The Disturbing Death Disparity on North American Roads

Summary

The video discusses the alarmingly high traffic fatalities in Miami Dade County, with 358 deaths compared to Toronto's 45, highlighting the dangers faced by pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. It emphasizes the failure of government to ensure safety and suggests that car-centric urban design contributes to these high rates. The video contrasts this with safer cities like New York and Seattle and points to Canada's better traffic safety record, attributing it to factors like lower speed limits and stricter drunk driving penalties.

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Q & A

What were some of the issues highlighted regarding pedestrian experience in Miami?

The issues included long waiting times for pedestrian lights, a high prevalence of large SUVs, lack of crosswalks, and a general disregard for pedestrians by drivers, including illegal passing of stopped school buses.

How does Miami's pedestrian safety compare to Toronto's?

Miami Dade County saw 358 traffic fatalities in a year, compared to just 45 in Toronto, despite having a slightly smaller population. This indicates a significantly higher level of danger on Miami's streets.

What was the percentage of Miami Dade's population injured in traffic crashes in a year?

Over 1% of Miami Dade's population was injured in a traffic crash within a year, which is an alarmingly high rate.

How many more drivers were killed in Miami D compared to Toronto in the same period?

Miami D saw 16 times more drivers killed than Toronto in the same period, highlighting the difference in road safety between the two cities.

Which US cities had the best and worst traffic safety records in 2019?

The safest cities included New York, Boston, DC, Seattle, and San Francisco, while the most dangerous were Memphis, Albuquerque, Detroit, Jacksonville, and Tucson.

What is the correlation between car commuting rates and traffic fatality rates in US cities?

There is a clear correlation between higher rates of driving and higher overall rates of traffic fatalities in US cities. New York City, with the lowest rate of car commuting, also has the lowest traffic fatality rate.

How do Canadian cities compare to US cities in terms of road danger?

Canadian cities generally have lower rates of road danger compared to more car-centric US cities. For instance, Montreal, Edmonton, and Ottawa had significantly fewer traffic fatalities per 100,000 people than their US counterparts.

What factors might contribute to the differences in traffic fatalities between the US and Canada?

Factors include the preference for larger, more dangerous SUVs in the US, less driving and more use of public transit in Canada, lower speed limits, more automated traffic enforcement, and stricter penalties for drunk driving in Canada.

What is the urbanist critique of car dependency?

The critique is that car dependency leads to cities being designed in a way that requires a car for basic tasks, which restricts freedom and convenience for those who can't or don't want to drive, such as children, the elderly, people with medical conditions, those who can't afford a car, and victims of past traffic accidents.

What can be done to improve traffic safety in cities?

Improvements can include better road design, more public transit options, greater concern for pedestrians and cyclists, better road layouts in new developments, and ideally, better federal regulation of dangerous vehicles.

Which cities in the US have better than average safety records?

Cities like Seattle and Minneapolis have better than average safety records, showing that improvements in traffic safety are possible within the US context.

How does the US compare to other developed countries in terms of traffic fatalities?

The US is an outlier with higher traffic fatality rates compared to many developed countries. Sweden and Norway are considered gold standards, while the UK, Japan, and Ireland also perform well. Canada is somewhat behind these countries, and New Zealand has a worse record than the US.

Outlines

00:00

🚦 Pedestrian Dangers and Traffic Fatalities in Miami

The first paragraph discusses the poor pedestrian experience in Miami, highlighting issues such as long waiting times at traffic lights, the prevalence of large SUVs, lack of crosswalks, and drivers' disregard for pedestrians. It emphasizes the shocking incident of a school bus having to block the road for children's safety. The paragraph then compares Miami's traffic fatalities to those in Toronto, revealing that Miami Dade County saw 300 traffic fatalities compared to Toronto's 45, despite having a smaller population. The alarming statistics include 30,000 people injured in traffic crashes in Miami Dade, which is over 1% of the county's population. The paragraph criticizes the failure of governments to ensure safety for all road users and calls for accountability similar to that demanded for crime prevention.

05:01

🌎 Traffic Safety Across North American Cities

The second paragraph expands the discussion to traffic safety in various North American cities. It contrasts the safest American cities with the most dangerous, noting that more car-centric cities tend to have higher traffic fatality rates. The paragraph also compares the US and Canadian traffic safety records, highlighting that Canadian cities generally have better safety records, with Montreal, Edmonton, and Ottawa having lower death rates per 100,000 people. The discussion includes factors contributing to these differences, such as vehicle choice, driving habits, and enforcement of traffic laws. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the need for better road design, transit options, and regulations to improve traffic safety and reduce the unacceptable risk faced by residents.

Keywords

💡Pedestrian Experience

The pedestrian experience refers to the conditions and safety measures in place for people walking in a city, including the wait times for pedestrian lights, the presence of crosswalks, and the general attitude of drivers towards pedestrians. In the video, Miami's pedestrian experience is criticized for its long wait times at traffic lights, abundance of large SUVs, and lack of crosswalks, which contribute to a dangerous environment for those on foot.

💡Traffic Fatalities

Traffic fatalities are the number of deaths that occur on roads due to traffic accidents. They are a critical measure of the safety of a city's streets and transportation system. The video emphasizes the high number of traffic fatalities in Miami Dade County compared to other cities, indicating a significant safety issue.

💡Car-Centric Cities

Car-centric cities are urban environments that are designed primarily to accommodate automobiles, often at the expense of pedestrian safety and public transportation. These cities tend to have higher rates of traffic fatalities and injuries, as they prioritize vehicle traffic over other modes of transport.

💡Traffic Injuries

Traffic injuries refer to physical harm sustained by individuals in vehicular accidents. The video points out that Miami has significantly more traffic injuries than violent crimes, emphasizing the severity of the issue and the need for improved road safety measures.

💡Road Design

Road design involves the planning, construction, and modification of roadways to ensure they are safe, efficient, and accessible for all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. The video suggests that better road design, with more consideration for non-motorized transport, could significantly reduce traffic fatalities and injuries.

💡Vision Zero

Vision Zero is a road safety initiative that aims to reduce traffic fatalities and severe injuries to zero through changes in road design, traffic law enforcement, and public awareness campaigns. The concept is that no loss of life is acceptable on the roads and that safety should be the top priority.

💡Urban Planning

Urban planning is the process of designing and managing urban spaces to achieve specific goals, such as sustainability, economic growth, and improved quality of life for residents. It includes considerations for transportation, land use, and community development. The video argues that urban planning plays a crucial role in determining the safety of a city's streets.

💡Speed Limits

Speed limits are the maximum legal speeds at which vehicles are allowed to travel on specific roads or in certain areas. They are set to ensure safety, reduce the risk of accidents, and protect all road users. The video implies that lower speed limits and stricter enforcement in Canada contribute to its lower traffic fatality rates.

💡Automated Traffic Enforcement

Automated traffic enforcement refers to the use of technology, such as speed cameras and red-light cameras, to monitor and enforce traffic laws automatically. This method can help to reduce human error and increase the consistency of law enforcement, potentially leading to safer roads.

💡Drunk Driving Penalties

Drunk driving penalties are the legal consequences faced by individuals who operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. These penalties are designed to deter drunk driving and protect public safety. The video suggests that stricter and more consistently applied penalties for drunk driving in Canada contribute to its lower traffic fatality rates.

💡Car Commuting

Car commuting refers to the practice of traveling to work or other daily activities by private car. A higher rate of car commuting typically indicates a city is more car-centric and may have less developed public transportation systems. The video suggests that cities with lower rates of car commuting, like New York City, tend to have lower traffic fatality rates.

Highlights

Miami's pedestrian experience is poor, with long wait times at lights and a lack of crosswalks.

Miami Dade County had 358 traffic fatalities in the previous year, compared to Toronto's 45.

Despite having a smaller population, Miami Dade saw eight times more traffic deaths than Toronto.

Miami Dade reported 30,000 people injured in traffic crashes, over 1% of the county's population.

Miami had 16 times more driver fatalities than Toronto in the same period.

US cities with higher rates of car commuting tend to have higher traffic fatality rates.

New York City has the lowest rate of car commuting and the lowest traffic fatality rate in the US.

Canadian cities generally have lower road danger compared to more car-centric US cities.

Canadians drive less and take transit more, influenced by higher gas taxes.

Canada has lower speed limits and stricter penalties for drunk driving.

The US is an outlier in the developed world for high traffic fatality rates.

Sweden and Norway are considered gold standards for traffic safety.

The UK, Japan, and Ireland also perform well in traffic safety.

Improving road design, transit, and pedestrian/cyclist concern can significantly reduce traffic fatalities.

Vision Zero focuses on reducing pedestrian and cyclist deaths, but driver deaths are also a concern.

Car-centric cities are not only inconvenient for non-drivers but also more dangerous for everyone.

US cities like Seattle and Minneapolis have better safety records than the national average.

The video emphasizes that high traffic fatality rates are not inevitable and can be changed with better policies and designs.

Transcripts

in a video recently we talked about the

bad pedestrian experience in Miami from

waiting 4 minutes for a pedestrian light

to the abundance of large SUVs to the

lack of crosswalks and general disregard

that drivers had for pedestrians

including drivers so intent on illegally

passing a stopped school bus that the

bus had to physically turn and

diagonally block the road to allow

children to exit and cross safely it was

a genuine surprise that put a damper on

an otherwise great trip to an iconic

City and that was in the most pedestrian

heavy areas it's hard to imagine what it

would have been like in the suburbs in

response to this video we got some

comments telling us basically to stop

complaining and stop comparing other

places to our home country of Canada we

actually understand this instinctive and

emotional reaction people have against

strangers coming to their city and

criticizing it but whether or not we

should stop complaining what do the

numbers actually say about Danger on

Miami

streets last year Miami Dade County saw

300 58 traffic fatalities that's across

drivers pedestrians cyclists and

motorcyclists for comparison the city of

Toronto saw just

45 you heard that right 358 versus 45

Miami Dade actually has a bit smaller of

a population but saw eight times more

traffic deaths that's about 300 people

dying on Miami's roads last year who

wouldn't be dead if Miami had even the

traffic fatality rate of Toronto hardly

known as a European urbanist Paradise

Miami dat also reported 30,000 people

injured last year that's more than 1% of

the County's population being injured in

a traffic crash in one

year that's astonishing a completely

unacceptable level of risk to expose

yourself to when leaving your home every

day that's a failure of multiple levels

of government to provide basic safety

and well-being to residents of the city

not just pedestrians and cyclists either

Miami D saw 16 times more drivers killed

last year than Toronto you hear a lot of

talk in the US about cities and crime

and basically every search result for is

Miami safe talks about crime but Miami

has significantly more traffic injuries

than violent crimes and significantly

more traffic deaths than homicides if we

can hold politicians and governments

responsible for keeping us safe from

crime can't we hold them responsible for

the Carnage on the roads that they

design and build we're focusing on Miami

because we visited it recently but it's

not unique lots of cities in the US have

shockingly bad traffic safety records in

2019 the safest American cities with a

population over half a million were New

York Boston DC Seattle and San Francisco

the most dangerous were Memphis

Albuquerque Detroit Jacksonville and

Tucson you can probably see the pattern

more car Centric cities are deadlier

much deadlier if we take all US cities

with a population over half a million

there's a really clear correlation

between rates of driving and the city's

overall rate of traffic fatalities New

York city has the lowest rate of car

commuting and also the lowest traffic

fatality rate we can also look at the

average car speed during rush hour from

the TomTom traffic index based on GPS

data cities with faster traffic like

Detroit and Oklahoma City have the most

traffic deaths

how many people drive to work and how

fast people drive are just two things

that are easy to measure but there are

dozens of different factors Behind These

extreme differences from Road design to

enforcement in the basic layout of

communities here's something that might

be surprising Canadian cities don't come

close to the road danger you get in the

more car Centric US cities let's go back

to 2019 to match the year of the US

database we're using right before covid

our American benchmarks will be New York

Chicago Houston and Memphis covering the

full spectrum Montreal comes in at 1.7

deaths per 100,000 people Edmonton and

Ottawa are in the same ballpark too

despite being fairly car Centric cities

not as car Centric as Memphis or

Jacksonville but you wouldn't expect

them to come in this close to New York

either we don't have a National Database

to look at every city in Canada like we

had in the US but the most dangerous

we've been able to find is Sir BC a

suburb of Vancouver which had 3.7 deaths

per

100,000 we do have complete data on

States and provinces though and Canadian

provinces tend to do pretty well in

comparison but really it's still

startling how much variation there is

across the US many states are roughly on

par with Canada or not that much worse

like Massachusetts New Jersey even

Minnesota but then the death numbers

just keep increasing through places like

Michigan Texas Arizona Florida Oklahoma

and Mississippi reaching death rates

that are wild outliers within the

developed World part of this is that

more rural States and provinces do worse

but we already saw earlier that there

are big differences in cities compare

Detroit to its Canadian counterpart

across the river Windsor Ontario whose

roads are 17th as deadly that's not to

say it's entirely about Road and City

design though MIT researcher David

zipper has a few other explanations are

some of these surprising differences

between the US and Canada while both

countries are buying more SUVs Americans

are more likely to opt into the more

dangerous full-size SUVs like we noticed

in Miami Canadians also Drive less and

take transit more due to higher gas

taxes Canada has lower speed limits and

more automated traffic enforcement

Canada apparently has penalties for

drunk driving that are stricter and more

consistently applied we're not sure

quite how much these factors explain at

least in places in Canada we've lived

speed cameras haven't seemed that common

and speeding is still very much the norm

but they do probably help explain some

of these disparities we can also

speculate about other things like some

cities having more of an aggressive

driving culture but honestly that's hard

to quantify nearly everyone will tell

you that their city has just the worst

drivers urbanist critiques often revolve

around car dependency and the idea that

it's bad to design cities that

effectively require a car for basic

tasks like getting groceries are going

to work Skeptics often respond with

something like what do you mean driving

is freedom and convenience and we have

to point out that this denies freedom to

people who can't or don't want to drive

anyone under 16 many old people lots of

medical conditions people who can't

afford a car and maybe people who've had

bad traffic accidents in the past but at

its extreme a car Centric City isn't

just a place that makes it Inc venient

to move around without a car it's a

place that makes it dangerous to get

around even in a car under Vision zero

people focus on pedestrian and cyclist

deaths but remember that Miami Dade also

saw 16 times more drivers killed last

year than Toronto imagine if you went to

a city and found out that they had 10 to

20 times more fire deaths per capita

than other cities we hope that in making

these comparisons we can show how

extreme these death tolls are and that

it doesn't have to be that way better

Road design more Transit more concern

for pedestrians and cyclists better Road

layouts and new developments and ideally

better regulation of dangerous vehicles

at the federal level can all move the

needle if you don't want to look to

Canadian cities or New York City Seattle

and Minneapolis are more typical US

cities with better safety records than

average although Minneapolis didn't show

up on our analysis before because it

didn't quite reach our half a million

population cutof for an international

perspective Sweden and Norway are pretty

much the gold standard for traffic

safety Based on oecd data the UK Japan

and Ireland do pretty well too Canada is

a bit behind on par with France and

Italy New Zealand actually does worse

while the US is the big outlier in the

developed world falling between Georgia

that's the country not the state and

Armenia but like we tried to emphasize

in the video the US is an especially big

country with a lot of

variation thanks for watching through to

the end of the video don't forget to

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