As US Road Deaths Rise, France Is Safer Than Ever. Why? | Hacker News Reader

As US Road Deaths Rise, France Is Safer Than Ever. Why?

bloomberg.com

13 pointsjseliger7 comments

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I just visited the US a couple of weeks ago, for a week and a half. I lived there most of my life...

- I saw at least one person run a red light to make a left-hand turn, every day.

- I saw at least one person run a red light going straight.

- Nobody stays to the right, so the interstate gets really congested.

- Because people don't stay to the right, people pass on the right which is really dangerous.

- I saw 4 car accidents ending in at least one death in that 10 days.

- My go-to-comment when driving is "wtf, are you suicidal?" every time I saw someone do something extremely dangerous with their car. People acted like they were invincible.

A year ago, it wasn't that bad. But a few weeks ago, it was like I was surrounded by all the worst drivers in the world.

If it’s not a dedicated turn lane, I gotta disagree with you on the left turn on red. Because you have to yield to traffic until their light turns red, it’s perfectly legal to turn if you are already in the intersection.

I know that, but we are talking 3-4 cars at a time entering the intersection during the moment all the lights are red to make a left turn.

The US is far too lenient with giving out drivers' licenses.

In many European countries prospective drivers must pass difficult exams and tests. Meanwhile, in the US, if you answer a few easy trivia questions correctly and can drive a car around the block, you pass.

> Well, what matters most to me when comparing traffic safety across countries is the extent to which the transportation system is contributing to people’s deaths, which is the per capita death rate.

This is the problem. Per capita isn't the correct metric. It needs to be per mile / km.

The very next paragraph:

"The same trend can be seen if you look at deaths per vehicle miles traveled. In 1990, the average French person was twice as likely to die as an American for every mile traveled, but today the average French person is 40% safer than the average American. Today there are around eight roadway deaths in France for every billion miles driven, while in the USA there are about 14."

> I got a ticket from a [automated speed camera], I’m embarrassed to say, and it was expensive — several hundred Euros.

Several hundreds euros would be speeding by more than 50km/h over the speed limit, which should also include losing one's driving license...

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