Would mandatory licensing change things?

[Mike OReilly]

I probably shouldn’t feed this drift, but a quick search reveals the rate of road traffic fatalities per 100,000 to be:

UNITED STATES 10.04
CANADA 5.26
AUSTRALIA 4.94
FINLAND 3.73
GERMANY 3.54
UNITED KINGDOM 2.58

https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/...ts/by-country/

But according to this website, the USA is very far from the worst. The top rank, by a huge margin, goes to ZIMBABWE at 75.02 deaths per 100,000.

Actually, according to this database, the most dangerous places to drive are largely concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and the South East.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Actually, according to this database, the most dangerous places to drive are largely concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and the South East.

In many parts of which, Inshallah is a common attitude in life including the approach to driving


Have you ever driven in SE Asia? Ever been in one of three buses abreast churning towards the top of a hill on a two lane road?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by StuM

In many parts of which, Inshallah is a common attitude in life including the approach to driving

You mean like “In god we trust”? Or “it’s god’s will”? Or “I put my faith in god’s hands?”

It’s an all-to-common perspective I fear.

Originally Posted by StuM

Have you ever driven in SE Asia? Ever been in one of three buses abreast churning towards the top of a hill on a two lane road?

No thank you. Heck, I don’t even like driving in Canadian big cities. I get enough thrills on the water.

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I probably shouldn’t feed this drift, but a quick search reveals the rate of road traffic fatalities per 100,000 to be:

UNITED STATES 10.04
CANADA 5.26
AUSTRALIA 4.94
FINLAND 3.73
GERMANY 3.54
UNITED KINGDOM 2.58

https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/...ts/by-country/

But according to this website, the USA is very far from the worst. The top rank, by a huge margin, goes to ZIMBABWE at 75.02 deaths per 100,000.

Actually, according to this database, the most dangerous places to drive are largely concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and the South East.

... and Germany has a very dense traffic and NO SPEED LIMITS on the freeway!
I guess they are close to UK, because they too drive most of the time on the left side ;-)

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

... and Germany has a very dense traffic and NO SPEED LIMITS on the freeway!
I guess they are close to UK, because they too drive most of the time on the left side ;-)

While some parts of it are unrestricted, Germany does have speed limits on the autobahn.

[evm1024]

I've had 4 exchange students live with me over the years.

The Swede thought that he could drive to Disneyland for the weekend from the Portland area.

The Swiss thought that driving to Banff in the winter for the weekend would be nice.

The other Swede thought that there was no good ski areas in North America. I showed him that the Alps was only about the size of Colorado. That left the rest of the Rockies, the Cascades, BC and so on for other ski areas.

The Colombian thought that Douglass Firs were exotic and awesome.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by evm1024

I've had 4 exchange students live with me over the years.

The Swede thought that he could drive to Disneyland for the weekend from the Portland area.

The Swiss thought that driving to Banff in the winter for the weekend would be nice.

The other Swede thought that there was no good ski areas in North America. I showed him that the Alps was only about the size of Colorado. That left the rest of the Rockies, the Cascades, BC and so on for other ski areas.

The Colombian thought that Douglass Firs were exotic and awesome.

Now try superimposing Canada .

We got some big freakin’ countries here in NA. Takes me about 10 days of driving to reach my boat, which is over in Newfoundland. I’m currently in British Columbia.

[evm1024]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Now try superimposing Canada .

We got some big freakin’ countries here in NA. Takes me about 10 days of driving to reach my boat, which is over in Newfoundland. I’m currently in British Columbia.

Exactly!

Most of the rest of the world (and city dwellers) have very little idea how big the place is. Australians and a few others excepted.

Many states and most/all provinces have some really remote places. The point being that the size of the place makes public transportation a non-starter.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by evm1024

Exactly!

Most of the rest of the world (and city dwellers) have very little idea how big the place is. Australians and a few others excepted.

Many states and most/all provinces have some really remote places. The point being that the size of the place makes public transportation a non-starter.

Well, I wouldn’t go that far. While Canada and the USA are very large, both our countries have highly focused population centres — Canada even more so than the USA. There is ample opportunity to have effective public transportation that would cover most of the population, if not most of the area of the two countries.

It’s clear some of the impediments to better public transportation systems are differing cultural, but also entrenched economic interests.

ADD: Actually, a fine counter-example is China. By some assessments it is now leading the world in the development of high-speed public transportation. China is number three in area (between Canada and the USA).

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by evm1024

The Colombian thought that Douglass Firs were exotic and awesome.

I think Douglas firs are exotic and awesome. Also one of my favourite Latin names: Pseudotsuga menziesii... it just rolls off the tongue

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I probably shouldn’t feed this drift, but a quick search reveals the rate of road traffic fatalities per 100,000 to be:

UNITED STATES 10.04
CANADA 5.26
AUSTRALIA 4.94
FINLAND 3.73
GERMANY 3.54
UNITED KINGDOM 2.58

https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/...ts/by-country/

But according to this website, the USA is very far from the worst. The top rank, by a huge margin, goes to ZIMBABWE at 75.02 deaths per 100,000.

Actually, according to this database, the most dangerous places to drive are largely concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and the South East.

The problem with those statistics is it is by population which does not measure driving per say. A better measure would be accidents/deaths per mile driven. How many people drive in London, Berlin, New York city or any big city? Those population centers will greatly impact the numbers, especially in lower population and smaller countries.

For instance, London, UK has 8.1 million people out of 66 million in the entire UK. It is 12% of the UK population. New York city is 8.6 million compared to the US population of 327 million. NYC is only 3% of the US population. Comparing by population is not a good measure for driving statistics.

To measure driving issues, the measurement needs to be miles driven. But if one wants to argue that licensing impacts driving accidents/deaths then one has to also look at drunk driving and traffic laws, followed by the enforcement of said laws and violation punishment. If one left out culture, that would be a mistake.

Later,
Dan

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by dannc

The problem with those statistics is it is by population which does not measure driving per say. A better measure would be accidents/deaths per mile driven. How many people drive in London, Berlin, New York city or any big city? Those population centers will greatly impact the numbers, especially in lower population and smaller countries.

For instance, London, UK has 8.1 million people out of 66 million in the entire UK. It is 12% of the UK population. New York city is 8.6 million compared to the US population of 327 million. NYC is only 3% of the US population. Comparing by population is not a good measure for driving statistics.

To measure driving issues, the measurement needs to be miles driven. But if one wants to argue that licensing impacts driving accidents/deaths then one has to also look at drunk driving and traffic laws, followed by the enforcement of said laws and violation punishment. If one left out culture, that would be a mistake.

Later,
Dan

... and do not forget how many tourists and foreigners are involved in the incidents, what weather conditions are in the countries, how much transit traffic goes through. Then also take into account what the preferred beverages the drunk drivers have consumed, how many drunk pedestrians were involved, how many bicycles are around, to what percentage motorbikes are involved, what the preferred car brands are in the country and if the crash were intentional etc... Soo many variables. One can think, each casualty is different.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by dannc

The problem with those statistics is it is by population which does not measure driving per say. A better measure would be accidents/deaths per mile driven. How many people drive in London, Berlin, New York city or any big city? Those population centers will greatly impact the numbers, especially in lower population and smaller countries.

For instance, London, UK has 8.1 million people out of 66 million in the entire UK. It is 12% of the UK population. New York city is 8.6 million compared to the US population of 327 million. NYC is only 3% of the US population. Comparing by population is not a good measure for driving statistics.

To measure driving issues, the measurement needs to be miles driven. But if one wants to argue that licensing impacts driving accidents/deaths then one has to also look at drunk driving and traffic laws, followed by the enforcement of said laws and violation punishment. If one left out culture, that would be a mistake.

Later,
Dan

if you purely go off of miles driven the united states will have by far the lowest death rate caused by automobiles of any country with automobiles.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by newhaul

if you purely go off of miles driven the united states will have by far the lowest death rate caused by automobiles of any country with automobiles.

I’d love to see that data. Have a source NH?

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I’d love to see that data. Have a source NH?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ted_death_rate

Doesn't agree with previous general assertion.

Most imaginable statistic can be googled quickly "XX per YY per ZZ on Fridays vs Tuesdays." If you think about a statistic that might have any utility...with 7 billion people on the planet...there's a good chance others have as well and have done at least some preliminary numbers.