Tragedy & Transportation
by Tony Chavira
Treehugger has an great article today that tries to keep us all from losing sight of the overall goals. Sure train accidents are massive tragedies deserving national attention, but part of the reason they're so publicized is that they happen very very infrequently. Automobiles, on the other hand, lead to accidents so often that a death by car crash somehow seems commonplace by comparison. That, in many ways, is far more tragic.
Very, very safe, by comparison to other modes of transportation--especially driving. Over 40,000 Americans die each year in car crashes, though most of those accidents don't make the headlines of national news outlets.
By contrast, less than 800 people die from train and subway accidents each year, as of 2005 (many of which are, sadly, workers). And that number has been declining steadily, too, over the last couple decades--even with more people than ever taking public transit.
It's why mayors from the nation's major cities are all battling to get more funding for similar metro systems--it relieves congestion, reduces accidents and fatalities, and cuts carbon emissions to boot.
The point is, taking the train is a truly safe way to travel, and it's getting even safer. New technology (that the DC Metro trains were actually supposed to already have) enables a computer to trigger the train's brakes automatically if it gets too close to another train. So take heart:it's a dangerous world out there, but taking the train is one of the safer--and as we all know, greener--bets you can make.
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