So there I was, sitting on an ammo can, in Iraq. I actually didn’t know it was that day until we had to write down a record of rounds expended.

My family will not play Stratego with me anymore. I buy hotels, and stay out of Australia in Risk, so they’ll play other board games with me still.

The problem isn’t the space it’s the acid.

I’m honestly surprised they cooked the hot dog or didn’t replace it. It just gets worse at every level.

Pretty sure that’s not true…

That sounds so reasonable. And yet I have never seen one in any country, state, or city I’ve been in.

Sure thing buddy. You’re allowed to think whatever you want.

So it doesn’t matter that the accidents that do happen are more deadly? As long as there are less over all?

Why can’t we have less accidents and less death?

The statistic here isn’t accidents. It’s fatalities in accidents at X speed. Germans aren’t driving cars that are any safer than the rest of Europe. If they get into an accident at 70mph or higher then their chance of death is also sharply increased.

The big difference between German roads and American ones is Germans can generally opt out by taking a train. Americans cannot.

No that’s more like, “never been to Central Europe”. Going to Germany is not some kind of test for international travel.

Germany also has strict requirements for driver licenses and a robust mass transit system that removes many people from the roads.

There was one on Reddit that had a rule that no more than 50% of a story could be about the US and if the US was one of two parties they preferred the other point of view.

It’s making fun of slasher movies. There’s usually a scene where they show themselves to one of the victims before later killing them.

Well. Don’t keep us waiting. What country is surprising people with speed cameras?

Oh I have. I used to ride motorcycles and there’s no better way to feel out those roads, I’ve been off-road too.

But the reality is it is the main form of transportation and it is not optional for most Americans. Which means we have a duty to make it as safe as possible. Yeah that also means boring. We’ve largely let capitalism and personal preference rule the day and motor vehicle accidents are the largest non-disease cause of death because of it.

And before anyone gets all up in arms about the every day person knowing a ton of regulations, this should all be taken care of on the manufacturer and seller side of things. The size requirements for commercial licenses should come right down to invalidating future purchases of giant pickup trucks, you know the ones, so big they can’t park properly and an M1A2 tank has better visibility. Speed governors should prevent going over 80mph. Headlights should have a max capacity and a thermal camera should be standard to make night driving clear as day.

But the biggest thing by far is we need to make a project of mass transit such that driving becomes a profession and a hobby, not the main means of transportation. If we can get commuters and road trippers off the road then motor vehicle accident deaths will fall dramatically.

Well there’s three ways to fix that. A state max over which it’s a criminal offense and you go away in handcuffs. A sliding fine that hits for percentage of income. And making all of the penalties criminal. Make it an actual crime for which you have to be taken to jail, booked, and arraigned. Make sure to write in language extending the liability to employers for chauffeurs.

That’s because eons ago a judge determined the error rate for speedometers and radar guns was around 10 mph and we couldn’t punish people for something they don’t realize they’re doing.

Completely rushing past the fact that not realizing your speed is itself a giant red flag.

And that has absolutely contributed to the sense of entitlement to speed.

We can’t do that for most of the roads. We really do just need more traffic cops, tougher penalties, and more cameras. Part of the reason people speed is because getting caught is like getting struck by lightning. I’ve seen people do 80 right by a cop and the cop doesn’t stop them. The level of enforcement is not commensurate with the safety risk.

No. This is a safety thing. This is multiple tons moving at speed. This gets regulated.

I’m cool with impounding cars and putting drivers in jail.

That’s an issue yes, but objectively America needs to slow down. Accidents above 70 have a sharply increased chance of death. Nobody needs to be doing more than 65. Electric cars also use a lot more energy and tire material to go above 65 and gas cars are using more gas to do it. This generally happens because in order to maintain those speeds they’re constantly accelerating and braking around other cars.

I’m sorry driving isn’t fun, it was never meant to be once we obliterated mass transit in the US. It’s meant to get you to the destination, preferably safely.