Saying "You're more likely to die in a car crash than a plane crash" doesn't help with fear of flying. amirite?

If everyone flew to work every day there would be more plane crashes. It's like when they say most shark attacks happen within a couple miles of the coast … like ya, that's cause most people swim within 2 miles of the coast there's still sharks in the middle of the ocean

by Donnylittle 4 days ago

If 9 million people in NYC flew to the office every day it would look different I bet

by Donnylittle 4 days ago

I also hate it because statically, you're more likely to survive a car crash than a plane crash.

by Fun-Appointment-1168 4 days ago

I'm making up stats here but if you have a 10x bigger chance to get into a car crash but plane crashes are twice as fatal then it still doesn't matter

by Used-Tadpole9256 4 days ago

That statement is about showing the statistical reality. That's why phobias are defined the way they are: they're irrational to some degree.

by Brigitteschmele 4 days ago

How much control do you have of all the bad drivers out on the road at the same place and time as you? Expedia Road Rage Report 2015 "Nearly all respondents (97 percent) rate themselves as "careful" drivers, but feel that only 29 percent of drivers merit that same description." So if you think you're a careful driver with good control of your vehicle, other drivers around you might not think so.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Not unpopular

by Anonymous 4 days ago

It does if you drive a lot.

by Specialist_Cloud 4 days ago

Somebody told me that and now I'm afraid to get in a car.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

You should be. Everyone should be. No one should be afraid of flying.

by Witty-Cod-7401 4 days ago

You have perception of control when you're driving. You can't control if someone runs a red light and t bones you. Or if a tire pops and you spin out and lose control. You just think you have control because you are driving. More control, certainly. Agreed, that the nature of the accidents are much different. Recovering from a stall in a plane is much more difficult than say a hydroplaning car over water. It's also just a high anxiety provoking environment. In a metal tube with a bunch of strangers and you can't really move very much.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Well no, comparing likelihood of death does not help calm down the fear of dying cus then you are just anxious on whether you're part of the bad side of the statistic when you're on that plane. People would be less afraid of flying if they felt more familiar with what they feel, see and hear while on the plane. There are a lot of little things that can make someone jump like change in engine sound, bumps, sudden turns, that funny feeling when you're pushing down on your seat during turns, or windy take offs and landings.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

fear of driving intensifies

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Agreed. Fear, especially irrational fears, are by definition not rational. Rational fears also tend to be tied to an emotional event, which logic can't overcome.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I have an idea: how about when someone says "I have a fear of <perfectly reasonable thing to be afraid of>" we just say. "Okay." And try not to act like we can cure their fear? And when it's not something we think is perfectly reasonable, maybe we don't be jerks and try to test just how scared they are of such thing? If someone wants to overcome their irrational fears, by all means, support them. But maybe we can just let people be afraid of things and not take it personally?

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I like to point out that statistically walking is more dangerous than flying. you're more likely to die walking from security to your gate than to die in a plane crash. but i agree with your assessment that it's about control and understanding. I like to advocate that people with fear of flying should go to their local GA airport and pay for a "discovery flight". the CFI can walk you through all the workings of the plane, what different sounds and sensations mean. simple things like the lurch you feel as flaps extend or retract. they can also walk you through things like instrument flying.

by hintzshirley 4 days ago

The last line is all that's needed. It doesn't matter if the statistics are completely accurate and have no caveats whatsoever, phobias are definitionally unreasonable things, you can't reason yourself out of them. You can explain to an arachnophobe all day that spiders are overwhelmingly harmless to people, that even the most notoriously venomous ones in North America will probably only give you a nasty, slow-healing wound that's entirely outclassed by a common dog bite. It won't help, obviously, the best you'll do is make them more panicky because you keep talking about spiders.

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Idk it CURED my fear, I don't have driver's license so I've never had control and my dad used to work at ER so I know how bad car crashes are, sometimes it's better to die than live with such injuries. So yeah, it really helped me when I've heard it!

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I'd say the bigger reason it doesn't help is because more people are driving more often. I know people that have never flown but I don't know anyone who's never been in a car. Obviously one would be more likely to die in a car crash lol

by Anonymous 4 days ago

Especially since planes are just flying cars

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I agree with this. Although car accidents are more likely, you're more likely to survive the car crash which is on the ground compared to a plane crash which is hurtling 10,000 ft. above it!

by OkBackground 4 days ago

The crew onboard have flown a lot of times and it may well be their second if not third/fourth sector that day, and they'll not even consider the risk of a crash. In the end they'll also want to get home and not die on the job.

by cruickshankfloy 4 days ago

You CAN get therapy to fix this. Or you can simply not fly. But in either case you really SHOULD be more afraid of driving.

by Witty-Cod-7401 4 days ago

Also you're more likely to be in a car than a plane so of course the probability is higher. This statement has not helped me either with flying

by Anonymous 4 days ago

I feel like your last sentence in bullet 2 is a better tactic to combat fear of flying. Plane crashes are quite rare, which is what I think most people are trying to express when they say "flying is safer than driving"

by Lockmanpatience 4 days ago

I take klonopin before I fly. You're absolutely right that reasoning doesn't help the fear.

by Maverickschimme 4 days ago

except you dont really have control if someone else crashes into you. especially if they are going way over the speed limit you might have less than a second to register

by Fit_Relationship7707 4 days ago

As a flight attendant, you are incorrect. Commercial Air travel is really the safest.

by Anonymous 4 days ago