Thread: My Death Trap
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Old 11-15-2010, 06:06 PM   #16 (permalink)
Clev
Wannabe greenie
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Yorba Linda, CA
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The Clunker (retired) - '90 Honda Accord EX sedan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee View Post
What makes that more proper?

More fun with numbers: If a lifetime of driving is over a 60 year span, one would have to drive 1,475,000 miles per year, every year, to hit the odds for a fatality.
Which goes to show that numbers can be manipulated to mean anything, or nothing. 1,475,000 miles per year is 168 MPH, continuously without stopping. Yet 40,000 people manage to die each year without hittting 168 MPH even once.

Quote:
One of the things I'm saying is, this oft-stated "mission" from Highway Patrols, MADD, NHTSA, etc., is for "ZERO deaths". Well, it is patently ridiculous to expect zero deaths no matter what... well, if vehicles and drivers are banned I suppose it could happen. No, the real purpose of having and promoting such a ridiculous mission statement is 1)it sounds good- it's a good sell 2)it'll never happen= job security= never ending rationale for ever increasing staffing, wages, and draconian legislation which = 3)CONTROL OVER THE PLEBES.
The program is actually called "Toward Zero Deaths." While I'm sure there's a bit of the "keep making yourself relevant" groupthink going on here, it's still a laudable goal to try to reduce the 40,000 deaths and 2.2 million injuries that happen every year.

I'm fine with small incremental changes that improve the inherent safety of the vehicle without a lot of cost or inconvenience. You can pack seat belts, tire pressure monitoring, front and side airbags, door beams, traction control and ABS into a Yaris. That Yaris is safer, cleaner, cheaper and longer lasting than econoboxes of yore, while generally getting better mileage.

Quote:
Curious, how many tough guys (and girls) that think they need a 2 Ton cage for "safety" also ride bikes? That would pretty much be the height of hypocrisy.
Dunno, I don't think I need a 2 ton cage. I drive a 1.15 ton cage (which, incidentally, doesn't have airbags, door beams, etc.) because that's what I can afford to drive right now, but I did give up my motorcycle for my current commute specifically because it's unsuitable and unsafe for the hazards of that commute.

And yes, MADD needs to go away.
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