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Post by tcrashfx on Apr 20, 2007 3:36:22 GMT -5
By David Brown Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, April 20, 2007 Traffic injuries are the leading cause of death in people ages 10 to 24 around the world -- a huge, overlooked and largely preventable public health problem, the World Health Organization said yesterday. In a new report, the organization promoted a long list of suggestions to developing countries, where most of the deaths and disabling injuries occur. The improvements include safer roads and vehicles, better urban planning, helmet laws, prosecution of speeders and drunken drivers, better education of the driving and walking public, and simple interventions such as putting reflective tape on backpacks. "It is a big public health issue for kids, and we can do something about it," said Etienne Krug, a physician who heads WHO's department for injury and violence prevention. As does most of the public health world, WHO eschews the term "traffic accidents." In a statement accompanying the report, the organization's new director-general, Margaret Chan, said that "road traffic crashes are not 'accidents.' We need to challenge the notion that they are unavoidable."
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Post by el Gusano on Apr 20, 2007 4:19:31 GMT -5
Obviously, we need to ban cars.
Cars kill people.
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Copperhead
Forumite
The Baking Bookworm
What goes around, comes around.
Posts: 1,057
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Post by Copperhead on Apr 20, 2007 8:20:50 GMT -5
Obviously, we need to ban cars. Cars kill people. Let's see if that'll fly with John-Q-Public. If we ban cars, then we'll be forced to use public transportation...which would reduce auto accidents (and thus, make the WHO happy), road rage incidents and ultimately reduce gas prices here from decreased demand. Many would embrace cycling to their various destinations. People would start walking to the grocery store three blocks away...and might even speak to the people they meet. A sense of community would grow in areas where people now don't know their neighbor's names. Heck, we might even get a comprehensive rail system going nationwide once again. Hey, this could be a good thing! Let's go for it! After all, we wouldn't be restricting travel, just the mode of transportation.
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Post by el Gusano on Apr 20, 2007 12:23:09 GMT -5
Wouldn't work.
Too many people killed on bicycles. (Alaska has the highest rate in the US. I try to explain it to tourists as a result of the Coriolis effect.)
If you were paying attention, there are train wrecks in the news all the time. These are true weapons of mass destruction. Hundreds killed at once!
Walking is how I broke my ankle. It got me a handicapped tag for a year and a half. A hundred years ago, I would have been crippled for life. (When I do something, I do it right!)
Neighbors kill each other quite a bit, too. We obviously need to avoid them. Especially the white male ones. No one else ever commits a crime, unless it was caused by a white male.
Of course, we could just ban Russians from driving. Would cut DUI's to a third of what they are currently.
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