Funmurphys: the Blog

Stupidity Still Kills

James Joyner points out some problems with a Reuters (who else?) article about highway deaths. He asks some good questions, but I have a few bones of my own to pick with the story.

While the article cites the fact that the number of automobile deaths has been going up in absolute terms for the last 13 years, it notes that the rate (the number that tells you what's really going on) is unchanged at 1.5 per million miles driven. Has it stayed the same the last 13 years, or just the last year?

And if it's been staying the same, does this mean that overall, airbags and anti-lock brakes haven't affected auto fatalities? They've become standard in that time. Are there competing factors at work - have the gains in vehicle safety from safer design, construction, and safety devices such as airbags been balanced by the increasing driver distraction from such things as cell phones and ever more sophisticated audio-visual equipment unboard (yes, the Murphy Van has one of those fancy DVD players with remote headphones)?

What are the factors that really contribute to fatal accidents? The article notes that more than half the people killed in auto accidents were not wearing seatbelts and 40% involved alcohol. So it would seem that rather than bash SUVs, we ought to concentrate on persuading people to buckle up and not drink and drive. Without knowing the overlap between these two, I'm still going to confidently say that most people are killed by stupidity -- since driving drunk and/or not wearing a seatbelt is just plain stupid.

The article notes that over 2/3s fo the SUV fatalities were not wearing their seat belts. So is the real problem with SUVs that people feel too secure? As vehicles become more intrinsically safe, have drivers compensated with riskier behavior to keep fairly constant accident and fatality rates? And has there been a change in accident rates - are accidents becoming safer, less safe, or about the same?

What about better training or more stringent licensing requirements for drivers? I know that Illinois increased their requirements for people to get a license for the first time -- has Illinois seen an improvement in their accident and fatality rates as a result?

Wouldn't my headline -- Stupidity Still Kills -- be more accurate than "Highway Deaths Hit 13-Year High in 2003"?

I expect that the traffic safety people are thinking along these lines, but I despair that our wonderful press does, or can report accurately without sensationalism or distortion.