Very often I heard conversations and judgments about which transport is safer. They especially intensify after another disaster.

Some say that airplanes, despite the number of accidents and the hype around them, are actually very safe if you look at the statistics. That, they say, it’s faster to die under the wheels of a car.

Others say that trains are the safest. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, for example, traveled only by train.

So which is safer? As a person who loves to travel, this has always been interesting to me.

Let's try to figure this out.

In order not to be unfounded, we need specific numbers. Let's take statistics for Russia over the last 10 years (from 2005 to 2014) from the Goskomstat website - http://www.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat_main/rosstat/ru/statistics/enterprise/transport/#

The death toll in absolute numbers looks like this:

As you can see, on highways the majority die—thousands.

The figures for railway transport seem suspiciously small - after all, there were Nevsky Express with deaths, but for some reason these figures are not in the official statistics. It turns out, as follows from the explanations of the State Statistics Committee, the figures for railway transport only include those killed due to the fault of Russian Railways.

But it doesn't matter, we'll take it Additional information from Wikipedia:

This does not guarantee us absolute accuracy, but we will receive the missing information about the Nevsky Express in 2009 and the explosion at the Volgograd station in 2013.

Thus, let's adjust our table of deaths:

Now let's look at transportation statistics according to the same State Statistics Committee:

To compare data on transportation and fatalities, it is necessary that the measurements relate to the same type of transport. Unfortunately, data on deaths on roads and streets includes both transportation for a fee on buses, taxis, trolleybuses and other types of transport, as well as private trips in their personal vehicles and pedestrian deaths. It’s difficult to say how many private vehicles are on the roads every day.

It turns out that it is possible to correctly compare the number of transported and the number of dead only for four types of transport:

I got the coefficient in column 4 by dividing column 3 by column 2 and 1,000,000 (because column 2 is in millions).

What does this coefficient mean? In fact, this is the probability of dying on one or another type of transport. For example, the number 0.000000006 for railway transport, means that for each transported billion According to the theory of probability, people may die 6 Human.

We see that for maritime transport the probability is the highest and is 5 person for each transported million Human. And for air transport- almost 2 person for each transported million.

For people traveling long distances, the choice is usually between train and plane.

I always wanted to know how much the train safer than an airplane. Let's figure it out: divide 0.000001715 on 0.000000006 and we get 268 . IN 268 once!!! I never thought that there would be such a difference, but these are facts - with billions of passengers transported in 10 years, only 74 people died on railways, and with a number 19 times smaller, 14 times more people died on air transport.

Now I understand Kim Jong Il: if you transfer his entire country (25 million) by trains, no one will die, but if by planes, then according to the theory of probability, at least 42 people may die...

As for statistics on other modes of transport. Since January 2015, a statistical observation form has been introduced, Form N Road Accidents “Information on Road Accidents”, where in Section 8 you can see information about passengers of buses, trolleybuses and trams who died in road accidents.

Information for January-September 2015 can be viewed on the traffic police website:

According to the traffic police, during this period the following people died:

- 82 bus passenger

- 3 trolleybus passenger

- 1 tram passenger

Considering that trams and trolleybuses carry even more passengers than the railway, these numbers look very good. And for buses, the statistics are only slightly worse than for trains. But again, these statistics have just begun to be collected, and final conclusions can be drawn in 2-3 years.

What conclusions can be drawn? Railway transport the safest. The mortality statistics on roads, although huge in absolute numbers, relate for the most part to unorganized private trips in cars and to pedestrians on the roads. If you travel by bus, then you greatly increase your chances of completing your trip safely.

The author of this phrase is Dmitry Kuznetsov - captain and pilot Airbus aircraft A320 of Rossiya Airlines. About the fact that the plane is very safe look transport, he is ready to talk for hours and with great pleasure. And he did it in an interesting and convincing way. Did you know, friends, that every system on an airplane is duplicated several times? This means that if one fails, the other will perform the functions of the non-working one. And that the plane is capable of taking off and landing even with one of the two engines under the wings completely out of order? And that the plane undergoes such a meticulous inspection before flight that even small chips and dents on the outer body of the aircraft are noted?



All this, and much more, was learned by a knowledge-hungry company of bloggers as part of the #pulkovotour, organized by the press service of Pulkovo Airport. That day we inspected the plane, looked at the technical base, met the rescuers and saw the new airport terminal from the inside. This post is about inspecting an aircraft using an exampleAirbus A320.

We were all taken through one of the airport checkpoints, dressed in vests with the inscription PRESS and taken to the plane.
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Here he is, a handsome man, he doesn’t fit entirely into the lens :)
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We walked around the plane on all sides. Dmitry is on the right, wearing a cap and a badge.
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From him (and others) we learned that there are two types of aircraft maintenance: operational and technical. Operational maintenance is carried out every time before a flight and can last no more than 50 minutes according to the standard. The captain of the ship is obliged to accept the ship in good condition and he is directly involved in maintenance. Do you see the round stickers with numbers on the plane's body? This is how non-critical metal deformations are marked. One of the captain's tasks is to first walk around the entire plane from the outside and note all new dents in order to mark them with new stickers. During the inspection, it may appear that the captain is stroking the aircraft and talking to it. But it is true, this is a kind of tradition adopted from the older generation of captains.
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One of the aircraft engines. Each blade is marked with a number in order. During operational maintenance, the blades are inspected for dents from stones and birds.
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By the way, about birds. Contrary to popular belief about the danger of birds getting into aircraft engines, in this case nothing will happen to the engine and the flight will proceed as usual. But you definitely won’t envy the bird; the engine blades (sorry for the gory details) will grind the bird into minced meat. Moreover, Dmitry said that aircraft engines are tested at special testing grounds, firing at the working engine... with bird carcasses. Passenger safety really requires bird victims.
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Engine on the side. This is a very complex, powerful and reliable device. And it’s beautiful, as you can see :) You can’t be near a running engine, it’ll suck you in! The minimum safe distance is 6.5 meters. The most serious test for an engine is takeoff mode, when the aircraft begins its takeoff run and lifts off the runway. In this mode, the engines operate at maximum (or close to maximum) power. According to the regulations, pilots are supposed to turn on this mode for no more than 5 minutes. Otherwise, the engine is subjected to increased loads and the likelihood of its failure increases sharply.
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Several similar technological holes and hatches can be seen on the aircraft body. Each of them performs its own function. For example, this one, if I’m not mistaken, serves to intake air for the aircraft’s ventilation system.
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“Antennas” at the ends of the wings serve to remove static electricity from the aircraft body. To the right is one of the strobe lights that allows you to spot the plane in the night sky. Airbuses, unlike Boeings, light up twice in a row with a pause. Boeing's strobes blink in uniform flashes, a little more than once per second.
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Then we moved inside to the aircraft cabin. When will you be able to sit in a business class seat again? :) In the cabin we had the opportunity to ask questions to Ivan Nikitin, the PIC of the Boeing-767 aircraft (unfortunately, he was not included in the shot). I remember there was a question about the most difficult airport for takeoff and landing. He mentioned the Innsbruck airport, landing a plane there is complicated by the local terrain, you have to go around the mountains. Well, he talked a little about the global differences in aircraft produced by Boeing and Airbus.
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For our sake, Dmitry launched the APU (auxiliary power unit) of the aircraft. It serves to supply electricity to aircraft instruments and other consumers, such as lighting and air ventilation. Those who flew on the plane as ordinary passengers heard the work of the APU when they boarded.
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So the cockpit began to look more elegant. To the right of the seat is the handwheel for manual flight direction control (right?)
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Handles and buttons above the head. There are an unimaginable number of them here. I asked the captain, what percentage of the total number of control elements in the cockpit is actually used in normal situations? This greatly puzzled Dmitry, who began to calculate something in his mind. Unfortunately, I did not have time to receive an answer, time was running out.
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Dmitry turns off the instruments and the APU.
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And this is a shot from the tail of the plane. There are refrigerators, water containers, heaters, in general, equipment that is used by stewards and flight attendants.
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Business class seats
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Empty salon
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Returning to the issue of aircraft safety as vehicle: according to the International Air Transport Association, in 2012 there were 29,600,000 flights of aircraft from Western manufacturers (Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Bombardier) and only 6 plane crashes, none in Europe. These figures really show that the plane is the safest form of transport. And the most dangerous thing is the car. This makes being afraid of flying seem a little silly. It is much more likely to die from an accident on the roads than in the sky on an airplane.
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An airBaltic plane is landing. By the way, here's another one interesting fact which I learned that day. It turns out that the best thing to do is to land the plane roughly so that the plane's landing gear hits the runway hard. This is done so that the aircraft gets good grip on the road as soon as possible. Moreover, the more slippery the surface (for example, after rain), the rougher the plane must be landed. Therefore, aircraft of almost all foreign companies they land roughly, this is indicated in the flight rules and regulations. But in Russia, following the old, Soviet school of pilots, it is customary to land the plane easily. And this is fraught with loss of traction and the plane rolling off the runway. This type of planting is actively being fought and is gradually being replaced. So think twice before applauding the pilots who landed the plane easily and delicately :)
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And finally, one more interesting fact. The rougher the plane lands, the greater the tire consumption. Have you seen black marks on those places on the runway where planes land? This is rubber from airplane tires that remains on the surface immediately after the airplane touches the ground. So, a Boeing 747-400 aircraft leaves about 2.5 kilograms of rubber on the runway after just one landing!
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Thank you to the captains of Rossiya Airlines for your very interesting story about everything related to airplanes. It was noticeable that they sincerely love their work, airplanes, and the sky. And they managed to pass on some of this love to us. It’s a pity that there was little time for communication, and many interesting questions came to mind only after meeting with them.

Vehicles allow us to move around the world quickly and comfortably, but at what cost? Millions of people die in transport every year. We compiled a rating to identify the safest mode of transport, transport statistics from 2015 helped with this. Some ranking positions may surprise you, but you can’t argue with the statistics.

Moped and motorcycle

Mopeds and motorcycles rightfully occupy the tenth position in our ranking of the safest modes of transport. For many years in a row, such transport has been considered the most dangerous and 2015 is no exception. Of the total traffic, motorcycles make up only 1%, while 20% of deaths on the roads occur due to this type of transport.

In order to survive, you should remember that you cannot reach a reckless speed of more than 70 km/h. Desperate bravado is not only inappropriate, it can also cost the driver his life. What if he took a passenger with him...

According to statistics, 125 deaths occur for every 1.5 billion km. motorcycle rental The mortality rate of drivers of conventional cars is 28 times less than the mortality rate of motorcycle drivers. These are the modern facts.

In ninth place in the list of the safest modes of transport for 2015, the “younger brother” of the moped, the bicycle, is considered. From year to year, a bicycle is considered one of the most dangerous types of transport, according to official statistics. This year was no exception, unfortunately.

Most often, accidents involving bicycles occur when they collide with cars. The number of such accidents on the roads is constantly growing. Therefore, cyclists should be as careful as possible. Since teenagers are the most likely to die in such accidents, all parents should consider this moment. At 1.5 billion km. According to statistics, there are 35 deaths.

Metro

The metro was in eighth position in the ranking of the safest mode of transport according to statistics in 2015. In case of accidents, this type of transport destroys the lives of many people at once. And emergencies in the metro are especially dangerous for citizens. If we talk about Russia, most often the victims are passengers of the Moscow metro.

Ferries are not as safe as water transport enthusiasts would like. According to current year statistics, by 1.5 billion km. accounts for 20 deaths. In particular, it should be noted that not every death occurs as a result of a crash. There have been cases of passengers falling overboard. Water transport also unsafe!

The spacecraft ranks 6th in our ranking of the safest modes of transport for 2015. Only 18 of the spacecraft that have been sent into limitless space since the very first flight in 1961 have failed to return. And this is despite an impressive number of vehicles of this type sent into space. There were 530 ships in total. It is worth considering that people did not die in space itself. Tragedies happened during takeoff or during landing. According to statistics, by 1.5 billion km. accounts for 7 human deaths.

Minibus

Automobile

Cars used to be considered an incredibly dangerous type of transport. So, how did a car turn out to be one of the safest types of transport in 2015 statistics? Everything is very simple. The machine design was significantly modified in last years. Thus, the number of accidents has decreased significantly.

New statistics show that 1.5 billion km. There are four deaths per car. However, this does not mean that you can safely forget about safety measures or become fans of crazy driving.

Bus

For 1 billion km. accounts for 0.5 deaths according to official statistics. This applies to ordinary buses. Therefore, in the ranking of the safest modes of transport for 2015, buses took an honorable 3rd place.

In European spaces, this type public transport is among the safest. Things are worse in Egypt, as well as in the Russian Federation. But still, buses are deservedly in third position in the ranking. However, we should not forget about the terrible incidents associated with this type of transport.

It’s worth at least remembering how a bus in the capital was rammed by a truck. And this is not an isolated case!

Airplane

In second place are airplanes. Although, in previous years, this type of transport occupied the top line of such ratings. But, according to 2015 statistics, the plane cannot be considered one of the safest modes of transport.

However, 0.5 deaths occur per 1.5 billion km, if we also take into account small aircraft with helicopters. Commercial ships will always be more dangerous than conventional light aircraft. However, we should not forget that the worst thing in the case of plane crashes is the fact that almost none of the huge number of passengers manages to escape. And even the crew of an aircraft in plane crashes is often no luckier.

It is known that such incidents can never be an accident. When a plane crash occurs, a combination of certain factors are to blame. However, airplanes are always considered one of the safest types of transport. And statistics confirm this every year. But the most surprising thing is that people are often much more afraid of flying on airplanes than riding motorcycles.

Trains, according to 2015 statistics, are considered the most safe transport in the world and ended up in first place on our list. This is especially true for American and European trains; only 0.2 deaths occur per 1.5 billion km. to the share of trains. If we take only Russian Federation, in railway transport the mortality rate is 0.7 per 1.5 billion km, which is also not very much.

Vehicles allow us to move around the world quickly and comfortably, but at what cost? Millions of people die in transport every year.

10. Moped and motorcycle

Mopeds and motorcycles rightfully occupy the tenth position in our ranking of the safest modes of transport. For many years in a row, such transport has been considered the most dangerous. Of the total traffic, motorcycles make up only 1%, while 20% of deaths on the roads occur due to this type of transport.

In order to survive, you should remember that you cannot reach a reckless speed of more than 70 km/h. Desperate bravado is not only inappropriate, it can also cost the driver his life. And, if he took a passenger with him... According to statistics, 125 deaths occur for every 1.5 billion km. The mortality rate of drivers of ordinary cars is 28 times less than the mortality rate of motorcycle drivers. These are the modern facts.

From year to year, a bicycle is considered one of the most dangerous types of transport, according to official statistics. This year was no exception, unfortunately. Most often, accidents involving bicycles occur when they collide with cars.

The number of such accidents on the roads is constantly growing. Therefore, cyclists should be as careful as possible. Since teenagers most often die in such accidents, all parents should take this point into account. At 1.5 billion km. According to statistics, there are 35 deaths.

8. Subway

In case of accidents, this type of transport destroys the lives of many people at once. And emergencies in the metro are especially dangerous for citizens. If we talk about Russia, most often the victims are passengers of the Moscow metro.

7. Sea transport

Ferries are not as safe as water transport enthusiasts would like. According to current year statistics, by 1.5 billion km. accounts for 20 deaths. In particular, it should be noted that not every death occurs as a result of a crash.

There have been cases of passengers falling overboard. Water transport is also unsafe!

6. Spaceship

Only 18 of the spacecraft that have been sent into limitless space since the very first flight in 1961 have failed to return. And this is despite an impressive number of vehicles of this type sent into space.

There were 530 ships in total. It is worth considering that people did not die in space itself. Tragedies happened during takeoff or during landing. According to statistics, by 1.5 billion km. accounts for 7 human deaths.

5. Minibus

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for people to die when traveling on this type of transport, often due to the low qualifications of the drivers.

4. Car

Cars used to be considered an incredibly dangerous type of transport. So, how did a car turn out to be one of the safest types of transport in statistics? Everything is very simple.

Cars have been significantly improved in recent years. Thus, the number of accidents has decreased significantly. New statistics show that 1.5 billion km. There are four deaths per car. However, this does not mean that you can safely forget about safety measures or become fans of crazy driving.

3. Bus

For 1 billion km. accounts for 0.5 deaths according to official statistics. This applies to ordinary buses. Therefore, in the ranking of the safest modes of transport, buses took an honorable 3rd place.

In Europe, this type of public transport is among the safest. Things are worse in Egypt, as well as in the Russian Federation. But still, buses are deservedly in third position in the ranking.

However, we should not forget about the terrible incidents associated with this type of transport. It’s worth at least remembering how a bus in the capital was rammed by a truck. And this is not an isolated case!

2. Airplane

But, according to statistics, an airplane cannot be considered one of the safest modes of transport. However, 0.5 deaths occur per 1.5 billion km, if we also take into account small aircraft with helicopters. Commercial ships will always be more dangerous than conventional light aircraft.

However, we should not forget that the worst thing in the case of plane crashes is the fact that almost none of the huge number of passengers manages to escape. And even the crew of an aircraft in plane crashes is often no luckier. It is known that such incidents can never be an accident.

When a plane crash occurs, a combination of certain factors are to blame. However, airplanes are always considered one of the safest types of transport. And statistics confirm this every year. But the most surprising thing is that people are often much more afraid of flying on airplanes than riding motorcycles.

Trains, according to statistics, are considered the safest transport in the world and are in first place on our list. This is especially true for American and European trains; only 0.2 deaths occur per 1.5 billion km. to the share of trains.

If we take only the Russian Federation, the mortality rate in railway transport is 0.7 per 1.5 billion km, which is also not very much.

Are you afraid to fly, preferring a car or a train? Completely in vain. Today we will determine the safest mode of transport based on dry statistics, which, as it turns out, have little to do with our fears.

It’s not for nothing that we started with fears, because they clearly show to what extent our emotions and speculation can prevail over facts and common sense. It is no coincidence that absolutely all sociological surveys give approximately the same results. People consider the train to be the safest mode of transport, the car comes in second place, and the most dangerous, of course, is the plane. But it gives slightly different results.

There are several methods for calculating mortality in the world. different types transport. The most accurate and common is the ratio of deaths per segment of the distance traveled. Starting point it is generally accepted to be 100 million miles (160 million kilometers).

True, based on these statistics, the safest mode of transport is space transport. After all, in its entire history, only three accidents occurred, and colossal distances were covered. However, space tourism is a prospect, although not too distant, but of the future, so we will look at more common means of transportation.

Especially for you: airplane is the safest mode of transport, statistics confirm this 100%. There are 0.6 deaths per 100 million miles. If we take 2014 as an example, there were 21 plane crashes worldwide. Of these, 10 are cargo ships, 11 are passenger ships. A total of 990 people died. This is less than the number of cyclists who died, and even less than the number of people who died in a year at the hands of donkeys.

In total, about 33 million flights were made during the year. On average, there is one accident per 1 million flights. It should be noted that most of them are on small private jets.

The probability of dying in a regular passenger flight crash is extremely small, 1/8,000,000. Even flying every day, it will take 21 millennia to get there. ill-fated flight which will crash.

The myth that there is no chance of survival in a plane crash also has little to do with reality. Aircraft are designed by people who know first-hand about aerodynamics and gravity. Therefore, in order to hit the ground with a bang from a height of 10,000 km, you need to try hard.

Let's turn again to statistics. Over the past 20-plus years, there have been approximately 500 aircraft accidents in the United States. The number of deaths in them was only 5% of the passengers on board at the time of the accident. Even if we ignore minor incidents and analyze only serious disasters with impacts on the ground, the breaking of the aircraft body and fires, the number of survivors in them is approximately 50%.

Railway transport

Statistically, this is the safest type ground transport. The mortality rate from train accidents is 0.9 passengers per 160 million km. It sounds incredible, considering the speed at which ultra-modern trains travel. However, you can't argue with the numbers. At the same time, global statistics are largely spoiled by countries such as, where the concept of safety has a very specific meaning.

Automobile transport

For every 160 million km traveled, 1.6 people die in road accidents. According to these statistics, the car can easily be considered one of the most dangerous species transport. Every year, about 1.2 million people die on the world's roads, which is a thousand times more than in plane crashes. Thus, you are more likely to get into an accident on the way to the airport than to die on the plane itself.

Moreover, these figures apply only to four-wheeled vehicles. If we talk about motorcycles and mopeds, then the mortality rate there is many times higher: 42 people per 160 million km.

Crash Landings: a video showing that even the most difficult situations have a way out.