a factor in deaths from traffic crashes, of course! But tens of millions of people -- in this country alone -- drive far above the speed limit every day without dying!
Factors in traffic deaths include: quality of the adjacent
Clear Zone, type of object hit by vehicle, seat belt usage, air bag effectiveness, terrain where vehicle comes to rest, age and health of people involved, make and model of vehicle involved, loose objects inside vehicle, penetration of vehicle envelope, time before crash is reported, release of fluids or vapors, outside temperature, exposure to rain/snow after crashing, and -- MOST CRITICALLY -- time to medical attention and/or arrival at a Trauma Center.
Read my response, please. Montana has incredibly remote areas. Crash there, even traveling below the speed limit, and you have a long wait before arrival at an Emergency Room -- which may not be experienced or equipped to handle your serious injuries. THAT'S the biggest reason Montana has a high per-capita traffic death rate.
IIHS statistics show 89% of Montana's fatal crashes happen in rural areas. Montana's winter weather and winter alcohol consumption make for even riskier driving conditions.
[serious crash in rural area] + [long response time] = [bad odds for survival]
At NAFO 2016 in Colorado, many of us rode the Million Dollar Highway, US 550 between Montrose and Durango. That highway has no guardrail and a God-knows-how-far drop to bare rock at the bottom of the canyon. Speed is not a factor in crash survival on that highway. As far as I know, zero deaths were recorded on that highway over our visit, despite some -- at least one: me -- who exceeded its speed limit.
Respectfully,
Uncle Hud
a Registered Professional Engineer with a 30-year career in traffic engineering and ITS,
including over a dozen appearances in court as an expert witness
PS: Again, if you want to talk about per-capita, you need to make sure the statistics are comparable. For low populations, even a few deaths will skew statistics. For the I-285 statistics you quoted, two of the deaths were from PEDESTRIANS, who were undoubtedly traveling below the posted speed limit.
<edit, 10 mins later> According to the 2015 IIHS statistics linked above, Georgia (at 1.21 deaths per million vehicle-miles traveled) has a lower traffic crash death rate than Oregon, at 1.24. Your highways are roughly 3% more deadly than mine.
(Dear Moderators: I will shut up and go away.)
