How do these people get a licence?"
We've no doubt heard something like that said (maybe with some beeping and finger gestures). We may have said it ourselves.
The psychological term for this is "Fundamental Attribution Error". It's where we (incorrectly) blame an outcome on the people rather than the circumstance. (Unless it's our mistake of course - than there's always another reason)
A driver who is normally good (or at least as good as us) will occasionally do something 'crazy' because of other circumstances - screaming kids in the back seat, tiredness, fatigue, thinking about other things, or running late for work.
What has this got to do with being car free? It's a safety thing. And this is probably a big part of the reason why public transport is enormously safer than driving. If the danger isn't bad drivers - but circumstances - it's about stopping bad circumstances becoming a danger.
If I'm running late for work, i'm not putting anyone at risk, because i'm not driving the train. If I'm exhausted at the end of a long work week, the biggest danger is me missing my train station after an accidental nap. (That hasn't happened yet). It would be inconvenient, but it's better than a collision with another vehicle.
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* The picture is of Switch - the book where i read about the concept of Fundamtental Attribution Error
I hear you! Some days I am on the ball with driving safety, other days it is the other drivers who have to take up my slack.
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