There’s a common perception in the U.S. that taking public transit is dangerous. It's actually safer than driving. : mildlyinteresting

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 day ago

Every year i read about a bunch of people dying horribly on the roads and being stuck out there in the middle of winter to the point that emergency services have to distribute water and blankets, as everyone crams onto the same 5 roads during christmas.
Meanwhile the worst that happens on public transport is being stuck for an hour or two on a relatively comfortable train that probably even has toilets.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago

Yes, but the automobile industry does not want you to know that. The same auto industry that made crossing the road at any non-90° angle a crime.

[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago (5 children)

As a European, I absolutely love public transit. But I'm not gonna lie, I'd never even approach an American subway station. That shit looks, and to some degree functions, like medieval dungeons.

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[+] PumpUpTheJam@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

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[–] AustralianSimon@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Meanwhile Australia is like "Hold my beer, cunts" while it drinks the anti-migration, pro-mining no revenue coolaid.

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (8 children)

I have never in my entire life heard anyone in the US say public transportation is more dangerous than driving.

This is not a thing. We are all very aware that driving is incredibly dangerous.

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

It's a very common thing. People are programmed to think it here. I heard someone mention a bus and 3 other people immediately piped up to agree they would never ride a bus because they would get stabbed/its far to dangerous. Fox news did it intentionally.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago (5 children)

The fear of public transit is part of the racism and classism baked into our country.

[–] Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Yeah, it's kind of odd that Americans seem to be scared to have to interact with strangers. Internationally, the American stereotype is of being very friendly, the person who sits next to you on the bus and wants to have a conversation - which is sometimes a bit socially awkward in countries where we pretty much ignore each other. Maybe they're different abroad? Or maybe we shouldn't stereotype lol

[–] baronvonj@piefed.social 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It's not about strangers == danger. I love in one of the biggest metros in the US and we have pretty crap public transport. The commuter lines from the suburbs are full of middle-income professionals, and nobody blinks about those. But transfer over to regular city lines, and it's mostly low-income minority demographics, and people will immediately caution me about taking those lines to get to my office.

[–] Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yeah that sounds like a classism thing. TBF we have the same shit here too, and I bet most countries do.

It's not entirely unreasonable either, I've lived almost all my life in inner city areas with all the problems they have. In fact, I've been part of the problem. I've been mugged, stabbed (crap stabbing, he wasn't really committed. But I still gave him my stuff lol), stalked, beaten, hassled cos of my race, all sorts of shit. TBF some - but not all - of that was because I was engaged with that inner city life as a junkie crackhead and occasional runner. Lived much of my life like that.

But underneath that, people make community. There's also lots of good people in those low income communities who will help you if you get in trouble, feed you if you're hungry, just generally look out for a fellow human. I've had a genuine friendship with at least one very scary person. Most people, if they're in their right minds, are pretty much okay.

I'd go so far as you say there's more genuine community in low income areas than there is in suburbia.

Obvs I don't know where you live and you would know much better than me what the risks are and what you're comfortable with. Not encouraging you to step outside your comfort zone.

And it feels kinda facile to say 'No war but the class war!' But it's also true that the wealthy want us to be scared of each other. They don't want us to build community. And that's one really good way of fighting back - just solidarity and acceptance with other people who might be different from us in one way or another.

Sorry mate, it's evening here and I just wrote a slightly drunken rant. But after all the shit I've seen, I feel like most people are generally pretty decent. And we gotta look out for each other.

[–] baronvonj@piefed.social 2 points 5 days ago

I definitely agree with your observations on community vs neighbors.

I do take the bus, thru those poor parts of town as it's the only bus route that stops at my office (cheaper real estate, near an airport). There is definitely a need to be more alert and guarded in those areas, but not because of classism. It's because in the US poor == less access health care and mental care and food security. So there's a higher likelihood that a person who smells like piss asking for free bus fare is experiencing some mental issues that may lead to a dangerous situation. I don't think we need to fund better security or add express routes to bypass neighborhoods. I think we need to provide a stronger social safety network to reduce the number of people walking around with mental issues and desperate economic situations.

[–] wide_eyed_stupid@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

More likely the Americans who travel abroad at all are just a different type of person. As far as I know there are plenty of Americans who will never even leave their home state, some barely leave their own town. Those are the people who have never seen a Muslim and still think they are all terrorists. Those are the people who think entire cities are constantly on fire due to evil leftists. The people who travel abroad are rarely like that, because they know better.

In other words, we meet the sane ones when they're visiting our countries.

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[–] crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 6 days ago

Must depend on where you are. I hear it constantly in the South and Midwest. They're shocked and horrified when they learn about our coworkers who take the local light rail for their daily commute.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Plenty of stereotypes, especially in TV and movies, paint public transportation as populated by the poor and downtrodden, and therefore anyone out of their comfort zone on a bus or subway is a target for mugging or worse.

It’s just classism and racism.

And IMO also it would be highly unlikely that the average person would understand that driving is indeed more dangerous, at best most would only parrot the statement back.

[–] CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I’ve never heard the transportation it’s self is dangerous but the people you will be forced into sharing a small inescapable space could be. Equating car accidents to being assaulted is comparing apples to oranges. No one is going to assault you or sexually assault you in your car, do drugs in your car without your consent, make your car smell horrible, piss in your car, etc. for your average driver, all those things are completely possible and more on public transit.

[–] devedeset@lemmy.zip 2 points 6 days ago

In my experience people tend to operate in their own bubble when they are driving. Most people are fine and still have enough empathy to not be assholes, but some kinda treat it like they are the main character and will endanger everyone else with their vehicle. I don't see this as being any different than being in close personal contact with other humans. If anything, being in your own person bubble of a car can remove you from the shared environment and make people more willing to be reckless and dangerous.

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[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Public transit isnt generally dangerous.

It just generally sucks. Depending on where you have to go and the public means to get there, it can take hours to get somewhere that takes 15-20 minutes by car.

Almost as if its intentionally designed to encourage car ownership.

[–] wewbull@feddit.uk 3 points 5 days ago

...only because it has other Americans on it.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

You are afraid of public transit because of inflated crime statistics.

I am afraid of public transit because I was late for the bus in kindergarten and got run over chasing it.

We are not the same.

[–] WillieShen@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago (3 children)

As a Taiwanese, I have a perception that the US is dangerous, with lots of drug users and gun shots, and even in schools. Is that stereotype or fact?

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

There are lots of drug users, and lots of gun shots, and yes even in schools

But I feel you're vastly underestimating the size of the US.

[–] devedeset@lemmy.zip 3 points 6 days ago

There's a lot of nuance. I've lived in a major west coast city for years and I never heard any gunshots in public. Drug users are sometimes visible, it seems to be less common in recent years but you can see it at times. I suppose it depends on what you mean by "drug users", cannabis is legal in my state and its pretty common to see in public but no one really cares about that, to me "drug users" means hard stuff like fentanyl.

Violent gun crime is a real problem and it is much worse in other parts of the country. Most of the time it isn't random. There are still mass shootings and random violent crime. I assume Taiwan is much safer. I've never been robbed or witnessed any serious violent crime in my 30+ years living here.

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[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Personal experience and thus anecdotal I know, but the light rail line I used to take for work has had issues to say the least. A coworker ended up murdered in one of the more secluded stations two years ago. I've personally had a taser pulled on my face only to find out the guy was trying to sell it. All the cars reek of piss and I've seen someone having a mental health crisis try to peel off the thin padding off one of the seats.

I really want public transit to work but it does require a firm hand to keep people in line and safe in such enclosed areas. It's one of the few venues I'd actually welcome some increased security and fare enforcement in.

[–] baronvonj@piefed.social 4 points 5 days ago

Those issues aren't intrinsic to the situation, the solutions are rooted in better social services and education, so people aren't struggling with untreated issues to begin with.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I almost puked while this 40 something yr old Asian women across from me on the subway methodically peeled skin off of her bare feet.

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[+] luxadazy@lemmy.zip 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

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[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

The "danger" comes from the same video of the same crackhead having a public meltdown, so now people believe there's hundreds of crackheads on each public transport vehicle.

[–] Alexfire@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Statistical analyses indicate that motorists face roughly 500 times more crime than transit passengers when accounting for exposure (trips, miles, or hours). While the types of crime differ—transit riders are more susceptible to theft of personal items like wallets or phones, whereas drivers face higher risks of vehicle theft, vandalism, and road rage incidents—the overall risk of victimization is far lower on public transportation.

I wondered if the type of crime, in-person vs not, explains the perception.

[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 4 points 6 days ago

I also wonder if there is a perceived danger when being around unknown people in an urban setting. People from the suburbs and rural areas may not be used to being around so many people.

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[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

it is, but its quite inadequete in many parts of the country. and quite limited in well "funded" areas. also the distates for HSR. also covid made people forget how to drive safely.

[–] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Public transit being more dangerous is not about the potential for crashes. It's about the other people going with you.

[–] crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 6 days ago

Driving being more dangerous is also about the other people on the road with you.

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Mildly Interesting