Quote:
Originally Posted by SentraSE-R
Cutesy game playing. You or I driving in a 2010 auto is/am/are much safer than you or I is/am/are driving in a 1990 Geo Metro or a late 80's Civic.
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I don't disagree, I also don't care because my chance of dying in either vehicle is extremely low. In 14 years driving I've been involved in (as a driver OR passenger) 4 collisions, 3 of which were in cars that today would be >20 yrs old, and none of those collisions took my life. Meanwhile because I am thrifty about my possessions, I have been able to afford the luxury of an adventurous lifestyle, putting
more life in my years (a sure thing) rather than trying to put more years on my life (a gamble at best, even the healthiest and most careful individual can fall prey to chance) .
I'm not suggesting anyone else needs to follow my example, if you need a car with the latest safety gizmos to feel good, go for it! If you need a car with blue paint to feel good, go for it!
I just feel that we need to keep things in perspective, for the time being about 2.5 million people die in the US each year and about 42000 of those deaths are in motor vehicles. That means based on raw averages we have a 1.68% chance of dying in a car accident as opposed to other causes. Because I don't have any specific figures, let's pretend that 20% of those deaths are drivers, or passengers of drivers who take risks I simply
*do not* take, like driving intoxicated, driving with no seat belt, driving while distracted, driving a vehicle that is poorly maintained, driving with an unreported impairment, etc.
So now I have a 1.35% chance of ultimately dying in a collision, regardless of what age my car is. Now let's say that occupants of a 2010 car are 10% less likely to be killed in a collision than occupants of a 1990 car (frankly I doubt the difference - while real - is quite that big, but let's go with it for discussion) - so that means my likelyhood of dying in a collision while driving a 2010 car is 0.135% less than my likelyhood of dying in a collision while driving a 1990 car, as compared against all the other things in the world that can kill me.
My cost of ownership on my 1992 Tempo including fuel for 1000 miles per month driving, the $4/month it adds to my car insurance premiums (I also have a 2001 blazer with comprehensive coverage on the same policy), the $8/yr it costs me to register it, etc... is about $1000 compared to the appx. $10,000/yr it would cost me to own and drive a 2010 Prius. Those "extra" $9000/yr I'm saving let me vacation in Maui, beautify my home, throw extravagant parties, and altogether put tons more life in my years, while only "costing" me a 0.135% greater chance at losing years from my life.
Sounds like a bargain to me, but if you don't see it that way that's fine too - I'm not out to change minds, just to keep things in perspective.
