A conversation with Seattle
Insurance company Allstate just released their 2013 America’s Best Drivers Report, and Seattle has actually slipped in the rankings from last year, down six spots to 160th out of 200 cities. (In 2012, we were 154th.) Continue reading Are Seattle Drivers as Bad as Allstate Says?
But let’s go ahead and note right here that Tacoma is worse–in 156th place. Those people drive like maniacs. Around the Northwest, Spokane comes in 43rd, slightly bettering the national average, at 10.6 years between bent fenders. But Boise, Idaho, is the real star, coming in second, just a hair behind Sioux Falls. Boise! We throw up our hands. Continue reading Allstate: You Really Suck at Driving, Seattle
Using data from Seattle’s department of transportation, the Times’ Justin Mayo has created a Tableau map of more than 1, 800 collisions involving a bicycle from 2007 to 2011. My own infographic skills are not up to dropping an overlay of Seattle’s bike lanes on this map, but glance back and forth and tell me if you see what I think I see. Continue reading Are Seattle Cyclists Colliding with City Policy?
Someone hit by a car traveling at 40 miles per hour has an over-80-percent chance of being killed. At 30, it’s still 37 to 45 percent. But at 20, it’s just five percent.
The key factors are stopping time and response time–at 20 miles per hour, the driver is in control of their car, and can stop before hitting someone. As you increase speed, you have less time to respond, while stopping distance increases. Continue reading The War on Running People Down in the Street