Red state, blue state divide reflected in grim statistic: fatal traffic accidents

"I may be inclined to give that some validity. Maybe it is the connection I was seeking. Red-staters do rather like their brewskis and one more for the road perhaps. "


This is why you posted this to "fish" for the answer you wanted. I just moved from the #1 most densely populated counties in the US to one of the least. And the roads are terrible!!!! I never felt like I was in danger of more than a fender bender before....but just today went around a curve and could envision my car flipping over into a ditch and killing me. It is not because people in Blue states are better, kinder or smarter...it is just because they have more development. Our downtown does not even have a light and bell at the train tracks which are very busy. Lower population means lowers funds and fewer improvements can be afforded.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro

More people live in NYC than most of the "country".
And most people in NYC don't drive.

Originally posted by Missing Blue Sky
"I may be inclined to give that some validity. Maybe it is the connection I was seeking. Red-staters do rather like their brewskis and one more for the road perhaps. "


This is why you posted this to "fish" for the answer you wanted. I just moved from the #1 most densely populated counties in the US to one of the least. And the roads are terrible!!!! I never felt like I was in danger of more than a fender bender before....but just today went around a curve and could envision my car flipping over into a ditch and killing me. It is not because people in Blue states are better, kinder or smarter...it is just because they have more development. Our downtown does not even have a light and bell at the train tracks which are very busy. Lower population means lowers funds and fewer improvements can be afforded.

Fish?? No soy pescador. I live in Mexico, so try again. I am neither blue nor red nor even green. Some of our roads are not the greatest either but, perhaps oddly enough, we don't seem to have the frequency of accidents as our northern neighbors.

Originally posted by OptimusSubprime
reply to post by Erongaricuaro

 

Ok, well blue states are only blue because of the large cities and the population of said cities. Those people take the bus, subway, walk, etc... Red states are far more rural, with much more open space to drive vehicles, even in the much smaller cities.

Yeah, all the years I spent in California riding their oh-so-efficient mass transit systems - I grew up near Los Angeles. It's like no one in the whole state owned a car. [/sarcasm]

Originally posted by DrGod
reply to post by Erongaricuaro

 

More people live in NYC than most of the "country".
And most people in NYC don't drive.

The population of NYC is well over 100 million now?? Dang! I been out of the country longer than I thought. Are you sure your figures are correct? I guess you would know.

reply to post by nixie_nox


I was in DC in May...I can confirm this. Out there around Arlington it's scary...especially in a rented Lincon and being from Alaska.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
reply to post by homeskillet

 

ok - here is the statistical reason why your conclusion is wrong

new york state has a population of 19 million , with over 8 million in NYC alone [ thats > 40 % of the states population in a single urban metroplis ]

thus as the stats are / 100K population - new york cities lower average speed / journey , better roads [ all paved / lit etc ] , better traffic management , policing , emergency response times , medical " centres of excelence " etc etc etc

will slant the statistics

whereas a rural county like say - hamilton county - has a population of only 4400 and a land area several times the size of NYC [ and no slight intended on its citizens , roads or services ] has more unlit , unpaved roads - longer emergency response times , a longer trip to get the patient to a consultant surgeon with the skills to treat a victim of a major incident

thus 100 fatalities in hamilton county have less impact on the / 100k rate than 1.5 million fatalities in NYC

thats the problem with bare statistics

im not following you. nyc had 237 fatalities in 2011 which is nothing considering there are more than 8 million people. nyc 2011 pedestrian fatality stats

my point in the post i made prior to the one you answered basically said what you said about "the problem with bare statistics". there isnt enough info to even get anywhere close to pointing out any connection with political leanings.

Due to the lack of swilling red necks with something to prove.

reply to post by homeskillet


sigh - that is the point

the casualties you cite [ 273 fatalities in NYC ] = a /100k rate of only 3.37

a single fatality in hamilton county = a / 100k rate of 22

now the combined fatalities for NYC and hamilton county are still ony 3.37 you have to go to 3 decimal places to see the " difference "

that is how the stats are slanted by the big cities

Massachusetts is at the bottom of the list.

My brother lived there for a while and I thought they were the worst drivers ever. There is a reason for the term Masshole and it's entirely based on their reckless driving.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro


Red States: More rural, more roads, more people actually driving their vehicles.
Blue States: Usually major urban population centers, meaning more mass transit, busses, metros, cabs etc..

Nothing more than more driving vs less driving.

My take on it.

Grim

reply to post by MystikMushroom


OMG.. I absolutely HATED driving on the east coast.. Things they did would not go over well up here thats for sure..

Grim

I've been living in Dallas for over a decade, I moved here from Chicago. One of the main differences I've seen, is people's attitude towards drunk driving. I went to visit Chicago last year, and was astounded that every time we went out somewhere, with different crowds of people, they called taxis to take us drinking. Never once has that happened to me in Texas. No one has ever suggested we call a cab to take us out or drive us home.. But in Chicago, it happened multiple times in the few weeks I was there.

I'm not sure what causes the lax attitude, but in a way, I'm glad. I don't consider "buzzed driving", "drunk driving", if I'm under the legal limit (which I almost always am, not much of a drinker)

Hearing you conservatives squirm and try to say anything to convince yourselves the statistic is faulty is hilarious.....the behavior is exactly the same as when Obama won....
just admit when you lose.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro



LOL - this is great. And I think there is a fairly obvious reason (to me at least - there is no way to prove anything).

I think people in Red States tend to be more angry then those in Blue States. Or rather Red States have more 'angry person hours'.

When you are angry (whether do to traffic or another trigger - say - liberals running amok in the country) and driving, you aren't paying attention to what you are doing - DRIVING. When you aren't paying attention to what you are doing you make mistakes - mistakes mean accidents.

Also, I think there is more drinking and drugging in Red States as well.

Just an opinion.

reply to post by Grimmley



Actually that is an argument in support of the statistics. It's about total miles driven - more people driving less miles is more than less people driving more miles per trip. Blue states have more people then Red States.

Faulty logic on you part.

BTW - I'm in Los Angeles and I drive more miles per day or week then most rural people I know. I drive (in traffic he he) 30 miles to work each day. I had to learn how to be patient and pay attention because of it. A wonderful exercise in tolerance.

This is a wonderful topic.

So how do we foster an intrinsic desire for knowledge among the majority to encourage more to seek it out?

It is a matter of education and our system is designed to dumb-down and dampen any curiosity. The system is designed to produce compliant slave workers for business. But it's backfireing now that industry can't find anyone qualified for their needs.

There are other systems of education, Un-Schooling, Home-Schooling (baring the religious indocrination type), Waldorf, Montesori. Even the high end 'prep' schools are about indoctrination.

Free thinking is a goal to reach for.

reply to post by ignorant_ape


The states are sorted by STATE not by COUNTY. So your argument is invalid.

Oooh... Oooh.... I got it... The folks in the red states are too busy working 80 hour work weeks to notice that their sports car was recalled for bad brakes. As for the blue states? They made the bad brakes.

reply to post by FyreByrd


Lol I drive around 90 miles to and from work each day.. Although Cali traffic sucks... bad.. I took a trip from Las Vegas to San Diego took 13 hours to go less than 400 miles it was nuts...

However the fact of it remains the more people you have commuting not by mass transit, means there is a higher chance of accidents. Most of the rural areas typically have longer commutes than people who live in the city or the 'burbs. Now also you take into account that the majority of EMS services in the rural areas are volunteers, and not a paid on staff EMS as in cities. This means also that emergency response times are longer, and transport times to hospitals are greater all of which adds up to higher chance of death in a serious accident.

For example. Depending on where you are in Alaska, if you are not near a major city or town, average response time for EMS from call to location can be upwards of 40mins or longer during the winter. That isnt including the fact that if you are unable to actually call 911 yourself. If you have to wait until someone else has to call for you than that time could be hours, and this all has a direct outcome to surviving an accident.
Compare that to a major city where average response times are 10-12mins, and there will be hundreds of calls reporting the accident.

The fire department I used to work for had an area of responsibility with the square miles roughly the size of large city, with two ambulances, and 60 miles of highway. The other fire department in the Mat-Su Borough had a total of 6 ambulances and the area of response the size of the state of Virginia.

Its all perspective.


Grim

reply to post by Grimmley


I do agree about a higher rate of fatalities in more rural areas just for the reason you cogently state. I have heard/read that often accidents in rural areas are more severe then those in more urban areas because of weather, speed and lack of attention (i.e. assuming that no one is coming around a blind corner). I don't like driving in rural areas for the above stated reasons and have been scared more then once by other drivers doing things I think are nuts.


I still stand by my anger thesis. Happy Thanksgiving - ya all.

Originally posted by jessejamesxx
I've been living in Dallas for over a decade, I moved here from Chicago. One of the main differences I've seen, is people's attitude towards drunk driving. I went to visit Chicago last year, and was astounded that every time we went out somewhere, with different crowds of people, they called taxis to take us drinking. Never once has that happened to me in Texas. No one has ever suggested we call a cab to take us out or drive us home.. But in Chicago, it happened multiple times in the few weeks I was there.

I'm not sure what causes the lax attitude, but in a way, I'm glad. I don't consider "buzzed driving", "drunk driving", if I'm under the legal limit (which I almost always am, not much of a drinker)

You're right about Dallas ppl not wanting to take taxi's.
First all, People want to be seen sporting their rides.
Folks in Dallas only taxi around the small neighborhoods, like uptown & greenville ave- the places where u can actually bar hop. From what I've observed, people look down on taxis cause taxi drivers suck, they really do stupid & dangerous things.

Then the ego comes to play. People expect you to be able to handle your liquor, handle yourself, get yourself and your ride home. Its looked down upon if you cant deal with it.
If you leave your car somewhere, it might be gone (towed or stolen) or vandalized by morning.
Furthermore, since most ppl want to drive their fancy cars on the night out, they probably don't live in close proxcimity to the main spots and probably don't rationalize paying for a d.u.i vs paying for a taxi. They don't want to show up in a taxi, that's not stylish. They want to pull up in their cars for all the bystanders to see, then pay 20.00 for valet. Trust, Ive experienced the Dallas late night scene for many years. Seen it all.