I never liked the line of reasoning that driving is more dangerous than flying, and therefore people shouldn't be afraid of flying. It's flawed reasoning. It doesn't take into account the actual reasons people are afraid of flying and not of driving.
Sure, statistically more people die in car accidents. True. But each one of us has some measure of control over that. We all believe (even if erroneously) that we can avoid this because we control the wheel, and we can choose to pay close attention to the road and make good decisions and we trust in our own ability to avoid an accident.
In a plane, there is nothing we can do but pray. The outcome is in the hands of pilot and we can do nothing. And that's what's terrifying: not statistics, but helplessness.
Indeed, when I get in the car as a passenger with a young driver who I haven't driven with before, my misgivings are definitely greater than those I have getting on a plane. Same principle.
Don't forget too that pretty much everybody thinks they're a better-than-average driver, which implies that pretty much everybody thinks that their risk of dying in a car accident is lower than the statistical risk.
"..everybody thinks they're a better-than-average driver..."
Of course, it is possible that most of them are correct. I would love to see data on the distribution of driving skill; perhaps most people are reasonably good or great drivers, but the presence of a small percentage of catastrophically bad drivers skews the average.
I know that when I think "drivers are horrible around here" I tend to be thinking of the ones that did something inconsiderate/dangerous/bafflingly stupid, not the vast majority who seem to get by just fine. And of the people with whom I've ridden, almost all of them drive fine, but I've got a couple of friends who I hesitate to get in the car with.
Perhaps it's because I spent an inordinate amount of time on a motorcycle on the highways, but I think it's more that lots of drivers are simply distracted/texting/not paying attention (and I spent a few months incapacitated by one of them) than that they are inherently "bad" drivers.
After spending a few months commuting to/from work via electric scooter (https://scoot.co), it became really apparent just how many drivers are constantly driving dangerously. My biggest pet peeve was the fact that apparently 95% of drivers don't know how to use turn signals, either not using them at all, or only flicking them on once they've already begun turning. And in those months of scooting, I literally only ever saw 1 car use its turn signal before exiting the rotary.
I'm inclined to agree. My wife got hit riding to work nearly a year ago and she still gets pain in her wrist now and then. The driver apparently didn't see the need to check for anyone in the lane before moving in to it.
Yeah, motorcycles are very popular in my area (rural Midwest) and literally every day (not an exaggeration) I'm out riding I see at least one driver doing something that could potentially have devastasting consequences.
I, myself, have been hit head-on twice on a motorcycle in the last 10 years.
The first time I was lucky, had a split-second of warning, and managed to escape any major injuries.
The last time, on 2013-10-13, I ended up with two broken wrists, a broken leg, and numerous contusions, scrapes, and scratches (initially, they also thought my ankle and nose were broke). It was four months before I could walk normally (the first three I couldn't walk at all). Because of how my arms were wrapped up (from my fingertips to the upper bicep), I couldn't bend them at my elbows and couldn't even wipe my ass for the first two afterwards. After the surgeries on my wrist, I was at least able to do that. I wasn't allowed to lift anything over one pound for the first six weeks.
I now have a titanium rod ("intermedullary nail") from my right hip to my knee, two steel plates in my left wrist, and one steel plate in my right wrist.
My life was forever changed -- and I was the equivalent of a helpless baby for almost three months -- all because an 18-year-old kid was texting on his phone and made a left turn in front of me at an intersection.
I hope your wife's wrists eventually stop giving her pain. Mine is sporadic and intermittent but will likely never go away completely, so they tell me.
Thanks for sharing your harrowing story. I really think we should treat texting and driving at least as harshly as drunk driving, possibly even considering draconian measures like disabling phone access while in motion. I'm not typically a fan of draconian, totalitarian measures, but we clearly haven't evolved the cultural or legal framework to handle this.
Sure, statistically more people die in car accidents. True. But each one of us has some measure of control over that. We all believe (even if erroneously) that we can avoid this because we control the wheel, and we can choose to pay close attention to the road and make good decisions and we trust in our own ability to avoid an accident.
In a plane, there is nothing we can do but pray. The outcome is in the hands of pilot and we can do nothing. And that's what's terrifying: not statistics, but helplessness.
Indeed, when I get in the car as a passenger with a young driver who I haven't driven with before, my misgivings are definitely greater than those I have getting on a plane. Same principle.