United States
The United States began upgrading major highways to modern freeways in the 1950s. The freeways were much safer than the old highways because the opposing lanes were separated by barriers or wide medians and grade-level crossings were eliminated by overpasses and underpasses. The significantly lower rate of fatalities on the freeways caused the busy older highways to become notorious as areas with comparatively higher rates. Some older, narrow roads have not been widened to accommodate increased traffic over the years. In many regions, the most dangerous sections of these old highways became known locally as "Slaughter Alley" (or by other similar names). Over subsequent decades many of these roads were bypassed or upgraded to freeway status.
Read more about this topic: Slaughter Alley
Famous quotes related to united states:
“What lies behind facts like these: that so recently one could not have said Scott was not perfect without earning at least sorrowful disapproval; that a year after the Gang of Four were perfect, they were villains; that in the fifties in the United States a nothing-man called McCarthy was able to intimidate and terrorise sane and sensible people, but that in the sixties young people summoned before similar committees simply laughed.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“A sincere and steadfast co-operation in promoting such a reconstruction of our political system as would provide for the permanent liberty and happiness of the United States.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“It is said that the British Empire is very large and respectable, and that the United States are a first-rate power. We do not believe that a tide rises and falls behind every man which can float the British Empire like a chip, if he should ever harbor it in his mind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The recognition of Russia on November 16, 1933, started forces which were to have considerable influence in the attempt to collectivize the United States.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)
“An alliance is like a chain. It is not made stronger by adding weak links to it. A great power like the United States gains no advantage and it loses prestige by offering, indeed peddling, its alliances to all and sundry. An alliance should be hard diplomatic currency, valuable and hard to get, and not inflationary paper from the mimeograph machine in the State Department.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)