So, first I hope this question fits this sub. I’ve often heard that sentance. But how has it been determined?
Like, is it just about the raw number of deaths? In which case, the argument doesn’t exactly land well since we’re in planes a very small part of our lives.
Or has it been calculated that on average, a second spent on a plane is safer than a second spent in a car? In which case it would truly be safer.
In: Other
One hog aspect is the competence of the pilot/driver. In the US at least, there is very little stopping idiots from driving. Passenger aircraft are piloted by teams who are very trained. This is also skewed by things like motorcycles which have an extremely high death per mile travelled compared to other vehicles.
Airplanes are likely the safest because there is far less chance that you have an incompetent pilot compared to the far more likely incompetent drivers on roads.
There’s a lot of factors to this question. Statistically? Yes, planes are much safer and that is for a lot of reasons. Part of it is because of all the strict rules pilots and airlines need to follow to ensure a safe flight. But if you were to switch the discussion to crash survival rates, you’ll probably find that far fewer people survive plane crashes than car crashes.
As others have said, counting deaths/injuries per mile of travel for each mode of transport gets you a pretty decent average figure to show how safe each mode of transport is. Flying is incredibly safe and you’re much more likely to get in a car accident than you are to find yourself in a plane crash.
Planes are safer than most other ways of travelling in terms of the chance of getting killed on the trip. They’re more dangerous than most if you factor in the number of people potentially killed by the environmental consequences of jet travel, though.
Per passenger mile they are a lot safer. So if you have to decide between driving somewhere or flying there, you should fly.
The problem is that you often end up travelling a lot more miles once you have the ability to fly. You wouldn’t be taking all those trips if you had to drive.
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