While many Americans opt for road trips as a flexible travel option, research from Scott Vicknair shows that driving carries significantly more risk than flying. Looking at federal transportation statistics from the last two decades, the study draws a compelling comparison between vehicle safety and commercial flight performance.
Airplane travel averaged fewer than 40 deaths per year from 2002 to 2022. The rate of passenger injuries in 2022 sat at just 0.007 per 100 million miles traveled. By contrast, car accidents resulted in more than 2 million injuries and 26,000 deaths each year over the same span. This places highway travel at a fatality rate over 190 times greater than aviation.
Motorcycles are especially dangerous. Riders faced a death rate 45 times higher than passenger vehicles and over 8,000 times higher than air travel in 2022. Public transportation was safer than driving overall, though buses still accounted for the majority of transit injuries.
Despite its safety record, flying remains one of the most feared travel modes. Media coverage of rare crashes fosters anxiety, even though road fatalities are far more frequent and less reported. According to Scott Vicknair’s research, this perception gap leaves travelers ill-equipped to weigh actual risks.
Economic losses from vehicle collisions top hundreds of billions each year, placing strain on health systems and insurance premiums. The study encourages greater public awareness and improvements to roadway infrastructure to reduce injury rates and associated costs.
By reviewing comprehensive transportation data, the report urges readers to consider safety metrics over habit when choosing how to travel. In most cases, the sky proves to be the safer route.
