Thursday 27th June 2002

Motorists Think Car is Safest

Motorists place false sense of security in road travel

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[vpinto]

"In fact in 1999, there were 3,423 road deaths - 1,687 in cars. This figure compares with 37 deaths by rail and 10 by air. This shows the risks and responsibilities when driving are simply enormous."

Didn't they forgot to compare the total volume of traffic? Wouldn't be a better to determine which is saffer to state the numbers in a relative way? With N people that travelled in 1999 by car, 1687 died compared with X which travelled by plane where 10 died?

I don't know the outcome result but I beleave it would be quite diferent.

Cheers,
VP

[craigalsop]

Yes, I'm sure I've seen some statistics (probably from New Scientist IIRC) that say for mile travelled, air travel is safest, but per journey air travel is way down the list (because the main dangers in air travel are takeoff & landing)
Per hour spent travelling, the figures are different again...

cheers,
Craig

[Neil Menzies]

quote:"In fact in 1999, there were 3,423 road deaths - 1,687 in cars. This figure compares with 37 deaths by rail and 10 by air. This shows the risks and responsibilities when driving are simply enormous."

Didn't they forgot to compare the total volume of traffic? Wouldn't be a better to determine which is saffer to state the numbers in a relative way? With N people that travelled in 1999 by car, 1687 died compared with X which travelled by plane where 10 died?

I don't know the outcome result but I beleave it would be quite diferent.

Cheers,
VP

85% of journeys are by car, about 7% by rail. Balance is bus and air.

The figure of 37 deaths for rail is also arguable - there are about 300 deaths on the railway each year - if you include suicides. The reason people commit suicide on the railway is because it is dangerous; the trains can't stop or swerve.

You can also choose which way you want to skew those figures by quoting per journey or per passenger mile figures.
e.g. Rail kills more people per passenger mile than the roads do.

[JMGS4]

You'll also find that the original question in the survey was "how do you PREFER to travel" and NOT "Do you consider car travel safe" A typical government twist on somebody elses faulty (fawlty) figures....

[whatever]

I'd be interested in figures which said something about the possibility of various degrees of injury given that a crash will occur.

I think people's views on the mode of travels are coloured by this. For example, if the plane comes down, there's very little chance of surviving; if the train crahses you know you're going to get abdominal and limb injuries through either hitting the table or other people hurtling down the carriage [why I always try and travel in facing backwards] plus some related risk of death; in the car you know you're strapped in with your own crumple zones and (sometimes) airbags, but typiclly will suffer leg injuries and lacerations. I know which I'd rather have an impact in. (well, none, obviously, but you know what I mean)

[pbirkett]

Also, I reckon there's the element of control involved in driving. For instance, one feels in total control of their car (if they dont, then they shouldnt be on the road), and because they feel in control, they feel confident that they could do their best to avoid potential accidents, or at least thats the way I feel.