Just as you are more likely to be struck by lightning than die from a shark attack, statistics show you are far more likely to die in a car crash than a plane crash.
The news covered a string of plane crashes this summer in Canada, Greece, Venezuela, Peru and near Sicily. According to The New York Times, August saw the largest monthly total of plane crashes in three years, which makes you forget the millions of people who reached their destinations safely. Dramatic media coverage of plane crashes heightens largely irrational fears about flying.
It's a safe bet many University of Wisconsin students traveled by air over the summer or have future flight plans. Those of us who have traveled are relieved to be back on campus. If our worst apprehensions about flying had panned out, Madison would be pretty empty.
Looking at 2002 data, the odds are about 1 in 228 that you'll be in a car accident, as compared to 1 in 5,704 that you'll be in an airline accident, in your lifetime. Your chances of being in a car accident this year are about 1 in 17,625, while the likelihood of your being in an airline accident is 1 in 440,951. Yet people are often overly confident in their cars. They talk on cell phones, sip lattes and crank up the radio as they negotiate heavy traffic. There is a feeling of invincibility. Not so with air travel, which, despite its safety, leaves many feeling more than queasy during turbulence.
"People can be afraid of anything and everything, and it is irrational," said Dr. Steven Schane, a psychiatrist based in the San Francisco Bay area. Among the nearly infinite list of human phobias, Schane mentioned the fear of spiders, going to restaurants and being in a closed space. He stressed that there is no end to what people are afraid of, reason be damned.
People struggle with the knowledge that much of what happens to them in life is out of their control, and a fear of air travel is related to this lack of control. When people are cramped into cattle-class on a plane, munching on peanuts, they're uncomfortable with their vulnerability.
Schane noted fears can be more symbolic than based on actual danger, and that symbolic fears are rooted deep in life experiences. "That's to differentiate from reasonable, healthy fear," he said, adding that when people see media images of plane crashes, it brings to the surface "something everyone is afraid of" — namely, dying. "Usually people have an awareness of this fear being irrational, so they cover it up," Schane said. Too often, people are ashamed of their fears.
Irrational fear may be a uniquely human trait, as little is known about the fears of other animals. Schane said humans are believed to have more complicated levels of conscious and subconscious thought, so their fears may in turn be more complex and, at times, unreasonable. Still, even our irrational fears can be related to survival, as being excessively cautious could protect us from danger, no matter how remote the threat. Studies have found no differences between the number of men and women with irrational fears. Schane observed we all have them.
August may have been a bad month for air travel, but riding a plane remains one of the safest means of traveling. The next time you board a plane, put those irrational fears out of your mind and enjoy the ride. The seats may be small, but at least you don't have to deal with road rage.
Cynthia Martens ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in Italian and European studies.
