K
Kudistos Megistos
Guest
I think it's quite hypocritical of you to complain about people manipulating statistics when you are doing exactly the same thing yourself, most likely because you like to be contrarian just for the sake of it.Actually planes are more unsafe than cars. I know you have been led to believe otherwise but aviation uses hours and distance you travel and not the journey number. By journey number this is the death toll:
Deaths per billion journeys
Bus: 4.3
Rail: 20
Van: 20
Car: 40
Foot: 40
Water: 90
Air: 117
Bicycle: 170
Motorcycle: 1640
You are 3X more likely to die on plane.
<< reply to guy on other page.
One of the things that sets plane journeys apart from car journeys is that the former are nearly always much longer. Now I know what you're thinking: "BAWWW, plane accidents usually happen at take-off or landing!". That doesn't matter, because car crashes don't usually happen when the car is being started or parked. There's an increased risk of minor accidents at this time, but it isn't when most of the accidents happen. Therefore, the chance of death in a plane doesn't increase much as the journey becomes longer, but the chances of death in a car increases dramatically, to the point where car journeys that last more than a certain amount of time become much more dangerous than plane journeys. These longer journeys, which have a higher risk, are the only ones that are comparable to flights, since these are the only times when one might be unsure as to whether it's better to go by car than plane.
I suggest you think about why these statistics are useful. Your amazing revelation that you're less likely to die in a car trip to the shops than on a long-haul flight to Jakarta does not help someone who is, for example, thinking of the best way to get from New York to Los Angeles. Sure, the average flight has a greater chance of death than the average car ride, but the car ride you'd be taking is not an average one. The flight you'd be taking is an average one, and has an average chance of resulting in death. For any journey that it is appropriate to take by plane, you're many times more likely to die in a car ride than you are on a flight, and that is why planes are regarded as safer.
And while we're at it...
Where did you get those statistics from, Seifie-kun? You are aware that not all countries have equally safe roads or equally safe airspace. If these are British statistics, I suggest you bear in mind that British roads are exceptionally safe by global standards. That death rate per journey might be very different in one of those countries where road laws are seen more as friendly suggestions than actual laws. That is to say, anywhere below 50° latitude north. Most of the world's population lives in these dangerous places, where the sun and heat turn road rage into road madness, and every journey is a game of Russian roulette.