We'd like to think that there is little error when it comes to transporting people, but most (if not all) of our current means of transportation are prone to accident. Here's some stats:
- For planes, there were 4,394 near-misses in 2012 [1]
- There were an estimated 5,419,000 automobile accidents in 2010, just in the US, resulting in 32,999 deaths [2]
- And the recent Amtrak train derailment, which could have been prevented (although why the prevention mechanism needs to be in the track, and not on the train itself seems strange). [3] There is also an estimated 2,280 collisions at public/private crossings resulting in 267 deaths in 2014. [4]
The question in my mind is whether the proposed Hyperloop system would be more prone to accident than our current systems of transit. I doubt our current means of transit would fare well under some of the proposed scenarios in the comments.
Oh I'm in complete agreement with you I just think it would be cheaper / more profitable to initially transport goods (saving money on safety features you may need for people) and then using that to build up to people transportation. Rather than hoping an IPO gives them enough money just for a test track I'd rather them hope for far less money and test transporting non-humans.
- For planes, there were 4,394 near-misses in 2012 [1]
- There were an estimated 5,419,000 automobile accidents in 2010, just in the US, resulting in 32,999 deaths [2]
- And the recent Amtrak train derailment, which could have been prevented (although why the prevention mechanism needs to be in the track, and not on the train itself seems strange). [3] There is also an estimated 2,280 collisions at public/private crossings resulting in 267 deaths in 2014. [4]
The question in my mind is whether the proposed Hyperloop system would be more prone to accident than our current systems of transit. I doubt our current means of transit would fare well under some of the proposed scenarios in the comments.
[1] - http://news.discovery.com/tech/airplane-near-misses-how-ofte...
[2] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in...
[3] - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/13/derailed-amtrak-tra...
[4] - http://oli.org/about-us/news/collisions-casulties