Red states have more traffic fatalities than blue ones, but why?

[Tony_FLADEM]

Many social, economic and cultural factors divide states that tilt Republican from those that tilt Democratic. Now a website has uncovered a new and unexpected divide -- red states tend to have much higher traffic fatality rates than blue ones.

Partisans may try to torture a political explanation out of this data. Liberals might argue that friends don't let friends drive conservative. But the facts point toward a more prosaic explanation: Many "red states" offer up higher speed limits, longer drives and greater distances to hospitals and emergency services. Many blue-state residents take public transportation, so their chances of being killed on the road decline precipitously.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-red-blue-state-traffic-fatalities-20121120,0,7918334.story

[yellowcanine]

1. Could be because red roads don't show up as well at night.

Can't see the road - more accidents.

[CreekDog]

2. Red areas are more rural and rural areas have higher fatality rates

there are more traffic fatalities where traffic is moving faster.

in urban areas, traffic fatalities are lower, many people drive less, drive slowly, take public transit (which is safer than driving solo).

etc.

[elleng]

3. Makes sense, but I thought it was RAGE!

[Liberal Veteran]

4. More Baptists?

Jewish people do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian faith.
Baptists do not recognize each other in the liquor store.

[Fumesucker]

10. Q: Do you know how to keep the Baptist from drinking all the beer on your fishing trip?

A: Bring two Baptists.

[The Magistrate]

12. Thank You For the Laugh, Sir

Quite the sting in the tail, that....

[msongs]

5. more drunks driving nt

[Lars39]

6. No requirements for Driver's Education factors in also.

[Aristus]

18. Or any other kind of education, for that matter.

Then put those gun-crazed, diabetic rage-monkeys in a car, and watch what happens...

[oldhippydude]

7. all law enforcement officers are looking for pot smugglers..

for asset forfeiture, instead of enforcing traffic laws..

[fleur-de-lisa]

8. I have no data to back this up . . .

but it seems to me that there are a lot of people in the deep south who don't wear seat belts. I live in Louisiana, but I have been all over the country, and outside of the US. Seat belt use is pretty standard outside of the south.

Some southerners seem reluctant to use seat belts. I frequently see people driving around with young kids crawling around inside the car, clearly not in a car seat or even using a seat belt. And I don't live in a rural part of the state . . . it's a densely populated area.

[On the Road]

9. It's Hard to Die in a Car Crash

if you're stuck in NY or LA traffic.

[bluestate10]

11. Florida and North Carolina, which aren't red states are exceptions.

Roads in the south are poorly designed. Florida and North Carolina have modern highway systems, the roads in those states are easy to drive on and don't have constant danger points.

[TeeYiYi]

13. More alcoholics and meth addicts in rural red states. ...nt

TYY

[dawg]

14. It's a mystery.

[HuckleB]

15. How is the "prosaic" explanation not a result of political decisions?

Please cut the usual false equivalency journalism crap.

[orwell]

16. They don't believe in...

...the laws of physics?

[progressoid]

17. Here is a graphic of the data

[jobycom]

19. It's obliquely political. It's about population density.

The study doesn't measure accidents per driver, but accidents per resident. Populous areas tend to have more non-drivers. More populous areas also tend to vote Democratic, maybe because they are more aware of how a close community functions, and how dependent on each other people really are.

So there's sort of a similar political reason behind both the fatality and the voting stats.

[ladjf]

20. Dumb drivers. nt