GJEL Blog » Driving Information

Late last week, one of Google’s robot-driven cars caused a minor car accident near the web mega-company’s campus in Mountain View, California. The accident involved five other vehicles, including another Google robot-powered car, but the company was quick to absolve their technology from any responsibility for the futuristic crash, saying that a human was driving the at-fault vehicle at the time. The accident indicates that Google’s vehicular experiment is setting the stage for a brave new world of potential street problems that that could make the question of legal liability following an accident much more complicated.

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An ongoing seismic retrofit project to make California’s Golden Gate more secure in the event of an earthquake has created an unexpected safety dilemma for the up to 6,000 cyclists and 10,000 pedestrians who cross the famous bridge each day. Construction crews have temporarily closed the bridge’s west sidewalk, meaning that pedestrians and cyclists alike must share the east sidewalk, which gets as slim as 5.5 feet. While there have so far been no accidents, the Marin Independent Journal reports that sharing the sidewalk has created a clear safety dilemma and sparked disputes between cyclists and pedestrians forced to share the space.

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Whether you drive a car or ride a bike, there’s no question that street safety must improve here in California. In 2009, for example, nearly 1,300 people were killed in car accidents and 100 were killed in bicycle accidents here in California alone. According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, California mourns more than 3,000 traffic deaths each year if you add pedestrians and motorcycles to the mix. Fortunately, reports the San Jose Mercury News, that could all change thanks to a series of street makeovers throughout the Bay Area.

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The short answer to the question above is a definitive “no.” With the rise of technology, distracted driving has become a serious problem on US roadways, contributing to nearly 6,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries each year, according to the NHTSA. To solve this problem, many have turned to dangerous distracted driving technologies that make it easier, not harder, to text and talk behind the wheel. Safety advocates and government officials have opposed this tactic, noting that it’s the conversation, not the device, which causes distractions. The best way to avoid distractions is to simply put down the phone while behind the wheel. But a new article by Keith Barry for Wired’s Autopia blog states that distractions might not be the worst thing.

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The thought of being killed as a pedestrian in San Francisco is terrifying. Fatal pedestrian accidents happen far too often in the Bay Area, especially considering that San Francisco was recently ranked the second most walkable city by the website Walk Score. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to guarantee pedestrian safety in a busy city like San Francisco. Organizations like WalkSF have been incredible about raising awareness about pedestrian safety programs and lobbying the city to make serious improvements. But fatal accidents remain too common far in San Francisco, which has already mourned 9 pedestrians this year.

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In April, the Department of Transportation reported that 32,788 people were killed in car accidents nationwide last year, the lowest number in 60 years. The statistics were just as impressive in California, which reported 2,715 accident deaths, a 12 percent drop below 2009 figures and the lowest number since World War II, according to the Office of Traffic Safety. The California OTS announced Wednesday that the state is being rewarded $76 million in federal traffic safety grants for this impressive drop in car accident deaths. With budgets tight, California will need to get clever about how to allocate these funds, and will hopefully support initiatives that will improve pedestrian and bicycle safety as well.

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How great would it be to drive to work without having to think about accidental low-speed car accidents? For years now, car companies have been researching collision avoidance systems, which use technology to alert the driver when a collision is possible. Volvo’s XC60 SUV forward collision warning system has received the most attention, and a recent report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicated that the warning system could lead to a significant reduction in car accidents. But is this a new example of dangerous distracted driving technology?

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Yesterday morning, a big rig truck collided with a UCSF shuttle van, killing 52 year-old Dr. Kevin Mack and injuring three other passengers. The accident occurred on Octavia Boulevard, which has been considered an accident hotspot for the past half decade after the Central Freeway ramp opened in 2006. The police are investigating the details of this fatal accident, and city officials have vowed to take a closer look at Octavia’s safety record and potential safety improvements.

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Automaker Ford has rightfully been praised in recent weeks for supporting New York legislation to ban distracted driving. This week, the auto giant became the first of it’s industry to endorse a ban against texting and talking behind the wheel, but as Streetsblog points out, their endorsement allows a major loophole that could stand in the way of the campaign to eliminate distracted driving car accidents. Although the bill prohibits the use of handheld devices behind the wheel, it permits the use of auto technology to facilitate hands-free conversations, which can still be distracting and potentially dangerous.

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Like thousands of Americans each year, Utah’s Jayme Lynn Crandall (now best known as Miss America), lost a friend to distracted driving. Her friend was killed by a driver who ran a red light while texting behind the wheel in 2007. The victim’s mother, Linda Mulkey, later founded an advocacy organization “Hang up, Save a Life,” which includes an informative website, awareness resources, and a scholarship fund. Crandall immediately began fighting for this cause, and has pledged to continue this effort throughout the next year, while acting as Miss USA.

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