A study published by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in 2016 captured how individuals who use public transit can decrease their risk of becoming involved in a car crash by 90 percent.
The APTA commissioned researchers at the Victoria Transport Policy Institute to look into how safe taking public transit really is compared to private modes of transportation like personal vehicles.
Not only does public transportation benefit individuals, it also benefits entire communities. Researchers found that communities that have mass transit systems in place have one-fifth the number of traffic fatalities than ones that don’t. In the words of one researcher, “While no mode of travel is risk-free, the safety of public transit is striking when observing the number of fatalities that are a result of auto crashes.”
At the time the study was published, the APTA reported that there was a $86 billion backlog on spending for improvements to state and federal public transportation spending, something that could greatly reduce fatal crash rates.
The researchers ultimately concluded that improved public transportation is part of how cities and states can improve roadway safety. Encouraging the use of public transportation should be coupled with an awareness of distracted or impaired driving, the retesting of seniors during license renewals and graduated licenses for teens.
They also found that adolescents in urban areas have half as many accidents as their suburban or rural counterparts because they take public transit five times more often than them.
While individuals who use public transportation can greatly reduce their risk of death, there are many ways in which someone can become seriously hurt if their bus has a crash. A catastrophic injury and wrongful death attorney can advise you whether you need to file a lawsuit and help you maximize the compensation your receive.
