The number of highway fatalities in Utah continues to fall. The 2010 figures, released last week, showed 235 deaths statewide, the lowest number recorded since 1974. That's remarkable considering the state's population growth since then. It also ought to blast forever the notion that higher speed limits on well-engineered, modern highways will translate into more deaths.
Utah's speed limits have crept higher ever since the federally imposed 55 mph limit was removed in 1987. One section of I-15 through central Utah now has an 80 mph posted limit. It is one of only two such areas in the country, the other being in Texas. And yet this strip has produced no increase in carnage, as some had predicted. Freeways in the state's metro areas have 65 mph limits, and interstates through most rural areas allow up to 75 mph — and still the rate continues to fall each year.
If you're old enough, try to remember how it once was. Before each major holiday, the National Safety Council would issue a press release predicting the number of people who would die in auto accidents. In 1965, for example, 720 deaths occurred nationwide over the Christmas weekend, which was a record at the time. These days, no one predicts highways deaths. It's hard to keep up a macabre interest in such things when the numbers keep dropping.
Officials attribute the drop to an increase in seat belt usage. This may well be a factor. Well-designed vehicles and highways also factor in, however. Well-designed highways allow people to move faster while compensating for judgment errors. We're not hearing anyone say that drivers are better today than they were in years past, but an aging population may in fact be contributing to the trend, as well.
The 80 mph section of I-15 seems to demonstrate that all roads have a natural speed limit — one that drivers will find on their own regardless of the law. A study of that strip in 2009 showed that drivers maintained the same average speed there that they held in the 75 mph zones — a speed, by the way, that was between 81 mph and 85 mph. They didn't speed up just because the posted limit went higher.
This trend toward fewer fatalities should add some perspective to the concerns over an increase in cell phone usage and other distractions behind the wheel — perspective, but not ease. As recent snowstorms have shown, too many drivers cause accidents through inattentiveness and reckless behavior. It's also sobering to realize that 235 people lost their lives on Utah roads last year — a figure that, if it were attributed to some new disease, would be dominating public discourse.
It is good to have highway fatalities on the run. Now the trick is to keep it running.
Provided By: Descrete News
Get your settlement today! http://truckinglawattorney.com/
Utah's speed limits have crept higher ever since the federally imposed 55 mph limit was removed in 1987. One section of I-15 through central Utah now has an 80 mph posted limit. It is one of only two such areas in the country, the other being in Texas. And yet this strip has produced no increase in carnage, as some had predicted. Freeways in the state's metro areas have 65 mph limits, and interstates through most rural areas allow up to 75 mph — and still the rate continues to fall each year.
If you're old enough, try to remember how it once was. Before each major holiday, the National Safety Council would issue a press release predicting the number of people who would die in auto accidents. In 1965, for example, 720 deaths occurred nationwide over the Christmas weekend, which was a record at the time. These days, no one predicts highways deaths. It's hard to keep up a macabre interest in such things when the numbers keep dropping.
Officials attribute the drop to an increase in seat belt usage. This may well be a factor. Well-designed vehicles and highways also factor in, however. Well-designed highways allow people to move faster while compensating for judgment errors. We're not hearing anyone say that drivers are better today than they were in years past, but an aging population may in fact be contributing to the trend, as well.
The 80 mph section of I-15 seems to demonstrate that all roads have a natural speed limit — one that drivers will find on their own regardless of the law. A study of that strip in 2009 showed that drivers maintained the same average speed there that they held in the 75 mph zones — a speed, by the way, that was between 81 mph and 85 mph. They didn't speed up just because the posted limit went higher.
This trend toward fewer fatalities should add some perspective to the concerns over an increase in cell phone usage and other distractions behind the wheel — perspective, but not ease. As recent snowstorms have shown, too many drivers cause accidents through inattentiveness and reckless behavior. It's also sobering to realize that 235 people lost their lives on Utah roads last year — a figure that, if it were attributed to some new disease, would be dominating public discourse.
It is good to have highway fatalities on the run. Now the trick is to keep it running.
Provided By: Descrete News
Get your settlement today! http://truckinglawattorney.com/
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