Auto Accident Fatalities

[Ken]

Last time I was in a serious situation in a car was in Elkhart IN, with the aggressors being in a car with, you guessed it, Illinois plates… likely from Chicago.

My girlfriend saw a 24 hour gym up ahead and suggested turning in there, and sure enough,
big, buff guys were coming and going.
We pulled into the parking lot, the aggressors did too, then they turned around and left.

Good idea about the gym. i know most males LOATHE predators, many have trouble controlling their rage.
i’ll be talking with my grdaughter about keeping an eye open for potential refuge when driving. Thanks.

With tech, her mother tracks her every moment. But, 20 miles away with traffic ..

The highways between, say East St Louis and Chicago transport a lot of evil. Evil is a sport for some. Esp behind the wheel.
They LOVE big powerful luxury cars. They feel invincible. i can see that, it’s not hidden. Police know it.

And, fewer highway patrols.

Barbarism is alive+well.

Statistically speaking, parking lots and parking garages are the most common places for women to be assaulted outside the home. Parking lots are part of the car transportation system, not mass transit. When evaluating the risks of various types of transportation one really needs to consider the entire trip from the home to the destination, not just the portion of the trip when one is traveling at highway speed. Parking lot and parking garage assaults don't get counted in auto safety statistics, but by any rational measure they should be.

[JohnH]

… by the same standard, public transportation has to include the sidewalks, benches, etc., seems kind of a ridiculous standard.

[Ken]

… by the same standard, public transportation has to include the sidewalks, benches, etc., seems kind of a ridiculous standard.

Yes, if you are taking the subway or bus to work then the portion of the trip that you spend navigating sidewalks and metro stations or bus stops is part of the trip. It doesn't start and stop when you board the train or bus. Or do you think crime at bus stops and metro stations doesn't count either? Those are the transit equivalents to parking lots and parking garages.

Likewise if you are driving to work then the time you spend walking to your car (if you do on-street parking) and navigating parking lots and parking garages is also part of your trip.

The risk of each form of transportation is properly measured door-to-door and not just when you are inside a moving vehicle.

[ken_sylvania]

Last time I was in a serious situation in a car was in Elkhart IN, with the aggressors being in a car with, you guessed it, Illinois plates… likely from Chicago.

My girlfriend saw a 24 hour gym up ahead and suggested turning in there, and sure enough,
big, buff guys were coming and going.
We pulled into the parking lot, the aggressors did too, then they turned around and left.

Good idea about the gym. i know most males LOATHE predators, many have trouble controlling their rage.
i’ll be talking with my grdaughter about keeping an eye open for potential refuge when driving. Thanks.

With tech, her mother tracks her every moment. But, 20 miles away with traffic ..

The highways between, say East St Louis and Chicago transport a lot of evil. Evil is a sport for some. Esp behind the wheel.
They LOVE big powerful luxury cars. They feel invincible. i can see that, it’s not hidden. Police know it.

And, fewer highway patrols.

Barbarism is alive+well.

Statistically speaking, parking lots and parking garages are the most common places for women to be assaulted outside the home. Parking lots are part of the car transportation system, not mass transit. When evaluating the risks of various types of transportation one really needs to consider the entire trip from the home to the destination, not just the portion of the trip when one is traveling at highway speed. Parking lot and parking garage assaults don't get counted in auto safety statistics, but by any rational measure they should be.

Saying so doesn't make it so. Where are you getting that information? According to a DOJ National Crime Victimization survey 2019 - 2023, 23% of sexual assaults occur in an open public place and only about 10% occur in parking lots or parking garages.

Another interesting point I came across while looking for that - apparently a person's chances of being victimized by some type of violent crime are nearly double (rate per 1,000 persons) in urban areas (33.5) compared with rural areas (15.4).

[Ken]

Saying so doesn't make it so. Where are you getting that information? According to a DOJ National Crime Victimization survey 2019 - 2023, 23% of sexual assaults occur in an open public place and only about 10% occur in parking lots or parking garages.

Another interesting point I came across while looking for that - apparently a person's chances of being victimized by some type of violent crime are nearly double (rate per 1,000 persons) in urban areas (33.5) compared with rural areas (15.4).

Here is one such source: https://www.cvpsd.org/post/the-4-most-c ... s-on-women

You are misreading the DOJ National Crime Victimization survey you cited. It distinguishes between open public spaces and closed public spaces but parking lots fall into both categories. An enclosed parking garage or parking lot with a fence and gate would be an enclosed public space. A giant mall parking lot or one surrounding a big suburban office park or on-street parking would be an open public space. So car-related assaults would fall into both categories. The survey also distinguishes assaults by type of activity: https://www.zenlawfirm.com/blog/2022/au ... ke-place-/

“What was the victim doing at the time the crime occurred?” According to RAINN, 48% of victims were sleeping or doing another activity at home; 29% were traveling to and from work, to and from school, or running errands; 12% were working; 7% were going to school, and 5% were doing another activity.

So roughly 30% of sexual assaults were associated with women who were commuting to and from work or running errands. The vast majority of those would be private car related because in this country, 90% of trips and errands away from the house are done by car. All other forms of transportation (walking, biking, uber, transit, etc.) are 10%. Transit is actually about 1%, the vast majority of non-car trips are done by walking. https://nhts.ornl.gov/person-trips

[JohnH]

The last time I was a victim of crime on public transportation involved the parking lot of the Rapid station where I parked my vehicle.

Was this crime related to private vehicles, public transportation, or … ?

[Ken]

The last time I was a victim of crime on public transportation involved the parking lot of the Rapid station where I parked my vehicle.

Was this crime related to private vehicles, public transportation, or … ?

Obviously both since your trip was multi-modal. But it also happened during the car portion of your trip, not the transit portion of the trip. And also underscores the vulnerability of parking lots and parking garages. Which people only enter if they are using cars.

The fact of the matter is that our dedication to using cars as our primary means of transportation has created a vast public landscape of empty parking lots and parking garages that are almost perfectly designed to make people vulnerable and provide hiding spaces and escape routes for criminals.

[JohnH]

We could be mature adults and restrict our comparison of the two to “whilst one is inside a conveyance, or else waiting on a conveyance to arrive”.

[Ken]

We could be mature adults and restrict our comparison of the two to “whilst one is inside a conveyance, or else waiting on a conveyance to arrive”.

What would be the point of that?

If I have a choice between driving to work or taking transit to work, the risk of each choice is properly measured by taking into account the entire trip and not just the portion of the trip that occurs when I am inside a moving vehicle.

No one would claim that a crime that happens inside a subway station while waiting for the train is not transit related. It clearly is. Likewise, crimes that occur in parking garages and parking lots are car-related. No one enters a parking garage unless they are using a car or riding in one.

[R7ehr]

Likewise, crimes that occur in parking garages and parking lots are car-related. No one enters a parking garage unless they are using a car or riding in one.

I disagree. Parking garages are entered with some frequency by people who are up to no good, but having nothing to do with auto travel. These may enter either for criminal reasons, or vandalism, or vagrancy.

Parking lots, are even let monitored. There is nothing to keep local vagrants and criminals out of parking lots. The local thugs causing problems in a parking lot have nothing to do with the safely of automobile travel.