More Transit Means Safer Streets - Streetsblog USA

"To reduce traffic deaths, public transit should be seen as a core part of safety infrastructure, not just an alternative mode of travel. Every day, thousands of car crashes occur in the U.S., resulting in injury or death, yet they receive far less attention than the much rarer crashes involving public transit. For city planners working to reduce roadway fatalities, understanding how these perceptions influence travel choices is critical."

"As Todd Litman, executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, explained in , the reality is that driving is far more dangerous than transit, both in terms of crashes and exposure to crime. The death rate for drivers is about ten times higher than for transit riders. While some people worry about crime on buses or trains, research shows that driving actually exposes people to more violent risks, including road rage shootings, car theft, and parking lot assaults."

"At a community level, the built environment matters too: regions designed around driving have roughly five times the traffic fatality rates of areas with stronger transit systems. Despite these findings, many people continue to feel safer behind the wheel than on a bus or train. This perception is shaped in part by sensational media coverage of unusual transit crimes, paired with limited reporting on the far more common dangers of driving."

Driving causes far more injuries and deaths than public transit, with driver death rates about ten times higher than for transit riders. Driving also exposes people to greater violent risks such as road rage shootings, car theft, and parking-lot assaults, while transit-related crimes are comparatively rare and usually involve smaller property losses. Built environments designed around driving experience roughly five times the traffic fatality rates of areas with stronger transit systems. Sensational media coverage of unusual transit crimes and underreporting of common driving dangers distort public risk perception. Lower transit use reduces natural surveillance on transit systems and higher car volumes raise crash risk for everyone. Cities with higher transit miles per capita show lower motor vehicle fatality rates.

Read at Streetsblog