Herb's Paint & Body #6 - Dallas/W. Mockingbird Lane

Safety Inequality is a Major Concern

In 2016, 40,000 people died in traffic crashes in this country, isn't that hard to fathom?  It's a frightening number no doubt, and even worse when you discover about a thing called "safety inequality".

At Herb's Paint & Body #6 - Dallas/W. Mockingbird Lane, we are always interested in blogs and news stories about traffic safety, because if we can see fewer road fatalities in Dallas, TX and all over the country, that would a great thing.

It is a sad fact that low-income areas are disproportionately impacted by the traffic epidemic as opposed to high-income areas. According to research conducted  a year ago by Governing Magazine, high-income areas had  five traffic crash deaths per 100,000 people, while the proportion for low-income areas was at 10.4.

The connection between socio-economic status and traffic crash deaths is well documented. In this country, High GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita of a state is connected to lower traffic crash deaths in that state. Research in California starting in 2009 even revealed that income is much more strongly related to traffic crashes than age.

In other countries a correlation was also found between economic conditions (such as high income per capita) and high traffic safety levels. Research in China that goes back to 2010 found that, once a province reached a GDP per capita of about $1,500, traffic deaths in that region began to decline rapidly.

What causes this inequality of traffic crash fatalities associated with income? Some experts point to the fact that people with low incomes tend to drive less and walk more, therefore being more susceptible as pedestrians. A 2009 report found that 45% of all traffic fatalities that take place in low-income countries are amongst pedestrians, compared to only 18%  in high-income countries. Another explanation concerns the quality of the vehicles driven in low-income areas. These are inclined to be older people and not equipped with modern life-saving safety technologies such as rear cameras and lane-keeping systems and other crash avoidance systems.

So, as self-driving cars take the place of manually-driven vehicles, should we expect traffic safety inequality to change too? Currently, the full cost to own and operate a car is 57 cents per mile (according to AAA). Will self-driving cars be more affordable for all consumers? Some people think so (Barclays and Deloitte), while others do not (Ford).

As self-drivers gain greater market penetration, it is very likely that the price of what is now considered as “a safe modern car” will decrease considerably. That by itself might help to lower traffic fatalities in low-income regions of the country, but it won’t solve inequality as long as this new fleet is safer and costlier overall.

Sources: BBC, CNN and AAA