From Time magazine in 1947, via Kottke.
The average U.S. citizen completely ignores the regularity with which the automobile kills him, maims him, embroils him with the law and provides mobile shelter for rakes intent on seducing his daughters. He takes it into his garage as fondly as an Arab leading a prize mare into his tent. He woos it with Simoniz, Prestone, Ethyl and rich lubricants — and goes broke trading it in on something flashier an hour after he has made the last payment on the old one.
Per Car Accidents
There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005. The financial cost of these crashes is more than 230 Billion dollars. 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people killed. About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States — one death every 13 minutes.
It’s actually not as high as I expected, but still. What would you do to reduce driving, or decrease the fatality risks of owning and operating a motor vehicle? I’m all for mass transit myself, but seem to rarely be in a situation where it is possible, much less convenient.
Tags: transportation
monthly email
RSS 2.0