Sightline Institute has an interesting post the provides real time estimates of auto fatalities and economic costs from crashes.
Hat tip to Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder.
Sightline Institute has an interesting post the provides real time estimates of auto fatalities and economic costs from crashes.
Hat tip to Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder.
6 responses to “Watch the Numbers Climb”
Of course light rail kills more people per passenger mile that cars do.
Full disclosure: buses are safer than both.
Thanks
JK
Of course light rail kills more people per passenger mile that cars do.
Well, Portland Streetcar has operated for 5 years with no fatalities and only one minor injury, so I guess we’re the safest mode know to man. Which only demonstrates the problem with extrapolating from small numbers.
I also think the fatality rate for passengers of light rail is very low compared to other modes. Which is not saying we don’t need to work on safety along the alignment, but let’s be clear what we’re comparing.
All the modes are insanely safe. Fact has it.
If we where talking about deaths per hundred, that would be bad… but what are we really comparing, something like .001% ? Last I checked, even cars, which are considered slightly less dangerous than smoking by the politically correct are rather safe.
My point being, they’re all safe, no real need for argument.
As for the majority of fender benders… yeah yeah yeah it costs society X amount. But that is ROI money, if we’re talking about costs to society we need to remember how many people are employed to FIX those same cars. Millions around the world serve this purpose. Probably 10’s of millions matter of fact.
So in the end, it is more likely that wrecks cause a net gain in economic growth and job growth than a net loss.
I’d bet money on it.
But countries that have really put their minds to it (e.g., Netherlands) have nonetheless made great strides in increasing traffic safety and reducing deaths injuries and economic losses.
We have plenty of room for improvement.
Two points that struck me about these numbers:
1) if there were a disease that killed 40,000 Americans a year and injured 200,000 more, we would be spending millions to control or eradicate it. We know of many strategies to reduce crash numbers and severity (better enforcement, lower speeds, etc.) yet we have decided that these aren’t valuable investments. If we recognize the societal cost shown in this counter, then the return on investment in more state police, for example, would be clear. Why do we accept these numbers as if they are unavoidable?
2) Metro recently did an analysis of the cost imposed by congestion on the Portland region. It stated that the region will “lose” $844 Million per year due to congestion in 20 years without adopting new strategy to deal with growth in people, traffic and freight. It’s sobering that already in Oregon, we are “losing” almost $3 Billion a year due to highway related deaths and injuries. It seems that investing to reduce crashes should be a high priority.
Finally, from a human cost perspective, David Cox, FHWH administrator, speaking at a Oregon Transportation Plan update committee meeting, passionately argued for a goal of Zero deaths as an appropriate goal for our system, noting that nearly every crash is avoidable and devastating for survivors.
Rex studies transportation in every aspect more then most in our area.
I agree with him more then he knows. However the manner/degree that Rex has pushed to prioritized funding for everything other then roads and highways is wrong in my mind.
Governor/Doctor NO personally killed or at least tried kill the State Police. His reductions in funding supported by the Democratic Party has lead to the killing a lot of people. Even our current Governor did not try to correct the problem until it is election time.
Enforcement of our laws right up to giving out drivers licenses to illegals, most who cannot read our road signs or afford buy insurance has not been a problem or priority to some in the political establishment.
When our roads are dramatically inadequate for the number of vehicles that use them it increases road rage and that makes for accidents and a lot of other social problems and costs.
We need Light Rail, Buses, ie. good public transit capabilities, that is smart and Rex has done a good job.
Maybe to good of a job when compared to corridors like the corridor that is handling 135,000 vehicles per day, with a lot of it at a “Level-of-Service” LOS F conditions for greater then 6 to 8-hours per day.
This is also part of that 3 Billion Dollar social and economic cost that includes the increased level of air born illnesses of people of need (without or cannot afford health insurance) are facing.
Killing the air and water in our region with known congestion has a cost and it kills people too, just as much as an accident.