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Y'know how I like nuance and am skeptical of simple narratives?
Well, I have a bugbear regarding the discussion on pedestrian fatalities in the US.
To start this thread, I'd like to think I have an unbiased perspective here. I don't drive a very large vehicle, I loathe the arms race in vehicle size, and I welcome all efforts to reduce car-dependence and make our streets safer for all.
But... every discussion I listen to on this topic is real handwavey on the impacts of distracted driving.
@TechConnectify Other people have said it, but pedestrian deaths have not increased in the rest of the world, despite also using smartphones.
From my experience of driving in europe and america, the driving laws are much more lax in the US. In Europe, It's not uncommon for drivers to lose their license for a severe error (like looking at your phone and causing an accident). The consequences of misbehaving on the wheel in the US just aren’t as severe, even speeding 50Km above the limit won't get your license suspended in the US.
All this to say, the data doesn’t support smartphone usage directly as a driver of accidents. But maybe enforcement could be a part of the answer in addition to increase in car size and weight
@Andrev let me ask this question: if you saw a driver using their phone while driving, would you consider that an outlier?
Because here, it seems about a third of drivers I watch are using their phones while behind the wheel. Most are at least only distracted at stop lights, but a frightening number are distracted while actively driving
@TechConnectify To me yes. Of course it depends on the region but it's generally not acceptable to use your phone at the wheel.
I just came back from italy recently and everyone was texting and driving. Quite a culture shock, but the rate of pedestrian deaths seems to also be decreasing over there as well.
@TechConnectify @Andrev in my bit of England its less common to see this, due to increased enforcement (all sorts of tactics are used, including the Police and National Highways using an unmarked lorry to look into cars in the next lane from the cab, also pairs of officers on motorcycles (one unmarked to watch the driver, followed by a marked one to pull them over).
@TechConnectify the other day I was driving my motorbike on the interstate and went to pass a Tesla only to see the driver with their seat fully reclined, eating a massive fast food hamburger with both hands and no view of the road in front of them. Wish I had my helmet cam on for that.
I tailed them for a bit but lost them when they did 85 mph thru a 55 mph construction zone.