The recent accident on the D line of the Green Line of Boston's T was unfortunate and sad. There was one fatality and approximately 12 people went to the hospital - but the networks covered the event as though hundreds had been injured or killed. Indeed, we were lucky that only a few people suffered.In case you're having second thoughts about riding the T due to the recent spate of rail accidents, keep this in mind:
- According to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), there are just 3.3 accidents per million train miles. That's miniscule compared to the number of car crashes.
- Since 2004, the FRA reports that the number of train accidents has decreased by 23.3 percent due to improvements made across the rail system.
- In 2007, there were 14.24 fatalities in car crashes per 100,000 people, and we traveled over 3,014 billion miles in cars. Our chances of being hurt or killed is much higher in a car than on the rail. (Source: FARS Encylopedia) Some sources report over 6 million car accidents per year.
All in all, despite recent events it is important to remember we are far safer in the hands of the MBTA than behind the wheel.
Our thoughts are with the family of the conductor who was killed.
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Related Posts: Biking to work in Boston; Springtime, Gasoline, and a Solution
Photo courtesy of Boston.com.
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