Traffic law enforcement unrelated to traffic deaths

[The Heretic]

Texas radically reduced traffic enforcement with no noticeable impact on road safety

What's the relationship between traffic enforcement by police and roadway safety? Arguably not much. Over the last decade, the number of tra...

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[Nosferatu]

Traffic enforcement has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with revenue.

 

[albin25]

It's the threat of enforcement (expensive ticket, loss of license etc...) that is the effectiveness of traffic enforcement... like most law enforcement the "stick" comes AFTER the law is broken, it does little to PREVENT the infraction (it provides a non-lethal consequence to what is deemed to be dangerous driving).

if there was perceived to be NO enforcement, our streets would be even more deadly.
why would someone NOT drive 60mph in a school zone if the very costly consequence wasn't seen as much more frequent than the relatively in-frequent running over of a kid, the incidence of drunk driving would be insanely higher, stop signs would be meaningless, one way streets? meaningless, brake lights never fixed, who needs insurance? a license?

It might take awhile (like until all the Law following, don't want a ticket drivers died off). Occasional periods of reduced enforcement can have almost no effect, but as the lack of traffic enforcement becomes known the problems surge. Think of traffic enforcement being the wrench that keeps the nut holding the steering wheel from getting too loose

EG... if you train your dog to fetch the paper by giving a treat every time, he will continue that behavior even if the treats become sporadic or stop ... for a while... but you will eventually end up getting your own paper if the treats stop for too long.

and when you think about it... dogs as a group frequently appear to be smarter than a lot of people

 

[The Heretic]

It might take awhile (like until all the Law following, don't want a ticket drivers died off). Occasional periods of reduced enforcement can have almost no effect, but as the lack of traffic enforcement becomes known the problems surge. Think of traffic enforcement being the wrench that keeps the nut holding the steering wheel from getting too loose

EG... if you train your dog to fetch the paper by giving a treat every time, he will continue that behavior even if the treats become sporadic or stop ... for a while... but you will eventually end up getting your own paper if the treats stop for too long.

and when you think about it... dogs as a group are frequently appear to be smarter than a lot of people

Over the same period, though, roadway deaths per hundred-million miles first rose and then declined to pre-2010 levels, despite major population increases over this period coupled with radical reductions in police enforcement. From TXDOT's annual crash statistics:

• 2010: 1.31
• 2011: 1.29
• 2012: 1.44
• 2013: 1.39
• 2014: 1.46
• 2015: 1.39
• 2016: 1.40
• 2017: 1.36
• 2018: 1.29
• 2019: 1.26

 

[albin25]

Better brakes, better headlights, better air bags, better seatbelt systems, better vehicle construction, better road lighting, varying weather from year to year, even slight change in reporting methods can all cover a 1/10th fluctuation in deaths per MILLION miles. The national deaths per million miles is about the same so unless all States are "doing the same as Texas" something else could be causing the fluctuations on the year by year rates. Correlation is not always causality. Do ALL the increased population drive? or being urban take an Uber or bus? they even old enough to drive? and as they age are they going to push the stats up? How does the deaths per million miles compare to the number of first time drivers licenses?... the numbers of drivers over 75? has the number of drivers per vehicle changed? Are Cities relying more and more on traffic cams?

the calculations are assuming the number of miles traveled, unless every driver reports their mileage driven each year, exactly how is it arrived at...dartboard, dice, numbered balls like the lottery? has the method of figuring out the totality of diving miles in the State changed in ten years? I'm assuming ( but... well ... assumptions ) that it uses a fixed formula based on population/ fuel sold/ drivers licenses issued, and then jiggled by some national Agency we can all trust like the CDC, then the State Court bean-counters total the number of cases that get to court in that State that only count convictions not dropped cases to arrive at the level of enforcement.

Whew...lots of what-if's for a tenth point change over ten years.

NOTE:
as always, its entirely possible I'm completely full of crap and just feel like being a contrarian. BUT, It's my opinion. Doesn't mean I'm right ... or anyone else is wrong. (It's an opinion, and like butt-holes... everyone has one.)

 

[Provincial]

Anecdotal evidence (personal observations) are not accepted by scientists, but my real-world experience tells me that a relatively small percentage of drivers cause a disproportionate number of fatal accidents. This may be outdated due to recent changes in behavior, like texting while driving, but historically, there is a group of drivers that operate in a reckless manner (like really excessive speed, driving while impaired, driving way too fast for conditions, or using the vehicle to intimidate others) in comparison to those who speed a little or lose concentration.

Because saturation traffic enforcement is impractical, most of the reckless drivers escape citation. As others have observed, by sheer numbers the minor speed violations and inattention citations are the bulk of traffic citations.

This is why "hands-off" traffic enforcement shows little statistical downside. The chances of the "reckless" element getting caught is slim, no matter how much enforcement is stepped up (within practical limits) because cops can't be everywhere at once.

The statistics do show that improvements in crashworthiness, handling, braking, and vision (backup cameras, blind-spot monitors, even a right-side mirror) can make major improvement in crash avoidance and survival.

Using "per-mile-driven" figures is one way to get a more accurate comparison of vehicle safety over time.

 

[The Heretic]

Anecdotal evidence (personal observations) are not accepted by scientists, but my real-world experience tells me that a relatively small percentage of drivers cause a disproportionate number of fatal accidents.

Pareto principle - Wikipedia

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