Why do people say airplane travel is safer than cars?

11 Responses to “Why do people say airplane travel is safer than cars?”

1. foogill says:

   October 28, 2009 at 9:58 pm

   If you take the number of people and the hours spent in cars and on aircraft, air travel is much safer. Most deaths on aircraft are caused by fire and smoke inhalation, the crash landing is the safe bit.
2. Chris says:

   October 31, 2009 at 8:54 am

   less traffic up in the air.
3. captmhunt says:

   November 1, 2009 at 1:09 pm

   It has to do with accidents per miles traveled. There are fewer people killed for the number of airline miles traveled than for the number of land miles traveled.
4. sexy pablo says:

   November 2, 2009 at 3:39 pm

   y u ask the same question twice
5. Jcontrols says:

   November 4, 2009 at 11:40 am

   There are more than 40 thousand people killed on U.S. roads EVERY YEAR! Driving is NO joke!!
6. vanhammer says:

   November 5, 2009 at 6:52 pm

   Airplane crashes kill many people at one time usually. That’s why we tend to fear flying. In actuality, airplane travel is safer than car travel. Think about all the car accidents that happen all over the country everyday.Plane crashes are usually years apart.
7. Animal Lover says:

   November 5, 2009 at 10:04 pm

   MYTH: Traveling on a modern jet airline is much safer than traveling by car.
   REALITY: Traveling by car is 12 times safer than traveling on a commercial jet airline. If you were to travel by plane as often as you travel by car you would be 12 times more likely to be involved in a plane crash compared to a car crash. Put another way, traveling by plane is 12 times more likely to kill you than traveling by car for the same number of journeys. The only reason air travel is perceived to be safer than car travel is because most people do not travel by air as often as by car.
8. jody n says:

   November 6, 2009 at 1:40 pm

   me myself think planes are safer the odds of a plane crash is one in a million getting in a car accident just think if you travel 1000 miles how many cars, semis, road cunstruction and animals could cause you to crash and lack of sleep diistractions so many ways to get hurt on the way and in the plane really two terrist or malfuction of the plane
9. Tommy D. says:

   November 7, 2009 at 2:37 am

   Taking into account all the thing’s ( and more ) that you argue –
   Million’s of people travel in many way’s, statistically ( all the statistic’s ) it is physically, much safer to travel by air; There are fewer death’s and injuries over greater distances – all the figures say so; This might only be because security of flight is paramount and controlled to a greater degree than a car trip, fewer random’s or idiot’s at the wheel, more passenger’s and fewer vehicules involved etc. Either way it is still correct statistically – so that’s why they say it.x
10. Aruba_Ron says:

    November 7, 2009 at 4:23 pm

    Naturegirl…

    Great question…with a very simple answer. First, imagine, right now, that there are literally thousands of commercial air flights in the air. There were thousands of others in the air this morning and later this afternoon AND tonight there will be thousands and thousands more. Ok…got it? Pretty scary, huh? Now go to sleep tonight and when you wake up, start over…same scenario. But, remember that in Europe and Asia while we were sleeping thousands and thousands of flights were flying there as well.

    My point is this…tens of thousands of commercial flights take off EVERY DAY! And they almost all land safely. In a typical month…on the planet…there may be two or three crashes of jets that hold 20 passengers or more.

    Now remember that in the United States…EVERY YEAR…there are over 50,000 deaths in auto accidents. That doesn’t count the many times more that are injured. Let’s see…50,000/52 weeks…that’s about 1000 deaths a week…OR…about 150 deaths EVERY DAY! Would you be concerned if, every single day in the United States a commercial airliner with 150 people onboard crashed and everyone was killed? I know I would be a little nervous.

    I’ve traveled to Asia twice, South America three times and Europe three times. I’ll be back to Europe in November and then again in December.

    Air travel is, BY FAR, the safest way to travel. Just sit back and relax. You’re in good hands with professional pilots that have flown thousands of flights. You’re in a jet that has been designed and tested to handle pretty much anything that comes its way.

    When you’re in a car, there are idiots everywhere, driving with family problems, drinking, too old, too young, too fast, too slow…the roads are slick, it’s raining, people talking on cell phones. I travel for a living and hate getting on the road sometimes. I see so many stupid things and have had so many close calls.

    On planes, I’ve traveled to about 30 countries and have been on over 150 flights with about 500,000 miles flown.

    Bottom line naturegirl…you’re safe on airplanes. Much safer today than ever before. Remember when you wake up tomorrow…were there any crashes? Check the news. Then remember that the cycle of flights continues with everyone arriving safely pretty much everyday. Go see the world…

    “Life is a book…without travel…you read only a page…”

    Take care…
11. dcgirl says:

    November 9, 2009 at 8:35 am

    I don’t know a single person who has died in an airplane crash but I do know at least 5 who have died in car crashes. That’s just people I know personally. Since we spend so much more time and miles in cars than in planes, it’s more likely that we will be in a car when something bad happens than in a plane. Plus, airline pilots are highly trained, closely regulated professionals and their vehicles are inspected by a mechanic almost constantly. When you compare that to drivers who barely passed their road tests, don’t see anything wrong with talking on their cell phones while driving, and at the most have their car inspected for safety once every two years, well, I think I will take my chances in the air!!!