By Gavin Jenkins, Senior Managing Editor
I have four core beliefs about roadway safety. The first two are problems: Most people are bad drivers who won’t improve, and America’s aging infrastructure can’t handle the size and weight of the traffic on its roads and bridges.
The next two are solutions: Every major urban area — close to 100 cities — should have a metro system. And, not only should we have high-speed rail connecting the country, but it should be the envy of the world.
If America was connected by high-speed rail, and if its cities featured metro systems, congestion would be reduced, our roads would be safer and our infrastructure would last longer.
Subways in every city is a tall order, but high-speed rail is attainable. It’s also a popular idea.
Newsweek conducted a poll on the topic last year and found that 60% of voters were in favor of high-speed rail construction.
That many Americans can’t agree on the color of the sky. So, what’s the hold up?
Let’s go back to bad driving.
I didn’t mean you, dear reader. Or me. We’re good drivers. The problem is, all those bad drivers, they think they’re as good as us.
They’re not. They speed (when we speed, we’re in control). They look at their phones (we can look at our phones because we’re good drivers). And they disobey traffic laws (no one’s coming when we roll stop signs).
Solutions involving technology, education or engineering can only do so much with these folks. We need them off the road, but they think they’re good drivers, so they won’t stop. They also probably enjoy it. I know I do.
Driving is fun! With the radio blaring and the windows down. We wouldn’t give this up. We’d just do it in moderation.
Building rail lines would reshape American culture and infrastructure and, thanks to the oil industry’s money, the political will to lead this revolution doesn’t exist.
Regardless, anyone who tried would need a good relationship with the freight industry, and there still would be regulatory issues and lawsuits over land.
Then there’s the funding. The passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was a miracle. Though it would be popular with voters, our current political leaders could not pass a national bill for high-speed rail because it would cost too much.
In 2008, I moved to China to teach English. That fall, I took bullet train from Guangzhou to Shanghai. It took eight hours. That’s the equivalent of New York to Chicago, which, on Amtrak today, in 2025, takes between 19 and 22 hours.
That’s pathetic.
The rail system in Europe is even better. It’s embarrassing to be that far behind.
America should have the best rail system in the world. High-speed rail and metro systems. Our roads would be safer. Our infrastructure would be stronger.
Isn’t the goal to make America great? Despite rail’s obstacles, we should try. RB
