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> Whether you measure by hour or by mile air travel is still comparatively safe The problem with that measure is that air accidents don't correlate with either
by anamax 16y ago
> Whether you measure by hour or by mile air travel is still comparatively safe
The problem with that measure is that air accidents don't correlate with either hours or miles, but with takeoffs and landings.
The comparable incident for cars is probably intersections.
Yes, each plane trip involves only one takeoff and landing while each car trip usually involves multiple intersections, but that just means that simple comparisons don't tell us very much.
- InclinedPlane 16y agoWhat's important for humans is whether spending time in an airplane or in a car is more dangerous and whether choosing to use an airplane or a car for a trip is more dangerous. In either case the airplane is safer than the car.
- Tichy 16y agoAs was explained, it is a function of the number of takeoffs and landings. Therefore it only holds because airplane trips tend to be a lot longer than trips with other vehicles.
- tedunangst 16y agoMost car crashes occur near the home, at distances that make air travel impractical. Who drives to the airport to fly 3 miles? Comparing "car miles driven on trips" to air miles would be more enlightening.