Deaths and injuries in road crashes are a 'silent epidemic on wheels'

Road fatalities are now the top cause of death for children and young adults worldwide between the ages of 5 and 29, and the seventh-leading cause of death overall in low-income countries.

Don't people of the world care about their children? Incredible that people can get a license based on a flimsy test, buy a vehicle with no background check, and drive off in acts that might result in mayhem that day. And in the US there is not even an age limit to buy one of these machines!

Another excuse to revenue raise with higher fines for motorists .

Wheh in fact Japans traffic accidents and death are the lowest since 1948...

And in the US there is not even an age limit to buy one of these machines!

Can you explain this please? Are you talking about buying "one of these machines" or driving it?

Harry_GattoToday  07:17 pm JST

Can you explain this please? Are you talking about buying "one of these machines" or driving it?

Well, as I wrote "buy", I can only assume I was talking about "buying"--same verb and all.

But as for "driving" it--same goes for that too.

painkillerToday  10:52 pm JST

Harry_GattoToday  07:17 pm JST

Can you explain this please? Are you talking about buying "one of these machines" or driving it?

But as for "driving" it--same goes for that too.

OK, just for clarity, what are "these machines" and are you saying that there is no age limit, upper or lower, to drive one of "these machines". Or simply put, what are you actually talking about?

Harry_GattoToday  11:19 pm JST

> OK, just for clarity, what are "these machines" and are you saying that there is no age limit, upper or lower, to drive one of "these machines". Or simply put, what are you actually talking about?

I don't know if you read the article, so let's make this easier to try and find out what you are asking.

What do you think "these machines" refer to?

Today, 12 people are killed in traffic per 100,000 annually in the U.S., compared to 4 per 100,000 in the Netherlands and Germany, and only 2 per 100,000 in Norway.

Japan is at about 2.2, UK at about 2.7, less than a fifth of the USA despite their big fat roads and slow fat cars.

Life seems quite cheap over there and any efforts to address the problem will be seen as 'policicizing' or 'virtue signalling' it.

Punishments for drink/drug driving need to reflect culpability for the damage done - 20 years inside, not one or two. Fuel price increases will reduce vehicle use from now on. Modern cars are relatively safe - if anything the stats give a better context for Covid deaths. You can't legislate for idiots, but you can and should ban people from the road if they are spotted driving badly. Playing the historically disadvantaged card is a cheap shot and will win the author enemies. Northern European and Japanese rates may be as low as is feasible, so concentrate on getting other parts of the world down to those and accept that you cannot feather bed all of human activity. Life involves risk.

I am suspicious about yet another demand for a government clampdown on yet another aspect of our lives. After governments have wrecked cross-border travel, the economy and the food supply chains, is our ability to move around within countries next?