Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 December 23

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December 23

Road vs. rail deaths

Official statistics show that there have been no passenger fatalities from train accidents in the UK for the past seven years. On the other hand, Reported Road Casualties Great Britain shows that in 2013 there were 1,713 people killed on Britain's roads. If that number were killed on the railways there would (rightly) be an uproar, and whenever people have died from rail accidents, there have been public inquiries and so on. Yet deaths on the roads are only ever mentioned briefly in news stories. So, why is it that deaths on the roads are somehow deemed more "acceptable" than deaths on the railways? --Viennese Waltz 10:39, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

Perception of risk should answer you. (I haven't looked to see how far it does so). --ColinFine (talk) 11:20, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

More interesting statistics here, which shows that if people were really worried about dying in a road accident, they'd all be moving to the UK to reduce the risk (perhaps that's why we have so many immigrants?). My guess is that in rail travel, you are entirely in somebody else's control, whereas on the road, people like to think that they can avoid trouble by virtue of their driving skills (?). There's not a lot of logic to people's perception of risk. Alansplodge (talk) 12:15, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

Hmm - I'm not sure about those numbers. Where do they get the figure for 10 UK rail deaths in 2005? According to the RAIB, there was one track worker fatality, and three pedestrians (including the Elsenham railway station accident) and one motorist were killed at level crossings, but there were no fatalities among train passengers in that year. Are they including suicides? Tevildo (talk) 13:44, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

In America, at least, there is indeed concern about auto accidents which involve an identifiable trend, such as a dangerous intersection, or an unsafe vehicle. Consider the recent situations with GMC and their ignitions, or Honda and their air bags. And I recall some insurance companies maintain public lists of the most dangerous intersections in America, with the implicit understanding that local governments will do something about them. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:07, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

It's an apples and oranges comparison, like asking why there are more skydiving deaths than sewing related deaths. Railroads only cover a small number of set paths, which are easier to keep clear of fallen trees, etc., and have a much smaller pool of drivers (engineers), which are easier to monitor to keep them sober and awake. And the smaller number of trains than cars and trucks means it is easier to inspect and maintain them. Furthermore, their routes are planned in advance, to avoid collisions, whereas car drivers have to make split-second decisions to avoid collisions. StuRat (talk) 16:54, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

I'm not asking why there are more road deaths than rail deaths, I'm asking why rail deaths are seen as a bigger deal than road deaths. Alansplodge has partly answered the question. --Viennese Waltz 09:34, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

Maybe because there are so few of them? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:22, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

Because rail deaths should all be preventable, for the reasons I've listed (although high speed rail is a bit more inherently dangerous). Car deaths can't all be eliminated, since cars are inherently dangerous. StuRat (talk) 17:47, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

If you were to find stats about causes of car fatalities, I suspect you would find that most of them are due to dangerous drivers. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:34, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

Yes, and that was one of my earlier points. With trains you only have thousands of drivers, so you can carefully check each one each time they get in the train engine, via breathalyzer or even a quick medical exam (BP, blood sugar, temperature). You can't do that with millions of car drivers. You can also have a back-up engineer, in case the primary has a stroke or heart attack. StuRat (talk) 18:43, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

Is ANYWHERE on the internet selling this coat?

I REALLY want this coat! http://www.polyvore.com/denim_supply_ralph_lauren_coat/thing?id=70470153 (backside: http://cdnd.lystit.com/photos/2012/11/24/ralph-lauren-black-cream-combo-twill-military-coat-product-2-5603162-894012892_large_flex.jpeg) but I can't find anywhere online that isn't sold out. Can anyone find a place for me to buy this coat? 98.27.241.101 (talk) 12:04, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

No according to this site. However it offers to notify you if it comes back on sale. You can also call Ralph Lauren (the number is here) to see if they still have the item. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 23:16, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

Is this how limits can work?

Moved to Mathematics Desk. μηδείς (talk) 20:49, 23 December 2014 (UTC)