# Driving the speed limit or less is fun! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 21, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-the-speed-limit-or-less-is-fun/968327 "2022-07-21T14:46:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-the-speed-limit-or-less-is-fun/968327/81 "2022-07-24T13:27:22Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > The US is the only industrialized nation where traffic deaths are significantly rising. And they were already high to begin with. Not really. “By all measures, motor-vehicle safety has vastly improved since the early 1900s. [Driver attitudes and behaviors](https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/distracted-driving/employers) have changed substantially, as has [vehicle safety technology](https://mycardoeswhat.org/), which makes car travel safer.” “The population motor-vehicle death rate reached its peak in 1937 with 30.8 deaths per 100,000 population. The current rate is 12.9 per 100,000, representing a 58% improvement.” “In 1913, 33.38 people died for every 10,000 vehicles on the road. In 2020, the death rate was 1.53 per 10,000 vehicles, a 95% improvement.” “In 1923, the first year miles driven was estimated, the motor-vehicle death rate was 18.65 deaths for every 100 million miles driven. Since 1923, the mileage death rate has decreased 92% and now stands at 1.46 deaths per 100 million miles driven.” > **[Historical Car Crash Deaths and Rates - Injury Facts](https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatality-trends/deaths-and-rates/)** > > Between 1913 and 2021, the number of motor-vehicle deaths in the United States increased 1,018%, from 4,200 deaths in 1913 to 46,980 in 2021. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-the-speed-limit-or-less-is-fun/968327/82 "2022-07-24T13:44:28Z")
I don’t think anybody was considering a timescale over 100 years! ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-the-speed-limit-or-less-is-fun/968327/83 "2022-07-24T13:57:40Z")
Actually reading your own cite shows that for the last ten years or so, death rates have been increasing. We are losing the race between collision avoidance technology and cell phone distraction. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-the-speed-limit-or-less-is-fun/968327/84 "2022-07-24T14:15:42Z")
According to the graph on that site, the death rate per capita reached an all-time high in the early 1970s, and subsequently declined. There have been upward and downward blips since then but the death rate is still considerably below what it was in the early '70s. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-the-speed-limit-or-less-is-fun/968327/85 "2022-07-24T14:17:56Z")
When we say something is rising we don’t usually mean from 50 years ago. C’mon. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-the-speed-limit-or-less-is-fun/968327/86 "2022-07-24T15:08:16Z")
Traffic deaths are also down since the early 2000s. But I regret having thrown cold water on your pessimism. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-the-speed-limit-or-less-is-fun/968327.md?page=4)