There are many factors that go into a person’s decision on how to get to and from work. They will need to consider how far away their job is, whether they can walk or ride a bike or if a car is required. They will need to think about public transportation options and whether or not there is parking at their job. Today we are going to discuss what they would need to consider if they were also taking safety into consideration.
It is Hard to Determine a Conclusive Answer
We must make some assumptions to get an idea of what the most dangerous type of commuting is for a few reasons. First, police reports – no matter how detailed – do not typically say whether a person was on their way to or from work. Second, we cannot simply look at the number of accidents to compare them as many more people drive than walk or bike. However, we can look at some data and draw some probable conclusions from it.
A Look at the Data
Let us first consider the raw data. According to the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics in 2017 there were 37,133 fatal accidents on the road:
- 13,363 were the driver or occupant in a passenger car;
- 10,188 were in light tricks such as pickup trucks;
- 5,172 were on a motorcycle;
- 5,977 were pedestrians;
- 783 were on bikes;
- 44 were on a bus.
What does this tell us about how dangerous each of these options is?
What Does This Data Show Us?
What we do not know about these accidents is how many people were on their way to or from work. Even if we look at the time the accidents occurred, schedules vary so we could not determine which ones were likely commuting accidents. It seems clear from the numbers and the fact that millions of people commute via bus each week that buses – and likely other forms of public transportation – may be the safest option.
However, unless the bus or other forms of public transportation picks you up at your doorstep, you likely have to walk to the station or stop – which means you are at risk of a pedestrian accident. You could ride your bike but that gives you the same risk. In fact, this is another flaw of the data: A person could potentially be involved in one accident that involved several of these types of commuting.
Were You Injured While Commuting?
If you were involved in an accident while commuting to or from work then we strongly recommend you contact a personal injury attorney to find out what your options are. At Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas we can provide a free legal consultation to advise on your particular case.
