Reader's Digest Oct/Nov

READER’S DIGEST 9 In 1984, Swiss couple Emil and Liliana Schmid climbed into their bright blue Toyota Land- Cruiser and began the world’s longest road trip. They travelled more than 741,065 kilometres across 186 coun- tries in the same Toyota Land Cruiser and hold the Guinness World Record for the longest driven journey. 10 Alaska’s Dalton Highway is considered one of the world’s most dangerous roads. The two-lane gravel road stretches 666 kilometres, with only three petrol stations along the way and no mobile phone service. Drivers often encounter crater-like potholes and turbulent winter weather, includ- ing avalanches and snowdrifts. Other high-risk routes include Bolivia’s sin- gle-lane ‘Death Road’, which clings to the side of a mountain, and Britain’s A537, nicknamed ‘the widow-maker’ due to its deadly sharp turns. 11 Some good news about road traffic deaths, with the World Health Organisation’s latest report, Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023 , revealing that deaths fell slightly to 1.19 million per year since previously recorded in 2010. Still, more than two deaths occur every minute and over 3200 in a single day. Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in children, youth and young adults aged 5-29 years. 12 In many countries it’s now against the law to use any handheld device behind the wheel, including while being stopped at a traffic light. Doing this could earn you a major fine and de- merit points. You could even lose your driver’s licence or go to prison. 13 Self-driving cars, or auton- omous veh icles (AVs), aren’t a futuristic idea – ro- bot cars are already driving in some countries. But the technology still has major safety issues, with reports of inappropriate hard braking and hundreds of crashes. Last year, Gen- eral Motors suspended US operations of Cruise, its driverless car unit, after authorities deemed the vehicles a risk to the public, and Tesla recalled more than two million cars equipped with Autopilot, its driver-assistance pro- gram, due to safety concerns. Goog- le-owned Waymo is still operating in the US, and in South Korea, driverless buses operate at night in Seoul. Brainy Day Prediction Ever wondered why the weather forecast is wrong? For starters, a one-day forecast takes about ten billionmaths calculations . NOAA.GOV 16 October/November 2024