Light Rail - Safety

Safety

US-based research on traffic safety shows that public transport is safer than private motor vehicles, and that transportation systems which have their own infrastructure are safer than these means which don’t.

  • Regional Passenger Rail (RPR) is the safest way to travel. Its casualty rate – average number of injuries and fatalities per billion passenger miles – is little more than one-quarter the rate for motor vehicles.
  • Rail Rapid Transit (RRT) is somewhat safer than Light Rail Transit (LRT). RRT is almost twice as safe as motor vehicles, and LRT is more than one-and-a-half times safer than motor vehicles.
  • Traveling by bus is the least safe form of public transport. Buses use the same infrastructure as motor vehicles, and so buses also suffer from traffic congestion and accidents on the roads.
  • Private motor vehicles are the most dangerous form of at-grade motorized travel, with motorcycles the most dangerous of all.

There are reasons why public transport is safer than private transport. One is that since public transit's capacity is greater than that of private vehicles, public transport use can reduce the number of distinct vehicles on the road, and this in turn decreases the potential for accidents.

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