Drivetime Mahatma

Buckle up: 'Nuff said about that

Oh Wise One: In viewing deadly traffic accidents published almost daily in the newspaper, I've noticed an unusually large number of these untimely ascensions to the hereafter have occurred with the occupants being ejected from their vehicle. In your humble opinion and after contacting your multiple sources, do you think all these people are unbelted or are we seeing a certain percentage of seat-belt failures? -- Puzzled But Belted

Dear Belted: One of our sources is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which really should adopt a shorter and snazzier name.

The NHTSA tells us that in 2015 about 80 percent of passenger vehicle occupants in the U.S. who were totally ejected from the vehicle were killed. This speaks to the matter of ejection.

Now more broadly to seat-belt use. The NHTSA also says that seat-belt use in Arkansas in 2014 was 74.4 percent.

Another of our sources is the 2014 annual highway safety report of the Arkansas State Police. The state police reported that safety restraints were used in 166 fatalities and were not used in 160 fatalities, or 51 percent to 49 percent. In an additional 32 fatalities, use was unknown.

We therefore deduce that roughly half of the fatalities in Arkansas in 2014 were suffered by the roughly 25 percent of the folks who weren't belted in.

We further deduce that seat belts fail every single time they aren't used.

Hello: The Broadway bridge stoplight at the North Little Rock end has left-turn lights. Why? It's a little puzzling since they are also green and yellow. -- Curiously Yours

Dear Curiously: Two reasons come to mind.

The first is that those turn lights are for the dedicated turn lanes. Hence, the arrows.

The second is that the colors of the arrows correspond to the customary. Red means stop. Green means go. And yellow means caution.

If any yellow arrow is flashing -- a relatively new feature in traffic control -- that means it's OK to turn if a turn can be made safely. That is, yield to oncoming traffic.

Dear Mahatma: When I drive across Hinson Road heading west from the intersection with Rodney Parham and Green Mountain, I've noticed a real flaw in the repaving. Many manhole covers are either below the street level or are above the surface. This is especially noticeable because these uneven lids seem to fall right where the wheels of the car travel. Maybe this is to regulate speed on Hinson Raceway. -- Rapid Roy

Dear Rapid: We're told by Public Works that an inspection has revealed several funky-doodle manhole covers.

Every effort will be made to improve the riding surface. A typical process involves removing the manhole lid, installing a 1.5-inch riser ring and resurfacing the pavement to match the ring elevation.

The city welcomes public input on such matters, it said.

Go to the city's website, mess around, and find the button that allows for reporting of a problem.

[email protected]

Metro on 02/10/2018

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