I asked 62 of my students whether they believed that things in the world are worse than they have ever been before.
8 students strongly agreed that this was the case.
Another 17 agreed that things are worse than they have ever been.
Another 15 had no opinion.
20 disagreed – saying that, at least one time or place in history, things were worse than they are now.
Only 2 strongly disagreed. I’m guessing that these few students understand that the vast majority of human existence has been unremitting toil and misery for most everybody.
I’m not blaming my students for this profound bias against the here and now. It’s what we older folk have been telling them.
So…
My New’s Year’s resolution is to talk more about human accomplishments. In very many ways, we’ve come a long way. There is a lot that is better than it was in the “good old days” (which were often pretty horrible). My vow is to write a short, “this is something that is better” article each week. This is my first installment.
Getting to where you are going without dying.
Here’s an interesting fact. In the United States, the peak year for traffic fatalities per capita was 1937. It’s gone down (a lot) since then even though a lot more people own cars and they drive a lot more. When we look at deaths per mile driven, the safety improvement started even earlier. In 1922, 21.65 people died for each 100,000 miles driven in the United States. A century later, this death rate was 1.66 per 100,000 miles driven.
I could not readily access Canadian data from that long ago, but according to Canadian government date, in 1991 3,690 people died in Motor Vehicle Accidents in Canada. Three decades later, this death toll had dropped to 1,768 despite a much higher population, more cars, and more km driven. In 2002, the fatality rate was 1.57 for every 10,000 vehicles on the road. In 2021, it was 0.67.
A lot more people are both getting to their destination and surviving the trip. A lot of things contributed to making traveling by car safer, including:
Better cars with airbags, three-point seat belts, disc brakes, power steering and electronic warning sensors.
Much better tires. Better grip, fewer blow outs. Let’s all praise steel-belted radials.
Improved road design and engineering.
Seat belt laws.
Tougher impaired driving laws, the invention of the breathalyzer, and the social messaging from insurance companies and organizations such as MADD and SADD.
More rigorous driver training (I never got formal driver’s training and a lot of my supervision while with a learner’s license came from slightly older friends) and graduated licenses. And let’s not forget demerit points.
It all adds up to fewer people dying while trying to get somewhere.
It’s not just ground travel that has become safer. In 1972, 3,346 air travelers (worldwide) died in plane crashes. Five decades later, the number was 357. To put that number in context, think of how many more people are travelling by air. Flying has not just become safer – it’s become dramatically safer.
So….
Three cheers for our improved ability to get somewhere without dying.