Originally Posted by
DU82
I don't think comparison with some of the small European counties is completely "fair", but we do see issues with the increase in fatality rate.
There's still things that can be done with design to further reduce the fatality rate. Vehicular safety has greatly improved, especially in the past twenty years. I'm driving a 2014 RAV4, and testing 2022 models. The safety improvements (360 cameras, blind spot detection, automatic breaking, etc.) are impressive. We're not driving Corvairs anymore. (At least, I hope not.)
I was using the number of deaths per 100K population above, but the rates for 1M miles traveled (a common comparison number) is increasing as well. And is significantly above other "industrialized" countries.
Speed and ignoring reasonable traffic laws is a rising problem. It primarily started with the pandemic, when the mileage traveled in the country (and state) dropped significantly, reducing congestion and allowing higher speeds. The driving patterns of some remain even with traffic volumes rebounding to pre-2020 numbers. The 2019 numbers indicate that deaths on the highway were almost 40K in 2019.
Vision Zero is a relatively new movement; the mission is that even one death is preventable and too much. (I'm on the NC Vision Zero committee.) While I agree there's likely a "floor" for the crash/fatality rates, I don't think we're there yet. One current topic is reducing "kinetic energy", especially when involving pedestrian crossings. Generally, crashes involving motor vehicles and pedestrians are survivable when the speed is below 20, and mostly not when at/above 35. (Again, another reason to install more roundabouts at intersections.)
For just vehicular vehicle crashes, reducing conflict points (places where vehicular paths cross, diverge or merge) helps. Various new designs help there (don't just build the "standard" cross-intersection where all movements happen at the same point, especially where higher speeds are involved.)