The cause was easy enough to identify: Data parsed by Kuhls and her colleagues showed that drivers were speeding more, on highways and on surface streets, and plowing through intersections with an alarming frequency. Conversely, seatbelt use was down, resulting in thousands of injuries to unrestrained drivers and passengers. After a decade of steady decline, intoxicated-driving arrests had rebounded to near historic highs.

… The relationship between car size and injury rates is still being studied, but early research on the American appetite for horizon-blotting machinery points in precisely the direction you’d expect: The bigger the vehicle, the less visibility it affords, and the more destruction it can wreak.

    • DrCatface@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      same, why? i didnt see any cops during xmas new year, then this morning i see 3 highway patrols, probably on their way to an accident

    • psud@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Same in mine, in Canberra, Australia. Maybe I’m just not driving at the times they’re doing drink driving enforcement. I recall when I was a youth the breathalyzers were set up randomly midnight to 4am

      We do have camera enforcement of speed, red lights, and mobile phones

    • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I saw a police pulling radar in a school zone right around when the kids get let out. Everyone still did 15 over the limit and the officer didn’t pull anyone. I’m sure they pulled people speeding faster than that but it seems they can’t just ticket the entire town when 10-15 over the limit is so normalized. People still tell me all the time a cop isn’t even allowed to pull you for just 10 over (which is false).

      • Bigmouse@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        … Don’t you guys have speeding cameras? As in, you drive by too fast, it snaps a pic of your license plate and after a couple of weeks you get mail saying “surprise, bitch! Here’s a picture of you speeding. That’ll be $400 or you’re going to jail :)”?

        • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Im just starting to see some of them but they all have warning signs before hand. We have a similar thing where your speed flashes on a lighted sign if it clocks you too fast, but since they aren’t enforced by anything the act more like a high score meter.

          • Bigmouse@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            That’s wild imho. Where i’m at, there’s speeding cameras at fixed locations AND mobile speeding cameras that are hidden and moved around. And the only warning you get is the sign with the speed limit.

            Those street speedometers we have aswell within towns. But the fact that you don’t know wether there is a speeding camera next to it makes it more effective i guess…

      • psud@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        I have seen mobile speed cameras and cops with radar guns in school zones in wealthier parts of my town, and they pull over anyone more than 2kph over the limit

        • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Wish I could say I’ve seen the same. I find it rare for people to do any less than 5 over in a school zone. The particular instance above was also influenced by the fact there is a highway entrance/exit about 1 km up the road from the school zone.

    • capital@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I’m not saying it’s the reason, but as soon as they do and the perp wrecks and kills themselves they have dipshits online whingeing about how the poor kid of only 24 didn’t deserve to die for simply speeding.

      • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        So its better to just let them keep speeding and wait until they kill or injure someone else rather than themselves? Does that really sound more fair? Many police departments will stop the chase if traffic is too heavy to safely pursue. The cops shouldn’t shoot the speeder but it’s defintely not on the cops if the speeder disobeys traffic laws, refuses to pull over, and attempts to evade police resulting in a collision/personal injury.