451–460 of 683 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you not seen what happens in some parts of the world where people throw themselves in front of vehicles as a form of insurance fraud? And you want to extend that to make the driver guilty of a crime when that happens?
I live in germany, traffic law works like that here, and the insurance fraud you mention is not known here. Not sure why. Maybe because of other aspects of the law culture here.
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Having you head on a swivel for would-be child snatchers at all times seems like irrational paranoia. I imagine it's the deceptively mundane that is the true danger, automobiles being the most obvious.
Have a look at the Megan's Law registry. Tell me how close the nearest violent sexual predator is to you. A few months ago, I discovered that one lived on my street. He has since been arrested and is no longer in the neighborhood. But, it's not just out-of-place perverts. I am also on the lookout for under supervised children who "play" too violently. I knew that I would be concerned about vehicles, so I was sure to…
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For me, that happened when I became the father of two little girls. My radar is up whenever I am in public with my daughters. I notice if strangers look for too long in their direction or if I see someone hanging out where children are, without a child of their own. Occasionally, I'll spot another father like me. We'll lock eyes for a moment and it's clear that we recognize each other (for what we are, not necessaril…
Is that kind of paranoia productive? Especially considering we are at historically low crime rates. A very young child needs supervision and precautions to prevent them from hurting themselves, as this article sadly shows, and even then, its blind bad luck sometimes. But otherwise I can’t think any of my family (two young kids, 1 year and 8 years) or friends (many kids of various ages) being super cautious about thei…
I balance the likelihood with the potential consequences when making my decision.
For example, logically, I know that there's no danger of contracting anything from sitting on a public toilet seat but I still make a bird's nest when I have to poop in a public place.
Intellectually, I know that the world is now statistically safer than it was when I was a child but I still do not allow my children to roam unsupervised in public places.
Ever since I became a father (2 months ago), I've been seeing the world as a dangerous and an ugly place. This is confounded with the fact that, a month ago, I came to find out that my brother was bullied in HS and was never the same. My brother has been out of high school for about 9 years now, but It took me 6 whole years to consider the possibility that something was wrong. I was in undergrad and focused on my stu…
I feel for your brother and understand your fatherly fears. I have three sons. They are all fine now, but ... One got hit by a drunken driver, one broke his neck, and the other fell onto a wrought iron fence which stabbed through his skull and into his brain. All three are healthy and active. Each came so close to death. As you say, many of the largest changes are quite beyond our control. I frequently find myself ha…
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For context, Massachusetts has the lowest fatality rate of all US states.
Wow. As a Massachusetts driver, I would not have expected that. I've traveled pretty extensively within the US and Europe and I (and many, many others) consider Massachusetts, or at least the Boston metro area, to have the worst drivers. Three possible explanations for the low fatality rate: - Bars, nightclubs and stores that sell alcohol must close by 2 AM, plus our other state and local alcohol sales regulations (p…
See Jeff Speck's "AMERICAN CAR-NAGE" passage in Walkable City: https://books.google.com/books?id=kbfeAQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA37&ots=...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have a look at the Megan's Law registry. Tell me how close the nearest violent sexual predator is to you. A few months ago, I discovered that one lived on my street. He has since been arrested and is no longer in the neighborhood. But, it's not just out-of-place perverts. I am also on the lookout for under supervised children who "play" too violently. I knew that I would be concerned about vehicles, so I was sure to…
Children are sexually abused by family members, then by adults at schools and clubs they visit. Abuse by strangers is rare.
They're also not left unsupervised with clergy.
I can barely bring myself to read stories like this now. I never really thought about it before my son was born, but there's always this dread you live with in the back of your mind. This little helpless person has your life in it's hands. The world and fate is trying to take them out, and if they succeed you'd never recover. You can learn to live with pain, but I don't believe you ever get over something like that.
Yes. After becoming a father, and especially as my son has grown to a teen, I have become more and more unable to voluntarily consume media which involves the death of children. Nonetheless, I read this one, because it involves confronting this deep seated fear from a perspective I felt I could relate to.
Powerful stuff. It feels vitally important to confront this fear. But I do feel deeply unsettled.
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This is simply wrong in the general case. While the speeds might be lower, they are still high enough to kill. In addition the density of the traffic can be so high that just a single wrong step can decide your destiny every minute.
Do you have some numbers to support your claims?
From CDC:
> In large central metro areas, those aged 35–44 years (2.08), 45–54 years (2.60), 55–64 years (2.60), 65–74 years (3.36), 75–84 years (5.19), and ≥85 years (5.24) had statistically higher death rates than those in the same age groups at other urbanization levels. [1]
Ever since I became a father (2 months ago), I've been seeing the world as a dangerous and an ugly place. This is confounded with the fact that, a month ago, I came to find out that my brother was bullied in HS and was never the same. My brother has been out of high school for about 9 years now, but It took me 6 whole years to consider the possibility that something was wrong. I was in undergrad and focused on my stu…
Mailboxes on the opposite side of a street with a 45-50mph speed limit? STUPID. I feel terrible for both the victim and the author, in part because tragedies like this are avoidable . This particular scenario seems pretty egregious, but even the typical line of cars parked along the side of the road - obscuring view of the sidewalk and giving pedestrians a false sense of security - is provably bad for safety. If you…
Indeed the civil engineer who allowed such an egregious speed limit is at fault here.