Drunk? Is it Safer to Drive or Walk?

Robert Steuteville takes issue with a recent report on NPR's Marketplace by noted Economist Steven Levitt that concluded that driving while drunk is safer than walking while drunk.

1 minute read

January 16, 2012, 10:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj

Moral and legal implications aside, Steuteville takes issue with the premise behind the piece's analysis, "the conclusion of Levitt and Dubner is flat-out wrong. Nobody is going to walk 5 or 10 miles to a bar, but they will drive there. The average walking trip is a quarter mile or less. The average driving trip is 6-12 miles, according to the National Household Travel Survey."

"It goes without saying that the average drunk driving trip is significantly more dangerous to the driver than the average drunk walking trip to the pedestrian. The use of the per-mile basis is inappropriate and misleading - and these commentators should know that."

FULL STORY: Drunk? Safer to drive than walk, says economist

Thursday, January 12, 2012 in Better! Cities & Towns

Social / Demographics World Steven Levitt Stephen Dubner Freakonomics

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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