[demlosers]

43,000 highway deaths / 365 days = 117.80 per day.

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[Madcelt]

they're gonna ban cars/truck/motorcycle next...I'm hiding my in the lake....maybe they won't look there.(/sarcasm off ...I just could help myself except to say that.)

[Bonaparte]

Classic liberal reasoning by Claybrook. It was federal fuel economy regs that practically mandated the development of SUVs and minivans in the first place. Now she proposes to compound the "problem" with yet more federal regs.

[Atlas Sneezed]

BIG LIE!

Responsible reporting of highway safety has historically been done in terms of fatality RATES. This avoids the distortion caused by increased numbers of drivers and miles driven. (Just because there are more fatalities, doesn't mean that the average driver is at any greater risk for each 10,000 miles driven.

In FACT, this "12-year record high" in total fatalities occurred in the same year where the fatality RATE maintained an ALL TIME record LOW.

The NHTSA release (which emphasizes the irrelevant total fatality number) is noted below, and it states:

"Though overall fatalities increased to 42,815 in 2002 from 42,196 in 2001, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) remained at 1.51, a historic low. According to Federal Highway Administration estimates, VMT increased in 2002 to 2.83 trillion, up from 2.78 trillion in 2001."

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/press/pressdisplay.cfm?year=2003&filename=pr32-03.html

(Note that the fatality rate in the mid 70s, AFTER the limit was dropped to 55, was about 4 times current fatality rates.)

[Maria S]

Not sure if this should be factored in, but weren't there a lot more of us driving after 9/11/01? My husband and I weren't about to fly anywhere until just recently.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

We had a good one last Memorial Day. Our local news reported that we had 12 highway deaths statewide during the holiday weekend. They proceeded to state that 7 of those deaths were motorcyclists from "Bike Week" in Myrtle Beach. They finished the piece by reporting that most of those killed weren't wearing seat belts. Duh. I can guarantee that over half of the victims weren't wearing seat belts as they were on motorcycles. What idiots (the media).

[spunkets]

"Joan Claybrook, president of consumer group Public Citizen, said, "blah blah...blah, blah, blah...blah..."."

None of it covered the fundamental reason crashes happen. That is, that drivers don't pay attention to what they're doing.

[Russell Scott]

Only 42,700 more deaths than the "quagmire" of destruction in Iraq. Maybe the Dims should demand a massive airlift of SUVs to Iraq, in order to make it more like Vietnam.

[Old Professer]

Okay, so working through their numbers we find that total SUV fatalities are 3934 which is 9% of the total fatalities while SUV's make up 10% of the total vehicles; meanwhile, if we work hard enough we can determine that there were over 13,300 non-SUV roll-over fatalities in 2002.

Since it has to be at least 5 times as difficult to roll a passenger car over than an SUV my guess is the author's bias is giving pickups and large trucks a free ride in this piece and is ragging on the SUV.

[Jhoffa_]

Honestly.. aside from their loved ones, who the **** cares?

You know, people DON'T live forever and something is going to kill each and every one of us. Now some of you may prefer to go out as a drooling, diaper wearing, vegatable in some old folks home someplace, but I frankly don't relish the thought of such a fate.

Just let people do what they want to do, drive what they want to drive and leave them the hell alone.

They are going to die anyway and if they want to drop the green and take their chances at the wheel of a Ford Explorer, that's just peachy with me. If they want to skydive, that's great! Whatever! Anything but the safety nazi's continual whining is preferable.

[Captain Peter Blood]

This won't solve the problem but might put a dent in the number of fatalities.
Well all know that a number of accidents always happen on Holidays, Holiday travel, Etc.
Perhaps people should just stay home on Holidays and forget about traveling to Grandma's house etc.. Although it seems important at the time it really isn't.
Anyone out there know the statistics on Highway fatalities on Holiday Travel????

[Bob J]

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[RogueIsland]

When will The Brady Center release a statement telling us which car dealers sold the most cars that ended up in fatal crashes? Is that insitution not concerned about these "merchants of death"?

[DeathfromBelow]

Maybe driving is up due to people not FLYING since 9-11. More people on the road, more chances for death.