September 2016 Archives
High school provides counselors after teens die in crash
The death of two teenagers in Arvin prompted administrators at the local high school to prepare for grieving students. The California Highway Patrol confirmed that two young men, ages 14 and 16, perished when they were ejected from a 2004 Honda Accord that rolled over after hitting a dirt mound at a high rate of speed. In response to the news, the principal of Arvin High School transformed the school's career center into a counseling area. Psychologists, counselors and mental health workers met with students upset by the loss of classmates.
Some statistics on pedestrian deaths
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, California led the nation in pedestrian deaths in 2014. In that year, there were 4,884 pedestrians killed around the country in accidents involving motor vehicles, and 697 of these fatalities occurred in California. Florida and Texas had the second and third highest numbers of pedestrian deaths in 2014.
Older drivers may benefit from autonomous car technology
Sophisticated safety systems that constantly monitor road conditions and are able to actually steer around obstructions or brake to avoid a crash are already available on many new cars and trucks, and the California-based technology giant Google hopes to introduce a fully autonomous vehicle by 2020. Many road safety experts believe that this kind of technology has the potential to greatly reduce or even eliminate traffic accidents, and self-driving cars could be a particularly attractive option to the country's growing number of retirees.
Annual car accident death toll was higher in 2015
California residents may be aware that there has been a decline in car accident fatalities over the past decade. There were 42,708 car accident deaths in the U.S. in 2005 compared to 35,092 car accident deaths in 2015. The decrease in car accidents has been attributed to factors like fewer drunk drivers on the roads, greater use of seat belts and vehicle safety improvements.