this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2024
70 points (94.9% liked)
Europe
1493 readers
865 users here now
News and information from Europe ๐ช๐บ
(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)
Rules (2024-08-30)
- This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
- No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
- Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
- No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism.
- Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
- If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
- Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in !yurop@lemm.ee. (They're cool, you should subscribe there too!)
- Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
- No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)
(This list may get expanded when necessary.)
We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.
If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.
If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the mods: @federalreverse@feddit.org, @poVoq@slrpnk.net, or @anzo@programming.dev.
founded 4 months ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The primary reason is most people can't drive. I don't mean they can't mechanically operate a vehicle and make it move, I mean they lack the skill required to do so competently and safely.
Are you sure it's not that the road design is much safer in the Netherlands, like the video said?
You seem to do exactly what the video is criticising: finding someone at fault and moving on, instead of changing the street design so that a lack of skill does not result in catastophic crashes.
Haha, this is exactly what the video is about! You are victim blaming. Road infrastructure should accommodate and encourage the type of driving you want.. and wide straight roads encourage faster driving leading to more and more serious accidents.
People are fallable, so design streets that are narrower and add complexity, separate traffic types and see the difference.
Of course but the requirements for getting a licence should also be strict.
License requirements can't be strict unless the infrastructure makes accommodations for people who fail. The US is so car-centric that driving has to effectively be an entitlement, even though it's supposed to be a privilege, in order for people not to be stranded at home.
Again.. the issue is predominantly a systemic issue that hides itself from responsibility by pushing the responsibility to the individual without looking at the systemic causes.
Noone is saying the individual does not bear some responsibility, but making appropriate changes to the roads will help general safety more.
The US roads are so wide that they can easily be narrowed and a protected (separated with grass and trees) bikelane and sidewalk installed. Add some curves and watch this issue dissapear without doing anything on the PeRsOnAl ReSpOnSiBiLiTy!! Side of things. Plus it makes cities bikeable and more livable.
Sure but from what I have heard the USA has terribly low requirements for a license.
Both things should be done and the later is much cheaper and easier because you don't have to rebuild every single road.
I know what the video says but that doesn't mean it's right just because it's a video someone made. It could be completely wrong, it could be right about one thing or about many things.
Roads should be designed with safety as a consideration but that doesn't excuse incompetent driving. You're in control of a weapon that can do serious damage, it shouldn't be a hot take to think that skill and consideration should be applied at all times when someone sits behind a wheel.
You claimed that lack of skill is the primary reason. How about you back that thing up before claiming that the video is wrong?
We can argue that some more regulation is needed, sure, but that is missing the point. It's not like the Netherlands only has good drivers, it's that a bad driver can rarely deal heavy damage because the infrastructure was well designed. You cannot remove all bad drivers from the road, the best driver in the world makes bad decisions if they're stressed and late.
You can blame the driver for making a bad decision and see the casualties as unfortunate. Or you can see the fault in the infrastructure, which made what could have been a fender-bender into a head-on collision, and see the casualties as preventable. Those views are not exclusive, but only the latter will actually prevent accidents.
In the field of safety there is a concept called a "normal accident", or a system accident. Basically it says that in any complex system catastrophic accidents will always happen, because they are impossible to foresee (due to complexity) and thus prevent. That theory says you need to prepare for the consequence of the accident just as much as try to prevent it.
So, people are always going to lose control, you need to prepare for when it happens.
I'd say 90% are more or less competent. 10% are idiots and 1% are dangerous morons. A lot of the problem could actually be solved by regular retests.
Judging by YouTube, reddit, and other video clip sources, two is clearly too many pedals for a portion of the population. Astounding.