What is the safest mode of transport and why. The most dangerous type of transport

Reading time: 7 min.

Every day, from the news feed, millions of people learn about car accidents, derailed trains, crashed planes and other accidents that result in a large number of deaths. The question arises, how to protect yourself from troubles and what type of transport is the safest? In order not to indulge in fear, we present to your attention a list of the safest transport in the world, according to this year’s statistical reports.

This type of transport is rightfully considered the most dangerous in the world. Statistics confirm this - 125 deaths per 1.5 billion kilometers. Anyone who prefers this type of vehicle seriously exposes themselves to danger, and very consciously. Motorcyclists make up only 1% of the total traffic on the highway, but a fifth of all accidents involve this type of transport. Motorists gave motorcyclists the nickname “crunchies” for a reason. The reason for this was a very low percentage of passive safety, enormous acceleration, enormous speed and psychological aspects: love of extreme sports and adrenaline rushes in the body. Motorcyclists often find themselves in the blind spot of cars because they are so small.

According to statistical reports, for every 1.5 billion kilometers there are 35 deaths. This is the most environmentally friendly transport, but at the same time one of the most unsafe. But, in truth, car drivers are more to blame for road accidents than cyclists themselves. It often happens that the car has only a few scratches, but the cyclist and his vehicle are between life and death.

Statistics in this case give figures of 25 dead people by 1.5 billion kilometers. The most dangerous incidents that happen in the metro are fires, crushes, and train collisions. A large number of people in a small closed space - panic and a huge percentage of casualties. IN Russian Federation The leader in such incidents is the Moscow Metro.

Traveling by water has always been a very risky undertaking. Of course, over many centuries of technological development, water transport has now become much safer, but nevertheless, for every 1.5 billion kilometers there are 20 deaths. Although the main cause of death remains not collisions with other ships, but passengers falling overboard.

Statistics here give the following figures: 7 deaths per 1.5 billion kilometers. The danger of flying in outer space is in no way comparable to that on earth - traveling in space is 17 times safer than riding a motorcycle. During all the time of travel in Space, only three devices did not return to Earth (the only thing that has a negative impact on statistical reports is explosions during take-offs of spacecraft).

Minibus travel involves 5 deaths per 1.5 billion kilometers. This is one of the most popular modes of transport among the population. To protect yourself in minibus It is best to take a place in the middle. The size of the car, stable grip and passive safety will all play a role here. Unfortunately, the main cause of accidents remains low level driver qualifications.

Here statisticians give the following figures: 4 deaths per 1.5 billion kilometers. The development of technology has also affected cars; now passive and active safety is at a completely different level. Unfortunately, motorists are the most dependent on other road users. You can be the most skillful and careful driver in the world, but this still won’t protect you from the fact that someone could crash into you and end up in the hospital, or worse.

Buses are in third place in the ranking; statistics show one fatality per 1.5 billion kilometers. If you want to travel safely, then this transport is for you. Sometimes it turns out that the bus route covers more than one thousand kilometers (for example, in Australia, a bus traveling on the Perth-Brisbane route travels 5,455 kilometers). But it is still quite safe to travel by bus.

The train is one of the safest modes of transport. Just think about it - only 0.2 deaths per 1.5 billion kilometers of road. Railway in America and Europe is the safest in the world. In Russia, things are a little worse - 0.7 deaths on the same piece of road. If you calculate the probability of death on a train, it will be 1 in 431800 degrees (approximately 0.0002%). Investopedia reports that you are 1,000 times more likely to die in a car accident than in a train accident.

Paradoxical as it may be for many, airplanes are the most safe transport in the world. The probability that you will die while flying on an airplane is 1: 8,000,000. The problem is that although airplanes crash very rarely, they always entail a large number of victims. Therefore, the media always covers such incidents and psychologically people begin to fear airplane travel. There are 0.5 deaths per 1.5 billion kilometers. The Flight Safety Agency states that there is a 1 in 8 million chance of dying in a car accident. And self-destructive individuals need to take a ticket every day on a random flight for 21 thousand years in order to accomplish their plans.

Frequent flyers may have heard the story of the pilot who, after landing his plane, greeted passengers with the words, “The safest part of your journey is over.” And this is not fiction at all: this is exactly what most air passengers think. Next time you get into a taxi on your way to the airport, think about this: what do you know about the taxi driver in whose hands you entrusted your life? How often has this vehicle been serviced? Look out the window - are all the traffic lights working? Is the road in good condition? What about other drivers? How did they learn to drive? How well did they sleep before driving and did they drink alcohol?

Safety is the body of knowledge about risk translated into practice, and no other mode of transport is as expensive as air in terms of accumulating knowledge about the errors of people and machines. Thus, a mid-air collision at 800 km/h and at an altitude of 9,600 meters is less likely to result in your demise than almost any other mode of transport. From the aircraft's seats, the air in the cabin, to the choice of course and altitude, every decision in commercial aviation is made after careful consideration of how it will affect safety. In general terms, this is the most important thing.

Aircraft design

Over the past 50 years, nearly a billion flight hours have been flown in global commercial aviation, fueling an industry that pays careful attention to recording the continuous flow of information that is used to continuously improve aircraft and engine designs. “We're changing for the better,” says Bill Bozin, vice president of safety for Airbus Americas, explaining that all this information allows engineers to better understand the capabilities of the machines.

“In the old days, wing design was experimental in nature, which was considered the worst possible situation that an aircraft could encounter,” continues Bozin. Manufacturers today know what's really going on, allowing them to make improvements that go beyond design to truly impact safety.

Technologies in the cockpit

Many modern jet planes experienced an innovation: when traditional mechanical control was replaced by electronic control. The following aircraft have fly-by-wire controls: Boeing 777 and 787, and Airbus A330, A340 and A380. With the transition of aircraft from mechanized to computerized controls, gone are the days when you had to apply enough force to pull the steering column towards you, comments Missy Cummings, an associate professor of flight and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former fighter pilot. US Navy. "We don't need any more brave guys like Chuck Yeager." The modern pilot is an information manager, and technology plays the muscular role in the cockpit.

Global Positioning System (GPS), advanced displays and telecommunications enable flight precision unimaginable in previous eras of air travel. "In the 1950s and 1960s, a fatal aircraft accident occurred every 200,000 flights," says Julie O'Donal, a Boeing spokeswoman. “Today, global safety indicators have improved by more than 10 times, i.e. A fatal aviation accident occurs less than once in 2 million flights.” The reason for these statistics is the instruments in the cockpit that alert pilots when they are approaching the ground or are about to collide with other aircraft. But it’s not just about technical innovations and other gadgets.

Pilot

“Technology is no substitute for experience, skill and insight,” says Chesley Sullenberger, who flew the highly automated Airbus A320 the day he and co-pilot Jeff Skiles landed USAirways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in New York. 155 passengers on the flight were rescued, prompting the event to be called the "Hudson Miracle" - a feat in which, according to Sullenberger, experience, training, ability to predict and focus in difficult conditions played a significant role.

Airlines know how important good pilots and appropriate training, which is why great attention is paid to selection and training. Matthias Kipenberg, a former Lufthansa crew chief, is now the head of Lufthansa's Arizona training center, where many of the German carrier's 5,000 pilots took their first flight. Beginning with single-engine Bonanza aircraft, cadets learn to manage information flows, learn to follow routines and interact with others.

“We are looking for people with good communication skills, leadership potential, teamwork and risk assessment,” says Kipenberg. He noted that Lufthansa “grows its own pilots,” often hiring candidates who do not have any experience, since civil aviation in Europe is an extremely expensive industry, and there are not many experienced promising pilots. In contrast, in the United States, carriers expect that a person must have hundreds of hours of self-accrued flight time before becoming a commercial pilot.

American Airlines and Trans World Airlines, Inc. (which Americanairlines bought in 2001) is looking for pilots who can analyze information clearly and focus. Hugh Schoezel, former vice president of TransWorldAirlines, Inc. Corporate Security has hired hundreds of such pilots. “If the wife has filed for divorce, or the child is on drugs, or the blood tests are bad, pilots may not take this into account. It's not that they don't care, but it's not taken into account when taking off. Not everyone can do this, but almost all pilots can do it.”

Cockpit equipment

Choosing the right pilots is key, and the work environment also affects performance - even large aircraft are flown from a cockpit that is barely larger than that of a medium-sized car. According to Juliana Fox Cumings, a pilot and engineering psychology specialist who has worked with the displays on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the flight controls and displays, although compact, perform a variety of tasks and have been tested to provide the necessary information in a clear and simple manner. circulation form.

“There is an explanation for everything: why this or that control, light bulb, switch has this or that size, shape, location, appearance, material,” comments Cumings. Airplanes fly at any time of the day, so controls must be clearly visible in any light. Additionally, “pilots need to know when they enter information whether it entered the system or not. In case of an error, the system must react in the form feedback. These are just a few of the things we need to consider.” Cockpit design engineers test their work by watching pilots operate in simulators, noting how well the instruments are positioned, whether the displays are easy to see, and how comfortable the seat is to sit during long flights.

Passenger cabin

But what happens on the other side of the cockpit door? Don't laugh, but just as much attention is paid to where you sit. Spacious or cramped, first class or economy, every seat on the plane meets the most stringent requirements in terms of durability and head impact protection. Modern armchairs passenger aircraft can withstand 16 times the force of Earth's gravity. “It’s as if the plane was in motion and suddenly stopped. This requires a force 16 times greater than gravity, says David Ess, test engineer at MGA Engineering in Wisconsin. And the seat safety measures don’t end there. The fabrics and seat cushions are made of fire-resistant, non-flammable material and do not emit toxic smoke. Even the seat back parts are tested to eliminate factors leading to death. The cabin insulation is also made of fire-resistant material, and in case of fire, emergency lighting is located close to the door. This makes it easier to find a way out in a smoky cabin, says O'Donal.

The main thing to remember: most aviation accidents do without casualties. (Over the past 10 years, of the 301 incidents worldwide, less than a quarter were fatal). “We can hear the plane losing altitude,” Ess continues. “We can hear that somewhere a plane has skidded off the runway. But for all the cases there are only a few fatalities.”

Air traffic control

Pilots and planes could be the stars of the show commercial aviation, but behind the scenes everything is completely different: the control system air traffic begins to work where aircraft fly along automatically set routes in accordance with GPS, maintaining communication with each other and with the ground. We have come a long way from the days when only maps, boards, pencils and manual calculations were used for navigation. With 28 million flights in the past year, managing such a large and growing number of aircraft efficiently and safely is a daunting task.

“Many aircraft today can fly within a single geographic window so precisely that their horizontal position remains within the wingspan with a vertical deflection less than the height of the tail,” says Ken Shapero, chief commercial officer at GEAviation. As a result of the interaction of airborne and ground systems in the sky, clear route lines are created, deviation from which entails risk.

“The flight path of aircraft is set automatically, and most route, air traffic controllers only control the movement,” notes Steve Fulton, former pilot, founder of the navigation company Naverus, which became part of GEAviation in 2009. Difficult terrain, low visibility, poor weather– dangers that could cause an airport to close and an aircraft to deviate from its course will no longer create chaos. “Everything is different now,” Fulton says.

Air traffic control in the airport area

The result of security improvements can be seen more clearly on site at the airport. Motion-detection monitors show the movement of any vehicle on runway, taxiway and terminal gates, and air traffic controllers receive warnings of a possible collision. “Security today has reached levels we have never known before,” said Dale Wright, chief security officer for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “The risk is reduced, and this is the most important factor.”

Impact on the economy

In 2008 the influence civil aviation on the world economy was estimated at 3.56 billion dollars. Companies directly related to civil aviation were taken into account, as well as companies that are engaged in scientific and technical solutions to improve safety. Obviously, a lot depends on how correctly everything is done. So the next time your captain welcomes you on board his aircraft, you can sit back, relax and enjoy the flight. Because you now know that the safest part of your journey has begun!

Given the large number of different vehicles, many specialists and experts, of course, want to know which ones are the safest. Statistics show that the most without dangerous look transport is an airplane.

Experts divide transport into 2 groups:

• By service sector:

1. Public options
2. Special forces
3. Private

• By environment of use:

1. Ground - this includes wheeled and rail versions
2. Underground - metro
3. Air
4. Space
5. Water and underwater
6. Pipeline

Passengers boarding an airplane often shudder at the thought of taking off and landing. However, official statistics are clear - airliners are quite safe from the point of view of movement.

The calculations are based on the number of victims per 100 million miles. According to the results of such calculations, the mortality rate in plane crashes is 0.6 people. You can die in a plane crash in 1 case in 8 million. If compared with other options traditionally considered safer, then this figure will turn out to be completely ridiculous. Thus, in accidents with mopeds and motorcycles, the statistics is 125 deaths per 1.5 billion km. Cyclists die on the roads in considerable numbers - 35 deaths per 1.5 billion km of travel. Even in the subway more people die than on air transport– 25 cases per 1.5 billion km.

What ensures the safety of the airliner?

The reliability of aircraft, as experts note, is ensured by a certain number of factors. First of all, each aircraft undergoes a whole range of serious tests before flying. Moreover, it is inspected by both technicians and the captain of the ship, who must be personally confident in the excellent condition of the airliner he is accepting for flight.

Secondly, this is the work of security systems. Today, advanced systems are installed on airplanes, and even in quantities of several, which can duplicate each other. Accordingly, if something happens to one of them, the other will be able to duplicate it. The plane can fly and land even with one faulty engine.

Thirdly, landing tactics change regularly. Previously, pilots practiced landing the plane softly, but now they advise doing it roughly, which improves the grip of the landing gear on the runway.

Is it possible to survive a plane crash?

Many people are afraid of the inability to survive a plane crash. But this is also a myth. Yes, in many cases the plane is destroyed. But the cases when passengers remained alive are quite numerous. This is due to the fact that everything aircraft designed by those people who are well versed in aerodynamics and gravity. And it’s not so easy for an airplane to fall from a height of 10,000 km.

In the USA, for example, 500 aviation incidents occurred in 20 years. The number of deaths in these is about 5% of the total number of passengers on board the liner. Even in situations like these, when planes crash and break in half, passengers have a chance of surviving.

Choosing a safe place on the plane

Against the background of determining the safety of a particular vehicle, many are, of course, interested in whether it is possible to find safe places on board the aircraft. Back in 2007, statistics were published that clearly identified the most quiet places in airplane.

To compile statistics, the researchers took data published by the National Security Council of America over 30 years. They took as a basis the dependence of the number of victims on the place where the passengers were located. It turned out that 70% of the crash survivors were located in the section behind the edge of the aircraft's wing. Also, those sitting above the wing have a chance to survive in half the cases.

The part of the plane closer to the tail is in a more advantageous position due to the fact that when it falls, the plane mainly falls with its nose. This means that those sitting behind have a greater chance of salvation.

Statistics of the safest planes

• Airbus A340 - a total of 340 of these models were produced, which totaled 13.5 million flight hours, 5 accidents were recorded in which there were no casualties
• Airbus A330 - about 600 copies produced. The planes flew 14 million flight hours, and during this time only 1 accident occurred. A total of 8 examples were lost, killing 346 people.
• Boeing 747 - in aircraft of this brand there was 1 accident per 17.5 million flights. There are 941 vessels in operation. Over the years of use of such liners, 941 ships were lost, 51 were lost due to accidents in which 3,732 people died
• Boeing 737 – 3 tragedies have occurred since 1997

The safest plane on this moment considered a Boeing 777. There are 748 copies in the world. Over the years, this model has flown 20 million hours. During this time, 3 people died in two incidents. Only one ship was lost during this time.

So you shouldn’t be afraid of airplanes because of the high accident rate. Moreover, the crew also undergoes special training, has the necessary skills and is not very eager to die. In addition, an airplane is an opportunity to get to your destination quickly and completely safely.

Statistics and public opinion on this issue vary greatly. One thing is certain: There are no absolutely safe modes of transport. Nevertheless, many passengers’ fears about using this or that type of transport are unfounded.

According to a survey conducted in 2006 by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM), airplanes ranked last in terms of safety, and railway transport came in first place.

70% of respondents give it a positive assessment, and only 15% consider it “definitely dangerous”. Aviation received negative reviews. 84% of respondents believe that such travel is dangerous, and 33% believe that it is very dangerous. Similar assessments were also made by water transport: 44% perceive it as a dangerous way of transportation and only 39% as a safe one. And the most popular type of transport - automobile - is assessed ambiguously: 48% consider it safe, 50% consider it dangerous.

Statistics say the opposite. Airplane is considered the safest, followed by water and rail transport.. But cars are considered the most dangerous means of transportation. The data is calculated based on the number of victims when using a particular type of transport.

We feel most secure in. But according to statistics, the number of accidents is much higher than in. Usually they are not so widespread and receive less public attention.

According to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization - the UN agency that sets international standards for civil aviation), there is one accident per million flights, which cannot be said about car and other accidents. But any plane crash, even the smallest one aircraft, immediately attracts media attention. This contributes to the formation of a negative opinion about aviation as a very dangerous form of transportation.

However, investigations into plane crashes indicate that they occur due to a combination of rare circumstances, the possibility of which is minimal (air crash statistics).

The probability that a passenger boarding a plane will die in a plane crash is approximately 1/8,000,000. If a passenger boarded a random flight every day, it would take him 21,000 years to die.

It is also a mistaken belief that in the event of a plane crash the chances of survival are minimal. According to the results of an analysis of 568 aviation accidents that occurred in USA from 1983 to 2000, fatalities account for only 5% of total passengers on board. According to these statistics, of the 53,487 people involved in plane crashes, 51,207 survived. As a result of a more detailed study of 26 serious accidents, accompanied by strong impacts of the liners on the ground, their breaking into pieces and fires, it turned out that approximately 50% of the people on board were saved in these disasters (how to survive a plane crash).

The likelihood of survival of the crew of passengers and pilots increases if the aircraft makes an emergency splashdown, even if it is not designed for such measures. Experts say splashdown increases the chances of human survival by 50%.

Compared to the statistics of plane crashes, the statistics of road accidents does not look very rosy. Only in In the Russian Federation in 2009, there were 203,603 road accidents, as a result of which 26,084 people were killed and 257,034 were injured.

Of course, if we take the number of kilometers traveled as a basis, then The safest mode of transport can be safely considered space travel. In the entire history of development, only 3 spacecraft did not reach the ground (2 for the Americans and 1 for us). By the way, space tourism, despite its cost, is becoming increasingly popular, and the number of people wishing to visit space is constantly growing.

Numerous studies and statistics prove that those who are afraid of flying and claim that the plane is the most dangerous form of transport are mistaken. Engineers and designers of passenger airliners are constantly working to improve systems and aerodynamic properties.

This allows you to minimize the risk of getting caught. Compared to trains or cars, then best view transport in terms of the number of accidents. Disputes about what safer train or plane are still going on, but the last one wins them.

Research on the safety of different modes of transport is regularly carried out to identify the overall picture and global trends.

In the field of civil aviation they are carried out ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization). She established that There is only 1 accident per 1 million flights. No such data exists railway transport, nor for automobiles.

Why do many passengers' knees tremble when they board an airplane? Any plane crash is actively covered by the media. Therefore, the reputation of aircraft is not the best.

Numerous studies prove the leadership of the airplane as the safest mode of transport.

The probability that you will be in a plane crash is approximately 1 in 8,000,000. Even if you each fly the same flight, you will need about 21,000 years old to get into a disaster.

If we talk about statistics about whether a train or a plane is safer, then the death rate due to a train accident is 0.9 passengers per 100 million km. Machines have an even higher mortality threshold - 1.6 people die per 160 million km. Every year 1.2 million people dying on roads all over the world.

Plane crash survivor data

Many sources claim that it is almost impossible to survive a plane crash. This is also not entirely true. It’s just that the media covers precisely those disasters where a large number of people died, and not those where many passengers survived.

In the USA they analyzed 538 disasters. They died in them only 5% people of the total number of passengers flying.

According to the same source Of the 53,487 passengers involved in the accident, 51,207 survived.

After detailed research 26 cases, when the plane was destroyed upon impact with the ground or a fire occurred on board, it was concluded: 50% of all passengers survived.

Even in the event of a plane crash, passengers have every chance of surviving.

If pilots risk performing the so-called splashdown (landing an aircraft on water), then the chances of passengers surviving increase by as much as 50%. When the TU-124 landed on the Neva in the USSR, none of those on board died. The same thing happened during the Hudson landing in 2009.

Studying the causes of accidents, experts came to the conclusion that a fatal disaster for all passengers occurs due to several factors coming together. This can be due to both technical reasons and the fault of people.

A few more facts in favor of aircraft safety

In case all the above facts have not yet given you an answer to the question: “Why is an airplane considered the safest mode of transport?”, then here are a couple more arguments that prove this point of view.

For every 100 million miles the average passenger flies, there are 0.0003 casualties. When compared with the same buses, this figure is almost 17 times higher!

For those who think private flights are better, there is data to prove otherwise. Chances of getting into an accident on a private jet 1 in 7229.

Of those committed in 2012 In 26,600,000 flights, only 6 accidents occurred.

An airplane is the safest form of transport, and statistics prove it. Therefore, you can safely board passenger airliner and enjoy a relaxing flight.