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Weekend


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August 22, 2003

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. Whole years have gone by, such as 1993 and 1998, without a single death on commercial flights in the U.S. (Federal Aviation Administration). But after Sept. 11, 2001, isn't it now statistically safer to go by car than to fly?

    A. Actually, 2002 was another non-fatality year for commercial airlines. Terrorist acts are hard to predict, so much uncertainty lies in safety figures. Before 9/11, during the last half of the 1990s, says Hope College psychologist David G. Myers, Americans were, mile for mile, 37 times more likely to die in a vehicle crash than on a commercial flight (National Safety Council). Will yesterday's safety numbers predict the future? "Even if not, terrorists could take down 50 more planes with 60 passengers each and -- if we kept flying -- we'd still have been safer in planes in 2002 than on the road."


     
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