CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Children waved at an incoming Skyline train during the grand opening of the rail line on June 30.
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In the article, “City responds to questions about rail safety for keiki” (Star-Advertiser, July 1), you quoted the statistic that “800 to 1,000 people are killed in train-related incidents in the U.S. each year and that about every five days a child dies from a train collision.”
I believe it’s irresponsible and a misrepresentation to cite this without giving comparable statistics for driving, which is much more dangerous. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “road traffic crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States for people ages 1–54” and the leading cause of death globally for 5-29-year-olds (3,700 deaths/day).
To compare, a recent article from National Public Radio said U.S. pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year high, with 20 pedestrians every day killed in car crashes. The statistic highlighted in the Star-Advertiser article says only 0.2 per day are killed from trains. This is a 100-times difference and shouldn’t be ignored.
Eli Fessler
Manoa
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