3 ms·
Fellow flight-o-phobe here. > "You are less likely to be in an accident in a plane than in a car". > The above is a true statistic, but more nuance is require
by chrisallenlane 9y ago
Fellow flight-o-phobe here.
> "You are less likely to be in an accident in a plane than in a car".
> The above is a true statistic, but more nuance is required.
Regarding the "nuance": something I've never seen before, but would like to see, are these risk numbers adjusted for drivers that are not at-fault.
Example: If I have a reported N% likelihood of being killed in a drunk-driving incident, but never personally drive drunk, is my personal risk-exposure really N%? It seems like it would be lower.
My instinct is that these blanket-statement risk numbers may overstate risk for competent drivers. Not so on an airplane, however, where passengers have zero influence on how an event may play out.
- quuquuquu 9y agoThis is EXACTLY correct!! Driving statistics are aggregates. Some statistics may not apply, for example if you don't drive drunk, or on very dangerous roads, or very fast, or in wintery conditions. Have you read about "gun death" stats? 50% of gun deaths are murders. 50% are suicides. Don't shoot yourself, and you have permanently lowered your risk of dying from a gun by 50%! Similarly, if you were to carry a parachute on a plane, or drive an armored tank, you would permanently lower your chances of "dying from an air accident or car accident", regardless of your chances of being "in an accident". So, since I can control for a ton of risk on the road, but can't control for any risk in the air, I will continue to travel by road. Thanks for writing :)