By Emma G. Fitzsimmons The New York Times Wed., Jan. 2, 2019 NEW YORK—The number of traffic deaths in New York City dropped in 2018 to the lowest level in more than a century, a sign of progress for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to eliminate fatalities on the city’s streets. The news, however, was not all promising: Although overall deaths declined, the number of pedestrians killed in traffic increased last year, city officials said Tuesday. De Blasio has implemented a number of safety improvements in his aim to eliminate all traffic deaths by 2024, a program he named Vision Zero after a Swedish plan. The total number of people killed in traffic crashes in New York City fell to 200 last year, down from 222 deaths in 2017 and the lowest level since the city began tracking such deaths in 1910, according to preliminary data from the city. The reduction is part of a five-year decline from 299 deaths in 2013, the year before Vision Zero began and the … [Read more...] about New York City sees fewest traffic deaths in more than a century as mayor says, ‘Vision Zero is clearly working’
Bicyclist hit by car
I’m a part-time doctor earning $250,000 a year and I plan to retire next year at age 43 — here’s what a week of my spending looks like
caption The author, his wife, and their two sons. source Courtesy of Physician on FIRE The Physician on FIRE is a part-time anesthesiologist and blogger who plans to retire next year at age 43. He abides by the “Live on Half” strategy: Spending 50% or less of take-home pay and investing in passive index funds. For Business Insider’s “Real Money” series, he shares how he and his wife spent their money during a week in July. Want to share a week of your spending? Email your [email protected] A few years ago, I discovered the concept of financial independence. I was 39 years old and planning to work at least another 15 years in my chosen field of anesthesiology. However, I experienced inception of an idea – the idea that I could retire early, and it was an idea I couldn’t shake. I also realized that my wife and I were in a position to pull that trigger at any time. Mine was an unintentional path to … [Read more...] about I’m a part-time doctor earning $250,000 a year and I plan to retire next year at age 43 — here’s what a week of my spending looks like
One of the biggest problems facing self-driving trucks has little to do with the technology
Tesla, Otto, and other tech firms are developing autonomous trucks. Legal experts and trucking analysts worry that current liability laws aren’t adapting to self-driving trucks. Current laws don’t allow a truck manufacturer to be sued if it designed or manufactured a truck that kills someone. Tesla, Otto, and other companies have been developing driverless vehicles for years, with Mercedez-Benz placing a semi-autonomous truck on the road in 2015. Tech leaders and financiers alike are confident that self-driving trucks will become the norm as early as the next decade, phasing out around 1.8 million truck driving jobs and saving the industry an estimated $300 billion. As for the actual truck drivers and those who analyze the industry, many are surprisingly nonchalant. They’re skeptical that this much-hyped technology has any looming effect. “I think we’re actually still a pretty long way from that technology … [Read more...] about One of the biggest problems facing self-driving trucks has little to do with the technology
When a vegan gets gout
NEW YORK: A mysterious pain in my right ankle woke me up one summer morning as insistently as the fire department hammering on the front door. Tylenol didn’t help and by noon the ankle was the size of an eggplant, but bright pink. The pain felt like the worst sunburn you’ve ever had in your life combined with the sort of explosion of agony you feel when you bang your shin on a stone coffee table.I lay on the floor, panting, sweating and staring up at the ceiling until the arrival of my partner at the time, a home health aide possessing the sort of physical strength you see in people tearing a car door off its hinges when it’s about to explode. She threw me over a shoulder, walked down two flights of stairs, set me down in the back seat of her truck and drove me to a podiatrist’s office. There they took blood, X-rayed the ankle and did an MRI on the ligaments.I sprawled diagonally in a reclining chair while the doctor prepared a cortisone shot for my ankle. … [Read more...] about When a vegan gets gout
Woman cyclist killed in suspected hit-and-run case
Two motorists alerted Samed Police Station in Muang district at 3.30am that a bicycle wreckage and a woman's body were found on the Bang Saen-bound Sukhumvit Road in a short distance before Wat Charoonrat in Moo 1 of Tambon Huay Kapi. The two motorists spotted the body, called police and waited at the scene. The woman appeared to be around 50 years old. Police believe the bicyclist might have been hit by a car and she might have been run over by another car and both had fled the scene. The two motorists, who called police, also admitted they had run over the body. They were identified as Sakthat Samerwong, 25, and Porchai Nitinai, 31. Police have yet to check footage of security camera to find the ones responsible for the woman's death. … [Read more...] about Woman cyclist killed in suspected hit-and-run case