FACTORS BEHIND BOOST IN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC DEATHS

Speeding has boosted this year's highway deaths, greatest in more than a decade, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Traffic data indicates an increase in the death toll is linked to higher average speeds in conjunction with roads seeing more drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol, along with a slight decline in seatbelt use.

 

But Grumpy Editor points to another factor behind the speeding:  TV commercials.

 

Viewers this year have seen TV spots from various American and foreign manufacturers showing speeding vehicles on winding mountain roads, sliding sideways on city streets, splashing through small streams, and kicking up dust and rocks while zooming off roads.

 

Think that doesn't give viewers ideas?

In California, for example, tickets issued by the Highway Patrol for speeding in excess of 100 m.p.h. from January to June were nearly double pre-pandemic levels.  The number of tickets for reckless driving citations also jumped.

 

Nationwide traffic deaths last year rose 7.2 percent to 38,680 even after a 13.2 percent reduction in the number of miles traveled.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

SOCIAL SECURITY BUMP COMING UP.  Social Security recipients are in line for the biggest percentage bump for inflation in 40 years.  Likely cost of living adjustment for 2022, to be announced in October, is predicted to be 6.2 percent.

READY TO HELP VETS.  The Department of Veterans Affairs urges Afghanistan War veterans  to seek mental health care if they need help coming to terms with the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan…a country where hundreds of thousands of veterans served in the 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

FALSE ONLINE INFORMATION EYED.  Amid rising concerns over misinformation online, including that of COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, Americans are a bit more open to the idea of the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online. A majority of the public continues to favor technology companies taking such action, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

 

THURSDAY SPOTLIGHTS CANINES.  International Dog Day, observed on Thursday, encourages dog ownership of all breeds.  It celebrates all dogs and encourages adoption.

UNRULY BEHAVIOR IN AIR DRAWS FINES.  Fines for unruly behavior during commercial air flights soar this year, with the Federal Aviation Administration reporting it has proposed more than $1 million in penalties in 2021.  The FAA receives almost 4,000 reports of aggressive behavior since January.

VETERANS TOUR D.C. MONUMENTS.   A flight organized by Honor Flight Chicago, sends more than 100 veterans from three wars to Washington, D.C. for a whirlwind tour of monuments around the nation's capital that were built in their honor.  In attendance:  Three veterans from World War II, 33 from the Korean War and 76 from Vietnam War.

 PELICAN ESCAPES AGAIN.  A great white pelican escaped for a second time from an Irish zoo and was spotted more than 100 miles away.  The pelican flew the coop and was spotted in Wexford --- the same place it visited after an earlier escape in 2018.