Which is worse, having a 1% chance of dying in a car accident, or spending an extra hour/day stuck in traffic? I think I might take the first option; it delivers a higher expected number of hours of life not stuck in traffic.
The third choice is stop building in such a way that these wide and fast roads are needed.
1. If the US would have safer streets/roads/... and overall more human-oriented city design some people would walk to their destinations.
Look at this stupidity, and this is a new community: https://youtu.be/9-QGLfWSrpQ?si=bsTbq0cdMltXEzU5&t=299
Also some more people would bike to their destinations. Some people would take take public transit.
And guess what, that means that in the end, fewer people drive so there's less traffic, and on empty streets going 30kmph on average, you get where you want faster than in stop and go or constantly merging traffic that has posted speed limits of 50 kmph. As people say, driving in the Netherlands is world class, and that's <<because>> the Netherlands has tons of cyclists, not <<despite>> them.
2. You know or should know that it's not about you dying in your car. These days cars are incredibly safe tanks for those inside. You're more likely to kill someone <<outside>> your car.
3. Other people have pointed out the logical fallacy, already.
People often say "this is why we can't have nice things"... Such policies are the "nice things".
https://www.dutchreach.org/car-child-murder-protests-safer-n...
To make car infrastructure "sufficient" you are required to make roads wider, which reduces the quality of life of those living in the city, and perversely increases the demand for car transport eventually leading to more traffic jams. Bikes, even in high traffic situations, move faster than cars that are stationary.
And yes, cars are very safe — but only for those inside of them. As they get bigger, heavier and with taller bumpers they get more and more deadly for pedestrians and cyclists.
Meanwhile just slowing the fuck down on residential streets is a choice anyone can make and not at all a comparable situation.
Please dispense with the classic HN whataboutism, as it's not curious conversation and contravenes the comment guidelines.