Re:NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles
by aeharding on Wednesday September 21, 2022 @09:36AM
(#32924952)
Yup. This drunk driving detection is just a symptom of the larger problem: car dependency.
You don’t need alcohol detection in cars if everyone can just walk or bus safely to their neighborhood bar or friends. Virtually nobody wants to drive drunk, but it’s basically encouraged by the way we design our cities.
Re:NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles
by wink on Wednesday September 21, 2022 @09:49AM
(#32925124)
Dunno, we had a lot of drunk driving here in the past, especially in the 70s and 80s when I believe my parents' stories. This is in a European city that's not a huge sprawl and with public transport. Yes, it's worse on the countryside, but I think it has gone down enough that it's not JUST a symptom of mainly car dependency.
Re:NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles
by TrueGeek on Wednesday September 21, 2022 @09:17AM
(#32924730)
I don't know that I've ever seen a road in the USA with a limit as low as 15. The road my house is on has a limit of 25, no sidewalks although children attempt to walk on it since the community swimming pool is at the end, and people regularly drive 35+. The road it connects to has a limit of 45 and no shoulder (although, amazingly I've still seen people attempting to walk on it too!) and I've seen people that must have been going 90 mph.
As you say, the roads in Europe are much different. The speed limits are MUCH lower and the roads are designed such that you really can't go much faster. If we invested in safer roads and public transportation a lot of our problems with cars would solve themselves.
Also, smaller streets will typically lead to less distracted drivers, because it requires a certain level of concentration to navigate these streets.
Oh, and something about enormous SUV's that won't make traffic any safer...