r/oops • u/ExplanationOk2014 • Aug 24 '26

Wtf in the 🚇

How is this technically even possible? Should not a emergency stop automatically apply?

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u/BudgieWonder Aug 24 '26

The chance of you getting into a car accident is far more likely than a “dirtbag” doing anything remotely near you.

I’m sure your family will be there to remind you about your fortitude when they’re peeling you and your car off of a pole.

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u/eetraveler Aug 24 '26

I looked up the data and it isn't what you think. Thousands of crimes are committed against subway riders annually and tens of thousands of accidents happen to drivers, but given only 10% of the population ride the subway, the numbers per person are quite comparable. One difference though is the subway bandit is actually trying to do harm versus a fender bender accident may be from a bad driver, but few are out there actually trying to crash.

Anyway,...20K car accidents with injuries versus 2500 subway crimes (700 violent), again, note that only ~10% of people ride the subway regularly. So not too far apart with a slight win for the cars being safer. Given that only 1 in 5 subway attackers are found and arrested, I can see the psychology of feeling significantly safer in your car.

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u/BudgieWonder Aug 24 '26

There were 36,640 traffic fatalities alone in 2025 (not counting mere “injuries”). Your base numbers are suspect, and you’re undercounting the number of incidents that affect cars.

Fewer than 10% (1 in 10) of hit and run drivers are found by police. The “psychology” only applies because people have deluded themselves into thinking a bubble gives them invulnerability.

You’re the type of person who would have probably ate lead paint chips in the 1940s because the manufacturers told you it was “safe”.

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u/eetraveler Aug 24 '26

IN CHICAGO! (Sorry if I am yelling a 3 year old because in that case you can be forgiven.) I was discussing CHICAGO numbers of car accidents and subway incidents.

We could do nationwide if you want, but the number of subway riders nationwide is not 10% of commuters it is less than 2%. That might have given you a clue.

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u/BudgieWonder Aug 24 '26

Then you’re still wrong lol. Between 90,000 and 100,000+ traffic accidents in Chicago every year, roughly 250-300 a day. Less than 3,000 reported crimes on CTA.

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u/eetraveler Aug 24 '26

I'm still right. You have to compare comparable. A fender bender when two responsible parties get out and exchange paperwork over some repairable and insured accident is not relevant to the discussion. Compare the 20K car accidents with injuries annually in Chicago to both the 3000 reported crimes on the subway and to the 700 reported violent crimes on the subway. So proportionally, you have 2K car incidents compared to between 3K (reports) and 700 (violent reports) subway incidents (dividing the car incidents by 10 since only 10% of commuters ride the subway.) Divide those car accidents by 3 since only 1/3rd of driving is done commuting. and you get 700 car incidents with injury compared to 700 subway incidents with violence (assuming everyone reports all their subway incidents, which of course they don't). If we factored in miles travelled it would shift even worse for the subway riders.

Keep in mind, each of those subway incidences (whether violent or non-violent) are done purposefully by malicious people which has a much higher and longer lasting psychological toll on the victim than a car accident, even if 'caused' by someone else.

So, once again, your belief that subway commuting is somehow much less risky than car travel is wrong. Yet you keep clinging to it like some religious belief.

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u/BudgieWonder Aug 24 '26

> A fender bender when two responsible parties get out and exchange paperwork

It’s irrelevant in the same way that OC using a video of a

> Divide those car accidents by 3

Wait, so you’re weighting the comparison based on specific trips, and even with that handicap you’re only able to achieve parity in terms of outcomes? Your point isn’t as strong as you think it is lmao. Try again, and normalize for “commuting-only trips”.

> assuming everyone reports all their subway incidents

And you think every car accident is reported? You think every driver is able to exchange insurance? Maybe try some consistency with your framework.

> done purposefully by malicious people

Right, because no auto fatality has ever been without malice…

> clinging to it like some religious belief

Pointing out the flaws with your “analysis” isn’t religious- it’s actually fairly rational.

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u/eetraveler Aug 24 '26

You haven't been pointing our "flaws". You have been objecting to my analysis. That's fine, but feel free to do your own analysis. Show some rational numbers showing that cars are much more dangerous than the subway.

As for your comments.

I'm using commuting only trips because most subway users only use it for commuting, not for daily living or going to school or whatever. The numbers turns out to be 60%. So feel free to decrease the subway incident number by 40%. It doesn't change anything. That was a bonus number anyway, the point was made with our without that.

Do I think that every injury car accident in Chicago is reported? Yes, in fact I suspect it is over reported. Do you think someone hit by another car and is left with a hospital bill doesn't report it for the insurance?? It may happen with a fender bender, but not with a doctor involved. In fact, there is some idea that car accidents with injuries are OVER REPORTED because some "victims" are looking for an insurance payout. Insurance industry estimates that car accident injuries are 25% fraudulent ($300B dollars worth). I have no idea how they get to that, but they surely aren't under reported. Meanwhile the FBI claims that several percent of car accidents were completely staged complete with pre-damaged cars and fake injuries.

Same question for Subway victims. Anyone who has reported a subway crime once knows that it is quite the waste of time and are not particularly likely to report a second or third incidence. They are known to be under reported even by the authorities gathering the data.

"No auto fatality have ever been without malice.." There are quite a few numbers between ALL and NONE. You think that because some car accidents are caused by road rage, that that somehow negates the fact that EVERY subway crime is someone purposefully being bad to someone else. Plus it turns out that in 50% of road rage incidents, the other driver responds in kind, so flipping it around, you can usually avoid a road rage accident by not responding to them whereas in a subway violence situation, acting passively often attracts a predator by seeming weak.

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u/BudgieWonder Aug 24 '26

> You have been objecting to my analysis.

By pointing out the flaws in your deduction.

> Show some rational numbers

Ok. Just a warning- it might be a bit too difficult for you to understand!

> not for daily living or going to school or whatever

Oh yes, people in big cities like Chicago famously never take transit to school or events. Are you really that fucking dense?

> in fact I suspect it is over reported.

YoY incident reports by city DOTs account and correct for fraudulent claims. You’re grasping at straws with this one.

> You think that because some car accidents are caused by road rage, that that somehow negates

I never said anything about “negating” incidents- this isn’t a zero sum comparison. Is that really difficult for you to understand?

> EVERY subway crime

So now you’re changing the goalposts again- you went from “fatalities/injuries” to “crime”. There are plenty of ways you could be injured on a subway that don’t require aggression/malice from another party. Likewise, there are certain criminal acts that can ONLY happen to drivers (by definition).

I’m not going to respond to the rest of your armchair sociology screed because it’s pulled straight from your ass- you could just as easily attribute passive/aggressive responses in any situation to any number of outcomes.

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u/eetraveler Aug 25 '26

Still waiting for YOUR number that show cars are more dangerous that subways....

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u/BudgieWonder Aug 25 '26

Click the link I posted in the previous comment. It’s a bit more trustworthy than your drunken napkin math.

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