For the past few weeks of class, all we have talked about is risk. It has been very interesting for me to listen to. As a Supply Chain Management major, I love working with statistics. It seems as though we have focused a lot on the risk of car crashes and using that statistic as a baseline for comparing other risks. While it is great to look at facts, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the risk of car crashes. Therefore, I did some research
In my last post, I researched the safety of planes and the risk of air travel. I found it ironic that I then stumbled across this article which compared the two forms of travel. According to the article, for every 100 million miles driven, about one fatal car crash occurs. This statistic is alarming compared to the almost non-existent deaths that occur over the millions of miles that airplanes fly. Over-all, the number of people who die in cars is astronomically bigger than the amount of people who die in planes. This striking statistic is only a brief outlook into the dangers of driving.
It seems as though cars being dangerous is not a new idea. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, death by car crashes have long been a problem. Back in 1925 when cars were a new technology, about 1 out of every three people who died in a car crash was a child. However, the article brings up an interesting point. Car crashes are not the only dangerous thing about cars. Cars are technology, and as well all know, technology has the tendency to fail every once and a while. Cars had a habit of causing fires when they were first being made, which was a threat to users. Cars also had an adverse effect on people’s health, making users less in-shape and leading to some bone and joint problems.
There are many reason as to why people get into car crashes. One of the most obvious reasons is age. It is no secret that teen drivers pose some of the worst threats to other drivers. Science Direct article states that new drivers account for over 120 crashes per every 10,000 miles crashes within the first month of their driving experience. This number does tapper off as they get more and more experienced, but it really is shocking to see just how much havoc young drivers wreck on the roadways. Drivers also faces many other dangerous factors. Situations involving drunk driving, driving while exhausted, and many other things make driving a dangerous game.
Over-all, driving is a pretty risky business. It not only is yourself that you have to worry about, but it is also other people you must worry about. When you chose to drive a car, you put yourself at risk for a multitude of bad things to happen to you. However, I don’t think this should stop people. Life is full of risks when you really think about it. However, we can only control what we can control. As long as people are smart and heads-up when they drive, they can eliminate a lot of risks. Stay safe, drivers!
The high exposure of car crashes is interesting and even overlooked when it is compared to the exposure of other risks. Whenever I talk to my mom about how I want to go skydiving, I make sure to mention that the car ride to get there is even more dangerous than actually jumping out of the airplane. Even with two years of driving experience, I’m still not a completely confident driver, and your post confirmed that I have reason to be uneasy about it. It is unsettling to me that your life and the lives of your passengers are not only in your own hands, but they are also in the hands of other drivers who share the road with you. The Washington Post clears up some of our confusion about why we tend to downplay the exposure of driving and exaggerate the risk of activities like flying in an airplane or going skydiving. According to the author, Ezra Klein, it is because these are less common activities for most people. To worsen this effect, the media emphasizes the risks that are less common. However, since going skydiving is within our control, we tend to believe that it is less hazardous than risks that are outside of our control.
When I first got my permit I was treated to a lecture by my parents about the dangers of driving and how every time I get behind the wheel I am not only putting myself at risk but could potentially but other in harms way if I do not pay attention. As a naive 16 year old I thought the same thing that everyone else does when it comes to risky actions “It won’t happen to me”. Now I have been fortunate enough to have never gotten in a car accident, but a month shortly after one of my best friends got her license she was speeding around a turn too quickly and ran straight into a telephone pole. She was fortunate enough to walk away will only small injuries, but it truly caused me to take a step back and consider the true risks of driving. When you are driving to and from school and practices everyday the action becomes mundane and so repetitive that one loses sight on the true risks. It is truly amazing how we become immune to the dangers of actions just due to the frequency of the action in our everyday lives. I am intrigued as to how we can combat this repetitive mindset in an effort to keep drivers more alert on the roads.
Margaret,
I think the safety of cars is a very important topic for our generation. It is very clear that accidents are not going to decrease overtime, just as the less experienced drivers become more experienced, a new wave of less experienced drivers would overtake that. But, a big component in car crashes as well is the driver’s knowledge over their driving ability. If a driver believes they are experienced and have not had an accident, they are more likely to drive carelessly than potentially a new driver that is refreshed on the rules and very afraid of creating an accident.
It’s become evident that the primary cause of accidents is human error. Very few accidents per the whole occur because of car failures or outside variables. I think the best step for improving road safety will be the improvement of self driving cars. These cars take away the human error aspect and allow the mechanics to do the work. These cars could prevent a lot of the accidents we have today.
For more info, here’s the source: Esurance
Being a young driver this post was extremely relatable. My parents had always warned me to be careful while driving and would always state how teenagers have a higher risk of getting into accidents. I never believed this to be true which is why your post was very interesting, I even looked up the topic after I had read your post to find out more. I came across this website which had some interesting statistics you might want to check out: http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html