6 ms·

Texting and driving have to be behind some large portion of this increase.

• kgwxd 3y ago
  Touchscreen car control too.
  • systems_glitch 3y ago
    This. None of our cars require it (we drive older used stuff) but every time I rent a car I wonder how people operate e.g. the climate controls without crashing.
• luxurytent 3y ago
  The hands-free law was IMO, a failure. What used to be people staring at their phones while holding them up at the steering wheel now has people trying to be more discreet and placing phones between their legs or near the cup holders. Hands-free! But also doubly dangerous.
  • donatj 3y ago
    This is my exact experience! People used to text with their phone in front of them, which is dangerous but at least they had peripheral vision. Now they hide their phone while they do it. You see it so often, someone not everyone looking vaguely at the road.
  • xnx 3y ago
    I thought this was a problem at first, but I don't see anyone trying to hide it anymore. "Driving" is just an app that people glance at while using their phones.
• retrac 3y ago
  Walking and on their phones, too. In recent years I've seen people step into intersections while on their phone without even looking up. Edit: anyone who disagrees and has downvoted me care to explain why? I wrote the comment from the perspective a pedestrian. I don't even drive! Some cities consider it such problem they've talked about making it illegal to walk around in the street looking at your phone: https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/20/us/new-york-walking-while-texting-trnd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/20/us/new-york-walking-while-tex...
  • wnolens 3y ago
    It's blaming the victim? I see this very often as well, but you're not operating a several ton vehicle. At worst you run into some kid and knock his ice cream over. It's the presence of cars, their prioritization in our infrastructure, and unenforced laws surrounding them that are the problem.
    • retrac 3y ago
      It takes two to not get run over. I'm deaf. So I really do not have the luxury of just hoping others see me. I have to be real careful in traffic. Is it fair? Not really. I care more about not being run over than whether it's fair.
      • ch4s3 3y ago
        > It takes two to not get run over. Who thinks like this? Seriously what is wrong with you? Large SUVs have blind spots larger than people, and fatal crashes are generally happening in cross walks in cities. They often happen when vehicles are turning. Blaming pedestrians is just fucking awful. [EDIT] I checked the data again most strikes are happening in urban areas in places where there is no crosswalk or on shoulders. So largely due t infrastructure placing pedestrians and cars in contention.
        • robswc 3y ago
          >generally happening in cross walks in cities Do you have a source for this?
          • ch4s3 3y ago
            Excuse me I had to recheck the CDC data, the most common spots are actually in urban areas on shoulders or where there is no crosswalk. Basically in places where pedestrian infrastructure is poor.
            • 3y ago
• smt88 3y ago
  It's a combination of phone use, increasing size/weight of vehicles, and urbanization (more people to hit on the same streets). I suspect CarPlay and Android Auto are incredibly dangerous, but there isn't great data on how they contribute to accidents yet.
  • sokoloff 3y ago
    I went out of my way to install CarPlay in our old ICE car and think it adds safety, especially with maps in an unfamiliar area. Trying to read the map on a 3” wide screen in a cup holder or clipped to an air vent is way worse than on a 7” screen mounted in an easily viewable area.
    • smt88 3y ago
      But "reading a map" is only one thing you do with CarPlay. People also use it for music, messaging, finding/changing destinations, voice calls, etc. The CarPlay UI in particular is so inconsistent and unpredictable that I can never just have a routine. Some Siri commands randomly don't work ("I can't do that while you're driving") when they just worked a few minutes before. Android Auto is much better, I will say.
      • sokoloff 3y ago
        Everything you do in a car is a choice. I don’t think CarPlay leads people to riskier choices on average than they’d make without it and makes some things they’re already choosing to do leas risky. (I ack that I don’t have data either.)
• doytch 3y ago
  I live in a smaller American city and ride my bike for most trips. I ride conservatively and am constantly watching cars tires or looking into the cabin to get early warning about sudden unsignalled turns or any other odd maneuvers. The amount of people I see just casually browsing Instagram or texting is insane. I grew up in another country where it was illegal to hold a cellphone while driving and it was actually enforced. I'm just completely dumbfounded at the behaviour here and the lack of enforcement.
  • systems_glitch 3y ago
    I occasionally have to drive a class 7 truck for work, which sits at about the same height as a semi truck (tractor/trailer). From that height you can see into most passenger cars. I'd guess 50-75% of people on the Interstate are more engaged in using their phones than driving their cars.
• yardie 3y ago
  That could be the primary cause of the collision. The actual deaths come from the way cars are now designed.
• bigbacaloa 3y ago
  .ay e texto g while walking is part of the problem too