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So, first of all, I'm sympathetic to this concern. I don't think all risks are equal. We're humans, not statistical robots, so we fear some things more than oth

So, first of all, I'm sympathetic to this concern. I don't think all risks are equal. We're humans, not statistical robots, so we fear some things more than other things and that matters. But it is worth remembering that you're still far, far less safe in your car. In the United States 40,200 people died in automobile-related accidents last year. [0] It's not like it's just a little bit less safe to drive. It's orders of magnitude less safe. How many people died on public transit last year? 20? Is it even 20? Again, I understand why people accept that risk, while not accepting the risk of violent crime, but the numbers are what they are. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/business/highway-traffic-safety.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/business/highway-traffic-...

mikeash 9y ago
Annual public transport deaths in the US are around 2-300. And the number of passenger miles is vastly smaller than cars, so you can’t just compare the raw numbers.
- dionidium 9y ago
  This is a good point. The numbers are still overwhelmingly in transit's favor (but not orders of magnitude better when passenger miles are considered): https://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/12/19/heres-how-much-safer-transit-is-compared-to-driving/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/12/19/heres-how-much-safer-...
  - throw_away 9y ago
    Also note that most of the danger in transit is not the the users, but to other people on the road (blue vs. yellow bars in the chart). Considering just the users themselves, transit is nearly an order of magnitude safer.
jrnichols 9y ago
> How many people died on public transit last year? I am not sure. I know that driving puts one at a higher risk of death, but you're not going to get assaulted, groped, stabbed, mugged, punched, verbally harassed, etc while driving at the same rate you will on public transit.

mikeash 9y ago

Annual public transport deaths in the US are around 2-300. And the number of passenger miles is vastly smaller than cars, so you can’t just compare the raw numbers.

dionidium 9y ago
This is a good point. The numbers are still overwhelmingly in transit's favor (but not orders of magnitude better when passenger miles are considered): https://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/12/19/heres-how-much-safer-transit-is-compared-to-driving/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/12/19/heres-how-much-safer-...
- throw_away 9y ago
  Also note that most of the danger in transit is not the the users, but to other people on the road (blue vs. yellow bars in the chart). Considering just the users themselves, transit is nearly an order of magnitude safer.

jrnichols 9y ago

> How many people died on public transit last year? I am not sure. I know that driving puts one at a higher risk of death, but you're not going to get assaulted, groped, stabbed, mugged, punched, verbally harassed, etc while driving at the same rate you will on public transit.