On The Road To Safety In the past 40 years cars have gotten safer, and highway deaths have dropped as well. But as new technologies emerge, so do new risks. Are we on the road to greater safety? Or have we sped past the era of declining fatalities? This week NPR explores these and other matters on the air and at NPR.org.
Special Series
On The Road To Safety
Justin Peacock (left) helps fellow Gators fan Mike Starling drink the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail" during tailgating activities at a recent University of Florida game. The parties outside stadiums are under fire amid growing concerns about underage drinking, drunken driving and other risky behaviors. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption
A driver uses a cell phone in Freeport, Maine, in September. Maine and more than a dozen other states have implemented laws to curb distracted driving practices such as texting or talking on cell phones while operating a car. Robert F. Bukaty/AP hide caption
Automakers Help Aging Drivers Travel More Safely
Michigan Radio
Basil Rynestead, 17, sits in the driver's seat of his Toyota pickup truck. New federal government numbers confirm that male drivers are still having twice as many fatal crashes as females. And the boys are more likely than the girls to have been speeding or drinking. Sarah Nathan/NPR hide caption
The Diamond Diverges: Cars swap sides of the road at the end of a bridge in Springfield, Mo. Missy Shelton for NPR hide caption