I did not try to misrepresent anything. That first quote I left out because it was standard politician's doublespeak, i.e. not admitting anything nor committing to anything.
Yes, my comment was a gut reaction. That reaction was purely based on the gall of calling into question whether the system is broken at all. To formalize my thought process:
1. $system exists to certify machines in $domain (premise)
2. 346 people die in two related $domain failures (premise)
3. $politician rejects the notion that $system is broken (premise)
4. a well-functioning system is apparently allowed to result in 346 deaths (conclusion)
Perhaps you’re just used to dealing with an industry that has little physical risks where the thought of people dying in a normal functioning system seems hard to believe?
Hundreds to thousands of people die everyday in vehicles and the NTSB doesn’t even open investigations. It’s regarded as a well-functioning system. Are Democrats fine with thousands of deaths every year?
>> Hundreds to thousands of people die everyday in vehicles
But not due to systemic issues like the Toyota unintended accelerations.
Deaths arising from systemic issues in automotive manufacture or poor road design are relatively rare in comparison to driver-induced deaths due to e.g. impairment by alcohol.
>> and the NTSB doesn’t even open investigations
It does for (systemic issues - the issues in question this whole conversation)
But a lot of the causes of car accidents ARE systemic!
"driving while 80 years old"
"driving while on 4 hours of sleep in the past 72"
"driving with the brake warning light on"
I'd count all of the above as "systemic", and bet that they cause a multitude of deaths. We just don't want to accept the societal and monetary cost to eliminate them. Others, like "driving while intoxicated", we penalize but still do not take more than superficial steps to combat. (Superficial from the perspective of aviation, at least)
So, corollary. Should we completely rework the process for certifying cars (safety testing) and drivers (drivers licenses, training) due to the FAR more than 346 roadway deaths last year?
Adding just a few lessons from Aviation - things like "only allow the use of spare parts that are approved by the manufacturer", "forbid use when diagnostic errors are present", "mandate pilot rest periods and duty cycles" and "revoke the license of anyone with a sufficiently serious medical condition" would have huge consequences. I'm personally confident that each of those would reduce driving fatalities in the US by more than 346/yr. Of course, they'd also destroy the livelihoods of millions, make car travel far more expensive, and have (prior to 2020) unfathomable social consequences. But hey, any system that allowed that many deaths must be broken!
Yes, my comment was a gut reaction. That reaction was purely based on the gall of calling into question whether the system is broken at all. To formalize my thought process:
1. $system exists to certify machines in $domain (premise)
2. 346 people die in two related $domain failures (premise)
3. $politician rejects the notion that $system is broken (premise)
4. a well-functioning system is apparently allowed to result in 346 deaths (conclusion)