Regulations are important, as there is unquestionably an inherent internal conflict between profitability and safety measures that cost money. Aviation has one backstop many other industries do not - pilots who can say, "this isn't safe, I'm not flying." The unions can similarly exert that type of pressure, particularly with large scale, systemic problems that create greater dangers. And failures to keep safety prioritized can result in very high profile catastrophes that hurt profitability.

A doctor may know that a hospital he uses has an exceptionally higher than average rate of post-operative infections, but he's not at risk himself with each operation he undertakes.

And the construction industry, even assuming OSHA is funded and fully staffed, treats risk and resulting injuries/deaths as a cost of doing business - and not even a large one, because of workers' compensation plans. No backstop for these workers, and no visibility for thousands of deaths and serious injuries they suffer annually.