The dependence on a car for making a decent living in the United States is quite pronounced, particularly in the poor neighborhoods of the United States.
NPR’s recent “Guilty and Charged” investigation shows how rising court fines and fees — often reaching hundreds or even thousands of dollars per person — often hurt poor people the most. “Two out of three African-American men in this neighborhood, of working age, don’t have a driver’s license,” he says while walking down Martin Luther King Avenue in Milwaukee. “And are consequently unable to access the jobs that are beyond the bus lines.”
Not sure where to begin. Years of bad landuse and legal policies have created a system that is not equal to all. In a nutshell, if you don’t have a driving license, you’ll be relegated to looking for jobs only accessible by a bus/transit system (or if you are lucky, you may find something within walkable distance from your neighborhood). Even these transit accessible jobs become more difficult to sustain for these residents when the transit funding runs into trouble, leading to service & route cuts. Until we fix this mess, we can’t expect social upward mobility for many of the poor citizens of the US. Listen to the audio below or you can click here to read the article.
Young motorcyclist pops a wheelie on his high-powered sports motorcycle gets caught red handed by horse-mounted policemen.. When you see the video below you can’t help but laud the way the police handled the youngin’. If you got a few minutes to spare, see the comments posted on this YouTube video..
We have added one more successful year serving the community at large. Thanks to the regular readers and occasional visitors, who kept me blogging, despite the occasional lull resulting from an overwhelming workload at my day job. Now that we are all getting ready take some much needed time off to celebrate the holidays, it is time for me to wish you all a wonderful time with your friends and families.
Take the Buzzed Driving Pledge – Image Courtesy: AdCouncil
Did you know that 137 people died in 2011 during the New Year’s holiday period in drunk driving crashes? So, before you get to open the Christmas gifts that others bought for you, you can give the best gift to yourself. Right now. Take the pledge not to drive while buzzed because you don’t want to ring in the new year with a jail sentence and a $10,000 in legal fees and fines (and not to ignore the guilt of hurting yourself and someone else on the road). Join the 14507 people who have already taken the pledge. Travel safe and celebrate responsibly.
Costs of Driving Driving – Image Courtesy: AdCouncil
Oh, don’t forget to share this with that friend of yours who likes have that one extra beer before leaving for dinner. Or that crazy uncle who like to go hard on the spiked Egg nog. Help spread the word and help us build a safer community!
In a country with nearly 300 million vehicles and an equal number (or more?) of mobile devices distracted is fast becoming a big issue. this infographic by IFA Auto Insurance, designed to raise public awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, shows you how the extent of the problem, the consequences, etc. Worth sharing with your peers.
Image Courtesy: IFA Auto Insurance via Business2Community.com
According to KMBC-TV, California Highway Patrol pulled over the man in bunny costume for not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle on Interstate 8 in suburban San Diego on Saturday (the day before Easter). Reportedly the Bunny Man (or funny man?) was on his way to an Easter charity event. Looks like he got away with a warning but no tickets.
Hi officer, I wasn’t speeding.. Just hopping along. BTW, my name is Peter Cottontail.
As you (or the kids in your household) venture out trick or treating tonight, I want to remind you of a few things regarding safety. Today’s press release from insurance giant StateFarmshowed how dangerous
trick or treating can be for younger children. StateFarm says that its research with Bert Sperling’s BestPlaces, analyzed four million records in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Database revealed the following
Halloween Was Deadliest Day of the Year for Child Pedestrian Accidents
One hundred and fifteen child pedestrian fatalities occurred on Halloween over the 21 years of our analysis. That is an average of 5.5 fatalities each year on October 31, which is more than double the average number of 2.6 fatalities for other days.
The “Deadliest Hour”
Nearly one-fourth (26 out of 115) of accidents occurred from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Over 60% of the accidents occurred in the 4-hour period from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Middle of the Block Most Hazardous
Over 70% of the accidents occurred away from an intersection or crosswalk.
Ages Most at Risk on Halloween
Most of the fatalities occurred with children ages 12-15 (32% of all child fatalities), followed by children ages 5-8 (23%).
Drivers Who Posed the Greatest Risk
Young drivers ages 15-25 accounted for nearly one-third of all fatal accidents involving child pedestrians on Halloween.
Drivers Who Posed the Lowest Risk
Drivers ages 36-40 and 61-65 were involved in the fewest child pedestrian fatalities on Halloween. Together, these age groups accounted for nine child pedestrian fatalities (8%) in the 21 years of the study.
Fatalities Declining
Each of the last six years of the study (2005 – 2010) has seen Halloween child fatalities below the 21 year average of 5.5.
Also, California Department of Public Health today said that on Halloween between 4PM- 10PM, more than 2 times as many kids die in pedestrian/vehicle incidents than during the same time on other days during the rest of year. Scary, right?
One more thing you may want to know is this: Last Halloween, more than 24,700 drivers received a red light violation, according to the Safer Roads Report 2012: Trends in Red-Light Running. So, tonight when you venture out with (or without) your kids, be careful. Dress to be SEEN and do not become a statistic!
This stunning video from Victoria, Australia arrives just in time as the weather around the US starts to warm up and the motorcyclists are polishing up the iron ponies for some good times on the road. The Transport Accident Commission (TAC)’s public education campaign targets two of Victoria’s biggest issues in road safety — motorcycle safety and speed. The description of the video as shown on YouTube: The campaign, titled “Reconstruction”, features a slow motion replay of a crash involving a motorcyclist and a car. The ad graphically depicts the rider suffering a broken neck as a result of his speeding prior to the collision.
The video get’s the message across in an very effective way. If you haven’t yet, you may want to check out the other campaign videos made by the TAC on their awesome YouTube Channel (~19 million views and 4600 subscribers. Whew!!!). Brilliant use of public $$ to educate the public! Hope the US Department of Transportation puts out a similar campaign to educate the American motorcyclists. and prevent thousands of fatal accidents involving motorcyclists (statistics: 3615 people died in 2010 from motorcycle accidents on U.S. roads) .
The advent of dash cams in cops cars have brought to us many a horrible crimes as they happened on the roads. Here is one such occurrence where the police saw (and recorded) a woman hit a pedestrian. Then the chase starts and finishes with a nice & beautiful closing statement by the police officer! It is amazing how the officers handled the situation (one gets off the chase to attend to the accident victim and the other gets off chasing the offending driver). Just brilliant! The best part of the video for me was this statement delivered by the cop: “Sod the Bloody Work”! Well put, Officer! I couldn’t have said it any better.
