>People are not
>afraid of driving even though they chances of dying in a car crash are
>considerably higher than dying in any other mode of transportation - because
>cars are a key part of the mainstream culture, and thus their benefits are
>cognitively augmented, while their costs are cognitively diminished. Ditto
>for "legal" drugs such as alcohol, caffeine, or cigarettes. By contrast,
>public transit and "illegal" drugs are seen as part of "alien culture" and
>their benefits are cognitively made look smaller while their cost and
>dangers are perceived to be larger.
>
>It comes as no surprise that those who see themselves as dissidents or
>"counter-culture" would the opposite stance, and cognitively reduce the
>dangers of "countercultural" icons (illegal drugs, life styles, public
>transit, etc.)
The U.S. death rate in motor vehicle accidents is about 1.5 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) - and 3.6 on local rural roads. As I recall, during the high crime years, about one person a month was murdered on the NYC subway. I'm guessing here, but with about 3 million rides a day, each an average of about a mile, that would work out to a death rate of 1.2 per 100m VMT - safer than riding in a car, and far far safer than riding on a country road. But country roads are "safe" and the NYC subway is scary.
Doug