Self-driving vehicles could struggle to eliminate most crashes

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

Plenty of other countries have succeeded...

Some country might require more education, but is it really an education problem when accidents happen at all ages? Shouldn't people have learned through experience?

Some countries have more public transport, so people drive less, or they have a high cost of ownership to drive, so people drive less. Similarly, America is spread out with congested highways and long commutes, but even that is probably not the problem. Most of it is from a lack of innovation or progress in road design like street construction or intersection construction or highway transitions.

The United States was the safest country in the world in the 1970s. By 2011 the United States dropped from number 1 to number 19 in terms of traffic fatalities per registered vehicle and to number 13 (out of 19 countries providing data) in terms of traffic fatalities for the same travel distance.

The failure of the United States in traffic safety is of near incomprehensible magnitude. By simply matching the road safety changes in a number of other unremarkable countries, the United States could prevent 20 000 traffic deaths per year.

US safety policy continues to be a public health catastrophe. If the United States could only match the far from perfect safety performance of a number of other countries, 20 000 fewer Americans would be killed annually and almost a million injuries prevented. An explanation of why this happens is given in an editorial43 in this issue.

As a US citizen and member of the US National Academy of Engineering, it pains me to come to these conclusions. However, the data speak for themselves, and the conclusions are inescapable. They apply only to road safety; the United States is the world leader in other safety areas, such as air travel.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103211/

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Some country might require more education, but is it really an education problem when accidents happen at all ages?

I'm suggesting it's not a matter of education per se but a change of attitude is required. Which isn't going to happen.

I used to work with a woman who left Germany when she was about 25. She tells me that getting a car license is not a "right", one has to demonstrate that one can drive which includes driving on an autobahn.

I'm suggesting that in the US many people don't consider others as a matter of course ( look at the attitude of some people towards the virus lock down and the same people's attitude towards masks). That people treat driving a car as something that doesn't require much effort on their part and no, you're not to change the way they think because you don't have the right to.

In Japan I have seen people nodding their head in a slight bow as they're driving their car. Different attitude.

I guess what I'm trying to say is to some degree driving habits, driving "style" are cultural.

[Tcoat]

Extreme examples but are we saying that these guys aren't trained well enough to avoid accidents?

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Extreme examples but are we saying that these guys aren't trained well enough to avoid accidents?

People are human (profound I know). That is, people, well intentioned or not, are going to make mistakes.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

People are human (profound I know). That is, people, well intentioned or not, are going to make mistakes.

[Irace86.2.0]

In other countries they design the streets and roads better.

[WolfpackS2k]

I love roundabouts.

And, gasp, I know how to use them.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

I love roundabouts.

And, gasp, I know how to use them.

some towns are starting to use them more. the main problem comes back to driver education... if i had the time, i'd set up a chair by the few in use and have a laugh.

so many people yielding to other traffic while they're in the roundabout. stopping at every crossing. honking at others for entering 2 car lengths ahead of them. expecting that traffic within the roundabout has to yield to those entering...

people are the problem.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by soundman98

so many people yielding to other traffic while they're in the roundabout. stopping at every crossing. honking at others for entering 2 car lengths ahead of them. expecting that traffic within the roundabout has to yield to those entering...

people are the problem.

We have a good number in our area (well for a Southern American town, enough so I go through different ones a few times a month) and I've never experienced any of that.

Now you want to see people confused, go watch them on a double diamond interchange, which is all the rage in Atlanta.

[soundman98]

that makes sense to me. but so do roundabouts.

[Captain Snooze]

In some situations roundabouts don't work. This roundabout had the highest number of accidents per year for an intersection in Canberra for 5 years. The local government ended up putting traffic lights at the entrances to and on the roundabout.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by soundman98

that makes sense to me. but so do roundabouts.

It makes sense to me as well, but you can see the panicked looks on folks face as they drive on the "wrong" side of the road.

It's particularly problematic during the conversion stage where a lot of times the DOT uses cones to reroute traffic around inside the construction area.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

In some situations roundabouts don't work. This roundabout had the highest number of accidents per year for an intersection in Canberra for 5 years. The local government ended up putting traffic lights at the entrances to and on the roundabout.

Lights could decrease the accidents and also increase the severity of the accidents that do happen. People drive slower through roundabouts, so even if it happens, the accidents aren’t as bad. Even with lights, because there is a roundabout and not a straight intersection, the accidents will be less severe because speeds will be less, unless someone is in an 86–cornering beast.