The Inequality of Who Gets Hit by Cars.

leftlegmoderate · Oct 21, 2015

Yes, you read the title correctly. Someone actually had a look at this, then decided to throw it atop the crap pile of things you should feel bad about as a white person. Be sure to check your privilege next time you get behind the wheel.

While the number of Americans dying in car crashes has decreased steadily since 2003, the number of those cases in which pedestrians were killed by cars was at a five-year high in the latest data. In 2012, 14 percent of all people killed in traffic accidents were not in cars, but were walking, running, jogging, hiking, sitting or lying down.

The traffic deaths aren't distributed equally though. Native Americans, Hispanics and blacks are much more likely to die as pedestrians in traffic accidents than whites or Asian-Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Minorities may be more likely to live in urban areas where they would be crossing busy intersections more frequently. And alcohol use may play a role as well. But racial bias among drivers could also be part of the reason for these differences.

In a recent study, researchers dressed three white men and three black men in identical clothes, and had them walk the same way and exhibit the same mannerisms. Each participant approached the the crosswalk at a busy two-lane, one-way street in downtown Portland while researchers timed how long it took for cars to stop for the pedestrians.

When a black man was waiting at the crosswalk, drivers were less likely to stop. On average, the black participants waited 32 percent longer and had twice as many cars pass them by. The difference became more pronounced after the first car passed. Researchers speculated that seeing another car in front of them pass without stopping made other drivers feel that stopping wasn't as necessary.

In addition to cars being less likely to stop, which could create more accidents, the researchers also posited that it would make minorities less likely to use the crosswalk because of past negative experiences, which would lead to more risky behavior at crosswalks such as crossing without a signal or not at a crosswalk.
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http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/10/19/the-inequality-of-who-gets-hit-by-cars

Alucard · Oct 21, 2015

I don't think Portland would be an accurate city to conduct such a racial/ethnic study.

logical1 · Oct 22, 2015

As a cyclist I can tell you that if you are on a bike and hit by a car, most of the time the driver will only get a slap on the wrist if that.

My Fing ID · Oct 22, 2015

Alucard said: ↑

I don't think Portland would be an accurate city to conduct such a racial/ethnic study.
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We are exactly the place that would though, and tie it to racism. Remember fair citizen cars are evil and bicyclists are our benevolent overlords. That's why the city bends over backwards for bikes and does everything they can to congest traffic.

FrankCapua · Oct 22, 2015

How many happened at night?

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The Inequality of Who Gets Hit by Cars.

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