Mercedes Celebrate Its Toughest Formula One Constructors’ Championship to Date
The three consecutive Formula 1 constructors’ championship winner Mercedes has done it again. The team grabbed the championship for the fourth time in a row, admitting that it was their toughest title win to date. With this latest win, Mercedes will become one of the few Formula 1 teams ever to achieve the prestigious title for four consecutive years.
Mercedes achieved the title while also having a lead of 147 points, with only 129 remaining from the final three races of the event. Consequently, the team joins the elite club of F1 competitors such as McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull who achieved similar triumphs during their dominant years.
This year’s championship was particularly challenging for drivers due to the unprecedented rule changes that were brought in at the end of last year. As a result, the aerodynamics were revised and tyres were widened, making the cars faster, yet at the same time making them harder to handle on the tarmac.
The new rule changes were not the only challenge for the Mercedes team this year, as they also had to face a fierce challenge from the resurgent team Ferrari. Nevertheless, Mercedes is set to win both titles this year, having dominated the 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid class since 2014.
Traffic Deaths Increased By 5.6% Last Year
A report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that fatalities related to road accidents have increased by 5.6 percent in 2016. According to this new data, 37,461 people died in US roads last year, which is the highest number recorded since 2007 when 41,259 people lost their lives due to fatalities on the road.
The picture is far bleaker when broken down into categories, which shows that more pedestrians were killed in the US than in any other year since 1990. As a result, the 27-year high pedestrian fatalities resulted in the death of 5,987 people in 2016.
Apart from that, fatalities related to drunk driving rose by 1.7 percent to 10,497 deaths last year, while speed-related deaths increased by 4 percent to 10,111. The report also shows an increased number of fatalities among motorcyclists and bicyclists in the United States.
However, not all categories showed a bleak picture. Deaths that were related to distracted-driving actually showed a decrease in 2016. According to NHTSA data, the number of fatalities related to this category was 3,450, which was a 2.2 percent decrease since 2015. Furthermore, deaths related to drowsy driving also decreased by 3.5 percent to just 803 fatalities.
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