I have no idea how this general highway safety information below translates to safety improvements on TV MMPs, but for your dining pleasure........
HOW SAFE ARE OUR NATION’S HIGHWAYS?
In 2010, 32,885 people were killed on the nation’s highways, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the lowest number of deaths on American highways since 1949. Another 2.2 million were injured. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death of Americans between the ages of 1 and 24 years old. In 2010, motor vehicle accidents accounted for more than one out of every five deaths among this age group. (Source: Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report, Volume 60, Number 4, January 11, 2012, Table 7). Poor road conditions contribute to more than one-third of all highway fatalities, according to the NHTSA safety data. Better alignments, wider lanes, median barriers, improved signage and signals, turn lanes, crash cushions, wider shoulders, utility pole relocation and other highway improvements could save thousands of lives each year. Almost three-quarters of all fatal accidents occur on two-lane roads. (NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts, 2009) The Interstate Highways, despite high speeds, are the safest roads, with 0.78 fatalities per 100 million miles of travel. Wide lanes, gentle curves, long lines of sight, wide shoulders, barrier separated traffic and limited access points all contribute to the safety record. The worst are rural two-lane roads with a record of 3.08 fatalities per 100 million miles of travel (Highway Statistics 2009, Tables VM-2 and FL-30). Construction of the Interstate Highways has saved thousands of lives over the years. If all highway traffic were to occur today on same kinds of roads as we had in the 1950’s, the number of highway fatalities each year would exceed 165,000. NHTSA reports that highway crashes cost Americans more than $230 billion annually, including the cost of medical bills, lost wages, legal fees, auto repairs and delays. This is more than two percent of the nation’s total output of goods and services or Gross Domestic Product. The average cost per household is close to $2,000 per year. According to NHTSA, public revenues paid for almost 10 percent of crash costs, adding $200 annually to the tax bill of every household in the U.S.
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