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It doesn't seem clear to me that there is actually a greater risk from cars now than our generation grew up with, considering that traffic deaths have actually
by 4bpp 4y ago
It doesn't seem clear to me that there is actually a greater risk from cars now than our generation grew up with, considering that traffic deaths have actually steadily been going down in the US since the '70s [1]. The same way that media (social and otherwise) keeps getting better at keeping everyone anxious about kidnappers and neglectful parents all the time, it's quite conceivable that it achieves the same thing for vehicle-induced accidents. In its quest for eyeballs, it naturally provides everyone with the message that resonates best with their biases - law-and-order types readily accept anything that confirms the dangers of crime, gender roles types readily accept anything that confirms the dangers of irresponsible mothers, and urbanist technocrat types readily accept anything that confirms the dangers of selfish individual motorists.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in...
- aoeusnth1 4y agoPedestrian deaths are way up in the last decade. This is not just a media panic like you suggest - it’s a predictable outcome of policy which incentivizes larger and larger vehicles.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- prawn 4y agoAren't we talking about pedestrian deaths though? "Over the past ten years, pedestrian deaths in the first half of the year skyrocketed from 2,141 in 2013 to 3,434 in 2022 – a 60% increase..." That said, pedestrian deaths for children under 13 looks to have decreased in the last 10-20+ years. Maybe fewer children walking is a factor there. https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/pedestrians https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/pedes... More info here: https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/road-users/pedestrians/data-details/ https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/road-users/pedestr...