Residential Speeding
Throughout many neighborhoods in Delaware, reckless, speeding drivers endanger innocent children. As a result of these negligent drivers, Delaware kids frequently get hit by speeding cars. In fact, the Delaware Department of Transportation, or DELDOT, has gathered research proving that speeding in neighborhoods leads to a large number of fatalities and injuries. The Department of Transportation reports, “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age from 2-14 years” (“Barnstorming Neighborhoods”). Shockingly, this explains that out of every possible cause for the death of a child, getting hit by a car ranks as the number one most common. This clearly illustrates the scope of the neighborhood speeding problem, proving that speeding presents a hazard that contributes to many child fatalities. Residential speeding is a widespread, serious, and long-standing problem throughout Delaware that deserves to be addressed.
This term “residential speeding” refers to traveling faster than the safe speed limit in a neighborhood or school zone, which in turn puts children at risk. Increased speed decreases the time children have to get out of the way of an impending car. Also, according to Wray Herbert, a psychologist who has researched why children are prone to getting hit by cars, “Faster moving cars appear to loom less than slow moving cars, creating a dangerous illusion that speedy cars are not approaching…. Children could not reliably detect a car approaching at speeds higher than 20 miles per hour” (Herbert). Faster cars appear to be farther away in children’s minds so they do not register them as a threat. Therefore, there is less of a likelihood they will react to a speeding car. ...
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...ng is a continuous problem. Residential speeding has been occurring since the 1960s and it still has not been properly addressed. Obviously, based on the numbers of children who get hit by cars per year, this problem is still in full swing today. It impacts numerous children and their families throughout Delaware by increasing the risk that a child will get hit by a car. It also amplifies the likelihood that a child that does get hit will suffer a severe or fatal injury. Despite the innovative and effective speed-control methods that traffic engineers have created, speeding is still a problem since not enough neighborhoods have adopted the new speed-controlling solutions. In order to combat this deadly and widespread problem, more neighborhoods throughout Delaware should begin to utilize speed-control methods such as speed humps, speed cushions, and traffic circles.
Distracted drivers in Illinois don’t perceive the dangerous of taking their eyes of the road. Distracted driving in Illinois is so dangerous because it takes a drivers attention away from the primary task of driving. One text message or Email is a distraction for a driver because their probably texting someone at the moment or are expecting a text from someone, and are eager to read the text message. “Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration tell that When texting, drivers took their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds” (Opposing Viewpoints). Talking your eyes of the road even for a minute is extremely dangerous, a fiasco can happen even if you’re driving around the neighborhood. Drivers think that they are perceived of everything while driving in a neighborhood, and no fiasco can happened. Some drivers are not perceive that young pedestrians (children) cross the streets without any reprimand, and if a driver at the moment is distracted a fiasco can occur. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. Another way death can occur is in the expressway where millions of cars are driving through the expressway in a high speed lim...
Star Tribune mentions that according to the Department of Public Safety, "distracted driving causes on in four Minnesota car crashes and results in at least 70 deaths and 305 serious injuries a year." This statistic appeals to logos by explaining how distracted driving is a serious matter. The statistic conveys an informative tone. Star Tribune incorporates the statistic to build their ethos. The statistic makes car accidents seem more realistic to their audience. This causes the audience to get alarmed about car accidents as well. Then, Star Tribune writes that the U.S. Department of Transportation reports, "Nationally, highway deaths spiked to 35,092 in 2015, the highest one-year increase since 1966." Star Tribune includes this statistic to explain how deadly car crashes are. This establishes a fretful tone. The statistic appeals to the audience's logical reasoning about how car accidents need to stop. The statistic also builds Star Tribune's ethos by quoting the U.S Department of Transportation: A trusted source. Star Tribune also adds that the U.S. Department of Transportation blamed the 7.2 percent of deaths per miles traveled on drunken driving, speeding, distracted driving from a phone or other hand held device. The data concluded "that about 10 percent of fatal crashes in 2015 involved at least one distracted driver." The statistic means that for every 3,509 car accident death, at least one death was from
Drivers who speed often do not realize the enormous danger they are creating. When someone is speeding they have a higher braking time and are often going too fast to notice all of their surroundings, and fail to take all of the safety precautions a driver should use. Road conditions play a large role in the effects of speeding. Choosing to speed can also get a person’s license taken away, cost a fortune, or both.
"CDC -Injury - Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. .
According to the Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, "automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for those aged 3 to 33, with 43,005 (118 per day) Americans killed in 2002 alone" (Clayton, Helms, Simpson, 2006). Worldwide, vehicle accidents consist of 1.2 millions deaths per year, "behind only childhood infections and AIDS as cause of death amount people aged 5 to 30 years old" (Clayton., 2006). The annual cost of road accidents is estimated about $518 billion"(Factor, Yair, Mahalel, 2013). The fact alone of being in a moving, heavy vehicle is a danger in itself but individuals that do not wear their seat belts, talk on the phone, text, and do other distracting behavior also put themselves in even more harmful situations.
Statistics show 16- to 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger, which is due to distracted driving. Taking your eyes off the road for 2 (two) seconds, at 60 mph, means you have driven blindly for half the length of a football field. The risk of fatality is 3.6 times higher, when they are driving with passengers than when alone. For many years, the correlation between driving behavior and age has interested highway safety researchers and administrators. It is general knowledge that the greatest risk of motor vehicle crash...
“Long term effects of repealing the National Maximum Speed Limit in the United States.” American Journal of. Public Health. 3 October 2010: 1-4. Web.
From first-hand experience, one should easily realize that the common man would feel negativity toward raising speed limits. People fall into this trap because the general public is often mislead into believing that abolishing speed limits on highways will only cause more harm than good. People often are the victims of misunderstanding and people rarely observe the advantages offered by increasing the speed limit to a safe level.
Some would say that speed limits are not adequate, or certain laws should be changed. Reports have shown that the majority of Americans have no problem with speed limits or the laws; new drivers are not helping either. There are key things that are liable for joining or causing road rage. For example; loud music, honking the horn, tailgating, and changing lanes without signaling all have been known to increase tension while driving. The actual causes can be traced back to different forms of stress. Such as being called into the boss' office for discussion of work performance, making bad grades in school, or having just been dumped by your girlfriend/boyfriend. Road rage is a result of an outburst of all the stress in ones life. Cars are a status symbol in our time. Nice cars give others the impression that the driver has money. Fast or flashy cars give an impression
Some say that one of the main causes of aggressive driving which usually leads to road rage is highway congestion. The road construction on the major interstates adds to
Every year, thousands of people are injured or killed in car wrecks caused by road rage/ aggressive driving. Despite this fact many people still are impatient and become angry on the road. Driving is a curious display of public and private acts. A car isolates the driver from the world. The personal sensation of power over a couple thousand pound car is intoxicating. Road rage/aggressive driving starts from things such as illegal or improper lane changes, failing to yield the right of way, and excessive speeding just to name a few. Everyday we deal with this type of driving. Everyone runs a great risk just driving around the corner to the local convenience store or just to the local church. According to U.S. News and World Report, the United States Department of Transportation estimates that two-thirds of fatalities are at least partially caused by road rage/ aggressive driving. This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against road rage/aggressive driving.
According to Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) study in which speed limits were varied at 100 locations nationwide resulted "raising posted speed limits by as much as 15mph had little effect on the motorists' speed." The data actually indicates that accident rate reduced at sites where speed limits were raised. Traveling at high speeds saves time and gets you to your destination quicker and the traffic usually travels five to ten miles faster than the posted speed limit.
“Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time,” said by Steven Wright. Teenagers look forward to their sixteenth birthday so they are able to drive. Everyone has felt that feeling where they can hardly wait to get behind the wheel and start driving. Little do people know teen drivers are more likely to die from a car accident than from a homicide, suicide, or cancer combined (Littlefield). They are mostly inexperienced with the road and how to handle distractions. If the age were moved to eighteen teenagers would have more driving experience (Sostarecz). Teenage drivers are extremely eager to drive because of freedom, but they are not aware of the distractions and peer pressure on the road; their experience of driving is not as well as others and statistics show how many deaths are caused due to teenage driving.
Our neighborhoods need control of speed, too. Accidents not only happen on the highway, but also on residential streets, with the speed limits being 25 mph. Motorists are exceeding these limits as I speak. They would be unable to stop quickly enough for pedestrians, possibly swerving out of control and hitting a house or another car. My street has been monitored, by the city, due to this excessive speeding. The city of St. Clair Shores is trying to make the motorists aware of their speeding by posting a digital sign, which posts their current speed. Without a legal speed limit in residential areas, people would drive in excess of 25 mph all the time. We need this wild speeding controlled soon before something bad happens.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers” -Dave Barry, comedian. The number of accidents over the last ten years have drastically increased, drivers are paying less attention to the road itself. Many individuals behind the wheel of a car believe that their driving does not affect the road conditions, however it always will. The driving habits of today are catastrophic due to the reasoning that the driving will affect other lives through reckless or distracted driving, and disobeying traffic laws.