Tax-
Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 12:27PM Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Or, has that changed much in the past few years since 9/11?
Mr. Obvious
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 12:32PM - in reply to Tax- Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

Tax- wrote:

Or, has that changed much in the past few years since 9/11?


What do you mean "still?" Do you have baseline evidence that it was one of the least safe forms before 9/11?

It is mostly a matter of how you measure it and what you are comparing it to. Measured by passenger miles airline travel is one of the safest modes of transport. Measured by trips, it doesn't hold up quite as well but it still relatively safe. If you look at general aviation (not commercial airline travel) then it is quite dangerous.
MS Paint
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 12:38PM - in reply to Tax- Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Availability_heuristic

Read that and educate yourself a bit. You think its unsafe because examples of plane crashes come easily to mind because the news doesn't report the thousands upon thousands of routine and normal plane flights that occur every day. Flying is, and has been, an extremely safe way to travel.
Well there is always this
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 12:52PM - in reply to MS Paint Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

MS Paint wrote:
Flying is, and has been, an extremely safe way to travel.


Not always.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/ap_fusion_man_080521_ssh.jpg
clock ticking
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 12:56PM - in reply to Well there is always this Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
depends if you count your testicles getting irradiated by body scanners.
The sea yields to knowledge
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 12:57PM - in reply to Tax- Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

Tax- wrote:

Or, has that changed much in the past few years since 9/11?


Do you mean "since 1911"? If so, then yes, aviation has become much safer since then.
random a hole
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 1:00PM - in reply to Tax- Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Posters that start a thread with a wrong premise should be required to return and answer for their stupidity or be permanently banned from posting.
asdfe
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 1:12PM - in reply to Mr. Obvious Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

Mr. Obvious wrote:

What do you mean "still?" Do you have baseline evidence that it was one of the least safe forms before 9/11?

It is mostly a matter of how you measure it and what you are comparing it to. Measured by passenger miles airline travel is one of the safest modes of transport. Measured by trips, it doesn't hold up quite as well but it still relatively safe. If you look at general aviation (not commercial airline travel) then it is quite dangerous.


When measured by time in mode of transportation, commercial airplanes are about equal to cars.
kibitzer
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 1:19PM - in reply to Tax- Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Though these stats are from the UK, I suspect they pretty much apply in the U.S.: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_safest_mode_of_transport

"Air travel is the least safe mode of transport per passenger-hour, and it is the 2nd safest mode per passenger-km." [Rail is the safest by each criterion.]

In general, a commercial passenger flight is significantly safer than driving the same distance.
Tax-
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 1:54PM - in reply to clock ticking Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Yes, I do consider radiation from scanners and from the sun to be threats that should be accounted for.
agree
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 2:00PM - in reply to random a hole Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

random a hole wrote:

Posters that start a thread with a wrong premise should be required to return and answer for their stupidity or be permanently banned from posting.


Seriously; I'm starting to get sick of seeing threads like the one about freezing your kitchen by leaving the freezer door open, or the one from yesterday about launching RPGs into space.
Lyndon Larouche
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 2:06PM - in reply to kibitzer Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

kibitzer wrote:

Though these stats are from the UK, I suspect they pretty much apply in the U.S.: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_safest_mode_of_transport

"Air travel is the least safe mode of transport per passenger-hour, and it is the 2nd safest mode per passenger-km." [Rail is the safest by each criterion.]

In general, a commercial passenger flight is significantly safer than driving the same distance.

There was a story in the Economist about this, 15yrs ago or so.
If you measure just the first 2:00 and last 2:00 of each flight, then flying is a little safer than driving.
aaaaaa
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 2:07PM - in reply to agree Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Quit bumping such threads, then.
MB Prophet
RE: Is plane traveling on a treadmill still one of the safest forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 2:12PM - in reply to Tax- Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Fixed.
random a hole
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 2:12PM - in reply to Lyndon Larouche Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

Lyndon Larouche wrote:


If you measure just the first 2:00 and last 2:00 of each flight, then flying is a little safer than driving.


The fatalities/injuries are always in that last minute.
luv2run
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 7:30PM - in reply to random a hole Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

random a hole wrote:

[quote]Lyndon Larouche wrote:


If you measure just the first 2:00 and last 2:00 of each flight, then flying is a little safer than driving.


The fatalities/injuries are always in that last minute.[/quote]

And people get hurt on their last ski run as well.
not always
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 7:58PM - in reply to random a hole Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

random a hole wrote:

The fatalities/injuries are always in that last minute.


Injuries, and even deaths, can result from mid-flight incidents such as severe turbulence.
luv2think
RE: Is plane travel still one of the least safe forms of transportation? 5/1/2012 8:09PM - in reply to luv2run Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

luv2run wrote:

[quote]random a hole wrote:

The fatalities/injuries are always in that last minute.


And people get hurt on their last ski run as well.[/quote]

Pretty sure that was his point.