John_Maxwell_IV comments on Absolute denial for atheists - Less Wrong

39 Post author: taw 16 July 2009 03:41PM

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Comment author: JamesAndrix 17 July 2009 06:11:50PM 27 points [-]

You probably shouldn't drive. It's dangerous, expensive, and should be left to professionals. Take the bus or ride a bike.

More widely, we should support policies that make individual car use prohibitively expensive, but public transit easy and cheap. Generally the only cars on the road should be service related (Ambulances, Fire, Police, Utilities,Buses, Delivery/shipping trucks, Taxi's, Limo's etc.)

This would save lots of money and energy, and tens of thousands of lives per year.

Comment author: John_Maxwell_IV 18 July 2009 08:32:23PM 1 point [-]

As a cyclist, I think biking is probably more dangerous than driving...

Comment author: D_Alex 20 July 2009 04:00:22AM 6 points [-]

But... have you framed "danger" apprppriately?

"According to a study by the British Medical Association, the average gain in "life years" through improved fitness from cycling exceeds the average loss in “life years” through cycling fatalities by a factor of 20 to 1."

From http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/cyclists-live-longer.html.

Comment author: John_Maxwell_IV 20 July 2009 04:33:37AM 4 points [-]

That's an interesting quote. There are probably other ways to achieve the same fitness benefits though.

Comment author: taryneast 02 June 2014 08:14:47AM 0 points [-]

Yes... in countries where the infrastructure is so poor as to require cyclists to ride in traffic (or in the door zone). In places where this is not the case (see Europe) I'd be interested in seeing if those stats are the same.

Comment author: TeMPOraL 09 October 2015 05:04:29AM 0 points [-]

Even in Europe, places where you don't have to drive in traffic / door zone are incredibly rare. Bike paths are cool, but as currently implemented they mostly serve to annoy both drivers and pedestrians alike, and there is still a default assumption that where there is no bike path, you'll be driving with traffic.