A brief analysis of the US car crash problem

In 2019, the US had about 36,560 deaths in car crashes. The US car crash death rate was 11 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled. For comparison, countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK had about 5.8, 4.5, and 1.8 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled, respectively. A number of factors explain the high car crash death rate in the US. One of them is that the US is car-centric. Most people drive as their primary means of transportation. They need to drive to get to work, to get groceries, to get to school. The car-centric culture has been on the decline since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. The shift towards remote work accelerated during the pandemic and has continued accelerating since then. Another factor is that law enforcement is not aggressive enough in enforcing traffic laws. In the US, it is not illegal to turn right at a red light. In Ontario, Canada, it is illegal to turn right at a red light unless there is a green arrow pointing to the right. There is also a lack of photo radar and red light cameras. In Ontario, photo radar is used to enforce speed limits and red light cameras are used to enforce red lights. In contrast, the US lags behind in photo radar and red light cameras. The US car-centric culture and lack of photo radar and red light cameras are both structural problems that require structural changes to resolve. Another factor is that car crash deaths are random events. It is impossible to stop all car crashes from happening. There is always a risk of a car crash happening even if you follow all traffic laws. The random nature of car crashes can sometimes give the impression that there is no car crash problem even if there is one. However, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the probability of a car crash from happening. For example, you can drive slower, drive defensively, and avoid driving if you are feeling tired. The random nature of car crashes is not a structural problem and so it is much easier to resolve than the structural problems. The US car crash deaths are a major problem. Resolving this problem requires a combination of short-term and long-term solutions.