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> slightly more comfortable transport. Slightly more comfortable than what? Horses? Bicycles? Walking? There were 158,493 registered deaths in Australia in 20

> slightly more comfortable transport. Slightly more comfortable than what? Horses? Bicycles? Walking? There were 158,493 registered deaths in Australia in 2018, [1] of which 1137 were due to motor vehicle accidents [1]. Motor vehicle related deaths don't even rate in the top 20 causes of death. [also 1] The rate of motor vehicle related deaths in Australia peaked in 1970 at 30.4 per 100,000 population per year, and has been on a steady decline since and now sits at 4.6 per 100,000 per year.[2] This seems reasonable to me. 1. https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/47E19CA15036B04BCA2577570014668B?Opendocument https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/47E19CA15036B04BC... 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_Australia_by_year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_i...

varjag 7y ago
How about the deaths not related to biology/age of your body? It should really be compared with other accidents. Cyclist deaths, bathtub drownings, slipping on banana peels. Choking on food perhaps. Have the feeling it would rank pretty high in its cohort.
michaelt 7y ago
> Motor vehicle related deaths don't even rate in the top 20 causes of death. According to [1] in the US road traffic accidents are the 17th-most-common cause of death across all age ranges. But among 15-24 year olds? Number 1 cause of death. In fact you have to reach age 45 before road traffic accidents are even outside the top five. If you really want to ramp up the rhetoric, compare road deaths to mass shootings and September 11th. Where's the trillion-dollar invasion of Detroit to overthrow the Drivetrain Of Evil? [1] https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa-cause-of-death-by-age-and-gender https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa-cause-of-death-by-ag...
- francisofascii 7y ago
  Right. And you are just looking at deaths. The injury rates are much higher. And crash injuries can be debilitating. Certainly the #1 threat to health in the U.S.
- Steltek 7y ago
  And about the other causes of death, I want to see how driving correlates with obesity and heart disease. Then throw in depression and mental anguish that's endemic in the rush hour commute. Sitting for 3 hours in a car versus walking a little more and taking the bus sounds like a really bad trade for your health.
- rootusrootus 7y ago
  > compare road deaths to mass shootings Well, if we are going to do that, we need to compare the utility of those mass shootings compared to the utility of a car.
megablast 7y ago
Ok, lets not forget the 40,000 seriously injured or disabled every year in Australia. > Slightly more comfortable than what? Horses? Bicycles? Walking? Buses, trains, trams, scooters, many other ways. 71% of Aussies live in major cities, and most have no need for a car. Yet we are one of the most car addicted people in the world. Billions wasted every year on this. Ridiculous.
glangdale 7y ago
It is a shame that while the the first link has a table of Years of Potential Life Lost, it only counts things that made it into the Top 20 (so it just rearranges things - obviously suicide shoots to the #1 and dementia falls from #2 to way down the list). Road deaths kill on average younger people than most of the items on that Top 20 list.

varjag 7y ago

How about the deaths not related to biology/age of your body? It should really be compared with other accidents. Cyclist deaths, bathtub drownings, slipping on banana peels. Choking on food perhaps. Have the feeling it would rank pretty high in its cohort.

michaelt 7y ago

> Motor vehicle related deaths don't even rate in the top 20 causes of death. According to [1] in the US road traffic accidents are the 17th-most-common cause of death across all age ranges. But among 15-24 year olds? Number 1 cause of death. In fact you have to reach age 45 before road traffic accidents are even outside the top five. If you really want to ramp up the rhetoric, compare road deaths to mass shootings and September 11th. Where's the trillion-dollar invasion of Detroit to overthrow the Drivetrain Of Evil? [1] https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa-cause-of-death-by-age-and-gender https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa-cause-of-death-by-ag...

francisofascii 7y ago
Right. And you are just looking at deaths. The injury rates are much higher. And crash injuries can be debilitating. Certainly the #1 threat to health in the U.S.
Steltek 7y ago
And about the other causes of death, I want to see how driving correlates with obesity and heart disease. Then throw in depression and mental anguish that's endemic in the rush hour commute. Sitting for 3 hours in a car versus walking a little more and taking the bus sounds like a really bad trade for your health.
rootusrootus 7y ago
> compare road deaths to mass shootings Well, if we are going to do that, we need to compare the utility of those mass shootings compared to the utility of a car.

megablast 7y ago

Ok, lets not forget the 40,000 seriously injured or disabled every year in Australia. > Slightly more comfortable than what? Horses? Bicycles? Walking? Buses, trains, trams, scooters, many other ways. 71% of Aussies live in major cities, and most have no need for a car. Yet we are one of the most car addicted people in the world. Billions wasted every year on this. Ridiculous.

glangdale 7y ago

It is a shame that while the the first link has a table of Years of Potential Life Lost, it only counts things that made it into the Top 20 (so it just rearranges things - obviously suicide shoots to the #1 and dementia falls from #2 to way down the list). Road deaths kill on average younger people than most of the items on that Top 20 list.