Red state, blue state divide reflected in grim statistic: fatal traffic accidents

reply to post by FyreByrd


Also something I had forgot to add to that are vehicle vs animals.. lol nothing like a 1500lb moose stepping in to the road to say hello..

reply to post by Grimmley

I spent a short time in Anchorage, AK in the 70's and drove a taxi for a few weeks while there. It was interesting, to say the least, and I got an earful of chilling warnings and personal experiences about living there - pun appropriate though not intended. That was in the days before SUV's became so popular so most vehicles were the conventional Yank-tank cars of that period. Notable though not amazing because of skidding in icy conditions was seeing 80% of the cars about town typically had at least one bashed-in corner. Alaska is listed as the lowest fatality-rate red state so appears its ratio of fender-benders to non-fatality accidents may be somewhat out of the norm.

A couple years after returning to California and while taking a couple classes at the local community college I met a couple guys in a field biology class that spoke excitedly of their desire to head up to Alaska after the semester was out and live the wilderness experience, though neither had ever been there before. I thought it appropriate to pass along some of those experiences related to me. Interesting was moose on the Seward Highway that would charge passing cars. When hit they were tall enough their legs would fold under, their bodies careening through the passenger compartment of the targeted car, then would shake themselves off and go charging after another, and so on. After relating a few other words of wisdom to them as we went about our field studies those two guys in my bio class apparently did visualize those chilling true-life tales and re-thought their intended adventure into the wilds and spoke no more of it over the duration of that semester.

Another observation I made while up there was an immense popularity for thinning the blood through alcohol consumption, ostensibly for protection against the cold. I have often heard that an alcohol-relaxed body fairs better during a high-velocity trauma occurrence and lessens the incidence of fatality. Newspapers often report of a drunk-driver being the sole survivor in fatality accidents, lending some credence to that hypothesis.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro


LOL yeah ETOH tends to loosen the body up during a high volocity event, but thankfully it does not tend to happen up here as much as it used to. Now your biggest challange is to avoid the people while they are staggering into the traffic..

Off topic but related to what you were saying about the moose check this out:






They are looking for thier Universal Health Care..

Sorry Op didn't mean to change the subject...

Back on topic though, yes the more rural the area is the greater chances that people will speed, push themselves with lack of sleep to arrive at their destinations, drive through adverse conditions they are not acustomed to, coupled with the sparse EMS coverage in said areas you are going to have higher fatalities.

Now couple that with the lower populations in rural areas vs urban areas, yes the precentage will be higher, but the actual numbers will be about the same or lower.

Grim

Because Blue-Staters are more likely to drink at home and Red-Staters are more likely to drink in a bar and drive home?

Because a crash involving belted passengers in a Volvo versus a BMW is a fair fight, but a pickup truck against a wayward deer, less so?

Because in rural areas, it takes longer for the ambulance to arrive, thus more fatalities?

Because the snow plows and salt trucks come out early in a snow storm up north to get ahead of the game, but two inches of snow on a newly-frozen ice base without a plow in sight causes utter mayhem below the Mason-Dixon line?

Because you rarely hear, 'Yee-Haw Boys, Watch THIS!!!' in Blue States?

reply to post by FyreByrd


re read my posts - you totally failed to comprehend anything i said

Originally posted by sirhumperdink
reply to post by 11235813213455

 

turns out red states take in far more than they pay out to the federal government articles.businessinsider.com...

though i dont agree with the tone of the article the numbers given are correct

edit: taxfoundation.org...

you can check taxes by state from there and google what each state receives in federal aid and services

edit on 20-11-2012 by sirhumperdink because: (no reason given)

It's a bit off topic, but whenever I see those stats, I notice that they really don't tell you what the money is for. Considering that most military bases are in "red states", we can see reasons other than being mooches that accounts for inflow vs outflow of tax dollars.