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In a population of 314 million, 35 thousand is not statistically significant. It amounts to one hundredth of one percent. I don't look at the potential for death when evaluating any type of transportation. Death is inevitable so it is not worth worrying about it. Jerry Seinfeld once said that more people fear public speaking than death.
Now let's look at your stolen wallet example. Your treating a stolen wallet an inconvenience and psychological issue. You fail to link that with a very common side effect and that is identity theft. Identity theft is a massive pain the ass for people to recover from. I have known people who went through it and they spent months fixing their accounts and cleaning up their credit.
I guess it's statistically insignificant if you're not a victim. Recovering from identity theft is hard, but not as hard as recovering from death. Btw - I never said it was just inconvenient, and inconvenience has nothing on psychological trauma.
In any event, I don't disagree that people aren't swayed from driving due to the threat of death. Funny though that some will argue that they don't like transit because of smelly, aggressive people; kind of trivial in comparison, don't you think?
Maybe. I'm looking at houses later this year and while I would buy a house with a parking spot (or garage) if it was perfect, I'd rather not do so. Only because I don't want to pay extra money for something that I won't use in a city where space is at a premium.
On the other hand, just because one has a garage doesn't mean they don't like walking or transit. And just because I don't have a garage, doesn't mean I don't like to drive in certain situations.
LOL, where I live people can park on the street and sometimes even use their garages for storage. I personally don't due to hating having to sweep snow off my can and the abandoned vehicle ordinance around here can be strict. Lack of parking might promote transit use or drive people who need to drive away.
I guess it's statistically insignificant if you're not a victim.
Stats are stats, you brought them into the discussion in post #628 and I displayed them in a different light. Whether or not I am a victim is irrelevant.
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Originally Posted by AJNEOA
Recovering from identity theft is hard, but not as hard as recovering from death.
Recovering from death...that's silly hyperbole.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AJNEOA
In any event, I don't disagree that people aren't swayed from driving due to the threat of death. Funny though that some will argue that they don't like transit because of smelly, aggressive people; kind of trivial in comparison, don't you think?
Some people aren't fixated on death. I'll gladly accept the risks of the road to avoid stuffed buildings, packed trains and general overcrowding. I place quality of life above quantity of years.
LOL, where I live people can park on the street and sometimes even use their garages for storage. I personally don't due to hating having to sweep snow off my can and the abandoned vehicle ordinance around here can be strict. Lack of parking might promote transit use or drive people who need to drive away.
There's a perverse incentive not to drive for some New Yorkers: if you drive somewhere you'll lose you hard earned street parking space. It mostly discourages short driving trips by lower time savings from driving. For a longer trip or one driving saves lots of time, even five minutes of searching for parking is a minor cost. There's no abandoned vehicle law, but weekly street cleaning that requires you to move your car (somehow had to move my car three times once visiting for half a week by carelessly choosing where to park) so it amounts to the same thing. There are certain neighborhoods that people who need to drive would avoid, but there are plenty that deal with it or don't care.
Are garages common in Chicago? They're generally in newer infill in NYC and some lower density neighborhoods.
Stats are stats, you brought them into the discussion in post #628 and I displayed them in a different light. Whether or not I am a victim is irrelevant.
Then why bother with the discussion around violent intent vs accidents if even death doesn't matter?
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Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan
Recovering from death...that's silly hyperbole.
Exactly! You posted this:
Quote:
I don't see where accident = violence. Accidents generally result from negligence whereas acts of violence are driven by malice and intent. These are two totally different scenarios and they are really not comparable.
And I mentioned that motor vehicle deaths are much more significant than transit deaths...something often overlooked. Then you ended the conversation by saying:
Quote:
Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan
Some people aren't fixated on death. I'll gladly accept the risks of the road to avoid stuffed buildings, packed trains and general overcrowding. I place quality of life above quantity of years.
Which ultimately boils down to the fact that you like driving more than transit, regardless of malice, intent, or death. I'm not trying to argue that transit is better, faster, cleaner, more fun, etc. People choose cars over transit because they like getting places faster (which is the case in most places in the US), and because they prefer to commute alone, etc. That's fine, but then why bother with the rest of the discussion if you're going to shrug it off only to say you'll drive regardless?
There's a perverse incentive not to drive for some New Yorkers: if you drive somewhere you'll lose you hard earned street parking space. It mostly discourages short driving trips by lower time savings from driving. For a longer trip or one driving saves lots of time, even five minutes of searching for parking is a minor cost. There's no abandoned vehicle law, but weekly street cleaning that requires you to move your car (somehow had to move my car three times once visiting for half a week by carelessly choosing where to park) so it amounts to the same thing. There are certain neighborhoods that people who need to drive would avoid, but there are plenty that deal with it or don't care.
Are garages common in Chicago? They're generally in newer infill in NYC and some lower density neighborhoods.
Generally yes if you own an house. Apartment buildings tend to lack parking as well as 2 and 3 flats(might have a two car garage for the owner or otherwise not used). For a few hot neighborhoods near the lake parking is an problem. (Lincoln Park, Lakeview, ect.)
We also have street cleaning monthly(however you may have to move your car twice cause they do one side at a time.) and the abandoned vehicle law means you have to move your car every 7 days(plus you can get ticketed for other things like an broken windshield or the vehicle is clearly inoperable...flat tire, didn't clear the snow off your car ect.).This law makes it very uncomfortable to be car light and lack private parking.
On the north side in some more crowded neighborhoods you may have to pay for parking in your apartment building if there is some. On both north and south sides blocks of apartments can really eat the parking. Some areas require parking permits for on the street parking to keep people who don't live in the area from taking up all the parking.
One reason I have not seen talked about much in relation to mass transit is germs and illness. I have never been one who gets sick frequently. For most of my adult working career I average a flu or flu like event once every two years. In fact the last time I was bedridden and missed work was January 2013. However there was a two year period (August 2005 through August 2007) where I commuted on commuter rail and subway every day. I fell ill twelve times over that two year period. I was literally ill every other month while working in the Boston CBD and using mass transit. The mass transit was the only difference between that period and the rest of my working career.
I rarely get sick, myself. (the last time was during the winter of 2012/13) But I've been riding public transit for the last 14 years. It's likely that Boston's subway is more crowded, though.
In a population of 314 million, 35 thousand is not statistically significant. It amounts to one hundredth of one percent. I don't look at the potential for death when evaluating any type of transportation. Death is inevitable so it is not worth worrying about it. Jerry Seinfeld once said that more people fear public speaking than death.
Now let's look at your stolen wallet example. Your treating a stolen wallet an inconvenience and psychological issue. You fail to link that with a very common side effect and that is identity theft. Identity theft is a massive pain the ass for people to recover from. I have known people who went through it and they spent months fixing their accounts and cleaning up their credit.
More people die of car crashes than cancer .......
More people die of car crashes than cancer .......
And the last year or two more people die of accidental drug overdoses than in car crashes. The former are increasing and the latter are decreasing.
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