Traffic fatalities drop as gas prices increase
Photo: splorp - Licensed under CC 2.0
Higher gas prices equal fewer miles driven. Fewer miles driven equals fewer traffic fatalities. At least, that's the assumption, 'cause it's really impossible to know for sure what is driving the current death rate decline on American roadways. Still, that above equation sure makes sense, so we're gonna go ahead and conclude for ourselves that it's true. Add that to the fact that many drivers who can't get off the roads have slowed down to counter the high fuel surcharges which accompany a lead foot, and total motor vehicle fatalities are down 9-percent this year.
There have only been two other times in American history where traffic death statistics dropped so drastically in such short order, one of which was when the country endured its last gas price spike during 1973 and 1974. Coincidence? Hardly. One more good effect from higher gas prices is that fewer drunk drivers are on the roads, as more drinkers choose to consume their alcohol at home instead of driving to the bar. See? High gas prices do have their advantages. Thanks for the tip, Alex!
[Source: AP via AT&T]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
BillNW 2:16PM (7/23/2008)
Let's see: higher gas prices, fewer miles driven, fewer collisions, fewer fatalities . . . lower insurance premiums?
What's wrong with this picture?
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srue 2:04PM (7/23/2008)
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I think we should raise gas taxes. Gasoline usage causes a lot of problems for our society, and its price should reflect that. Hopefully the higher price will reduce consumption and spur adoption of alternative (ideally non fossil-) fuels.
I understand many people feel the pinch of higher gas prices, but the longer we wait to move off petroleum the worse off we'll be. And we all end up paying the costs of pollution, climate change, and dependence on foreign sources (among others).
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jeffzekas 2:10PM (7/23/2008)
A young lady from the UK is visiting us, and she was amazed that an "advanced" country like the US has virtually NO public transportation! Okay, we've now spent GAZILLIONS of dollars on Iraq-- maybe we could create a decent commuter train system on the west coast, with buses and light rail and bullet trains, so we aren't FORCED by big oil to be oil-slaves (Of course, maybe that is the reason WHY the oil and car companies dismantled the Red Car system in Los Angeles, and convinced the feds to allow passenger rail systems to fall into disuse). So, we are doing less driving? Sure. But now, we need a clean alternative (which will leave the roads open to my buddies and I, so we can drive our sports cars like maniacs on the uncrowded, open roads!).
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Boxman 4:06PM (7/23/2008)
srue - you may be right, but with gas prices already painfully high it would be political suicide to propose such an increase.
Indeed, proposing a gas tax hike could be counterproductive, as it would discredit and weaken the political bloc that wants to get us off fossil fuels.
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tankd0g 9:59AM (7/24/2008)
If the Bush administration saw value in this, i.e. they and their friends could profit off it heavily, gas would have a $1/gal "Patriot Donation" attached to it with yellow ribbons on every receipt, you would all sit there and take it like good little flag wavers. As it stands, gas in fact does have such a tax on it, it's just deferred to the Chinese until they decide to collect.
If the democrats introduced the same measure, it would only be 15 cents a gallon, called the "Renewable Fuel Initiatives Tax", and the party would lynched and perhaps replaced by Nader as the #2 party in the house.
Serge 7:22PM (7/28/2008)
Very acute observation, tankd0g. Courtesy of small government, fiscal responsibility folks ...
Serge 2:51PM (7/23/2008)
There are good examples of public transportation system in the U.S. (NYC, Oahu). But you are right, L.A. public transit sucks.
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Hairshirt 4:19PM (7/28/2008)
"A young lady from the UK is visiting us, and she was amazed that an "advanced" country like the US has virtually NO public transportation!"
I am amazed that the citizens of an "advanced" country like the UK have such awful teeth. We all have our crosses to bear.
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