F.A.C.T.--Families Against Car Tragedies.
Did you know that more than 43,000 people die each year in the U.S. in traffic related crashes? This is about 40 times the annual American fatalities in the Iraq war. There are about 6 million traffic crashes annually in the U.S. Did you know that 3.4 million nonfatal injuries are sustained annually or that the economic costs of traffic accidents are between 161 and 421 billion dollars annually? Because speed is a factor in 30% of traffic crashes involving fatalities, controlling speed is particularly important. You can help save lives if you will write your legislators and sign local petitions supporting legislation to mandate the following systems:
--Radar-based systems, such as those on some Mercedes models, can stop cars automatically when there is an obstacle.
--Global speed controller systems. There is no reason for non-emergency vehicles to go faster than the fastest speed limit in the United States. Currently vehicles can travel well over 100 mph.
--Specific speed controller systems. Current GPS systems can determine the precise location of a vehicle, down to the street level. The speed limit on the street could be programmed as the maximal speed limit of the vehicle. This system could even take into account speed limits that change by the time of the day, such as school zones.
