Congress looks at Vision Zero

[Momz]

Congress looks at Vision Zero
   
March 11, 2015

Vision Zero is the concept that it is possible to drop the fatalities within the road transportation community to zero and that it should be done at all cost. Vision Zero plans are lofty and admirable, but the approach is just not plausible
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At the core of Vision Zeros philosophy, life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society, rather than the more conventional comparison between costs and benefits, where a monetary value is placed on life and health, and then that value is used to decide how much money to spend on a road network towards the benefit of decreasing how much risk.

The plan also places human life and health as a priority over mobility and other objectives of the traffic system.  It also describes how we should build roads with no possibility of a side or frontal impact, and prohibition to use those roads on more vulnerable road users.

Another part of plan is speed limits; should the plan be adopted in full American speed limits would plummet to 19 miles per hour in areas where there is contact between pedestrians and cars, and 43 mph for all other roads.  The creators envisioned a slow moving, padded fantasyland right at home in a Disney movie, not the real world.

Vision Zero began in Sweden in 1997 and has since been adopted in some part at least by Netherlands and United Kingdom. In the United States some major cities are also adopting the concept; so far New York, Portland, and San Francisco are all on board. A lawyer in Boston gives out a law school scholarship in the attempt to get the city to take look at considering the idea.

Last week Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced H.R. 1274, a bill that would make money available to local governments to develop and implement Vision Zero plans. A mandatory national helmet law would just be the jumping off point. Make no mistake that the full implementation of Vision Zero in America would eliminate motorcycling as its known now.

Of course it is everyone’s wish that no one would become injured or killed on our roads. Every life is precious and every American should do all in their power to reduce bloodshed on the roads. But simply slowing every vehicle and prohibiting other “vulnerable” vehicles from the traffic mix, all while padding the roadways and interior of vehicles and installing cameras everywhere to find the scofflaws, is the stuff of science fiction, not the real world.  Vision Zero has a blind spot; it does not take into account any budget, financing or the effects on the economy by slowing traffic. Zero fatalities is always the goal, however when you have moving parts operated by human beings traffic safety will always have a component that will never be a control for: human behavior.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation will keep you informed on this issue.

[Jess from VA]

Trading freedom for safety (on this scale) is tyranny.

Death to tyrants.

Humans are not worth this much money or aggravation.  We are not in short supply; quite the contrary.

We are back to......... it's all about control (by the State).

Vision Zero.... that means blind, right?

[Gryphon Rider]

I think the first step should be raising the minimum level of competency required to acquire and keep a driver's licence.

Truly, though, having life and health as the overarching priority of a man-governed society is fundamentally flawed.

[bentwrench]

Getting us out of our cars and into more eco friendly housing(read soviet type tenaments)has long been the goal (Agenda 21)of our friends at the UN.This is just a turd they thow out to see if sticks to the wall. All I have to say is
                                 SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

[bigguy]

Congress looks at Vision Zero

I don't see the problem. All you need to do is created a median between all lanes and plant them with money trees. Regular harvesting of the money trees will easily fund the program. And there are additional benefits.
As I'm sure you are aware, money trees absorb 25 times as much carbon as conventional trees.  Planting more of them will be of benefit to climate stability.
Money trees are also 25 times softer than cotton, so the errant path taken by a cell phone distracted driver will have a cloud soft cushion to soften the impact.
The roots of aged money trees can be ground into a poultice that will cure cancer, baldness, halitosis, erectile disfunction, and toenail fungus.
The alcohol produced by fermenting money tree wood has 25 times the energy density of petroleum. It also does not damage seals and gaskets, as well as making the best darn margarita you'll ever lick a lime from.
I'd offer to send some seeds, but my last money tree died when I left a window open and exposed it to an hour of CNNMoney from the television.

[Patrick]

I still like Charles Darwin. He still works. He does take some innocents though, and, I think no matter what we do to try and stop that, good old American [ or human] ingenuity will figure out a way to keep him relevant.

[art]

Congress has zero vision. This has to be a joke. Maybe they should outlaw all motor vehicles and go back to horses. No motorcycles but we can have six horse chariots.  IDIOTS.

[old2soon]

Just imagine how LONG it would take a semi to go from N Y C to L A Ca at 43 M P H and the resultant time and cost to deliver any load anywhere on this continent at those-well NOT speed but gubmint mandated rates of velocity.  I've been over U S-50 in Utah and Nevada-at 43 M P H you WILL have a lot of suicides out there.  IF motorcycles aren't outlawed outright at 43 M P H I would not need 4th and 5th on the Phatt Ghurl. 43 M P H-these are the same folks that STILL want 15% ethanol in our gasoline even after ALL major auto manufacturers told them it won't work!  We from da gubmint we only want to help.      RIDE SAFE.

[Pappy!]

Good ol' Washington. Not willing to lose a single taxpayer!

[..]

Ze English are quite rapidly enforcing 20mph zones in large areas of major cities. All in the name of safety.

Please do your own google search.

[Jess from VA]

You know, before Congress looks at anything else whatsoever, they really ought to go back and try to make everything they have done in the past actually work.

A good Congress knows it's limitations.

Looking back in history, Congress is like a big stud going around and poking a thousand women, leaving babies all over the place with no care or nourishment, just moving on to new women, all the time patting themselves on the back calling it progress.  Time for a vasectomy.

Though it's really more like sodomy than intercourse.

And we don't get paid for the screwing, quite the contrary. 

[..]

You know, before Congress looks at anything else whatsoever, they really ought to go back and try to make everything they have done in the past actually work.

A good Congress knows it's limitations.

There hasn't been a good congress for a helluva long time.

[da prez]

                                       AS I SAID BEFORE

                      IF PRO IS THE OPPOSITE OF CON.

                         THEN THE OPPOSITE OF PROGRESS IS-------

                                 C O N G R E S S !

                                                          da prez     

[BF]

Congress looks at Vision Zero

I thought this was going to be a thread about Obama's vision.