Flying vs. Driving
Concern is still high. Just 44 percent now say flying in a commercial airplane is safer than driving, while 48 percent think driving is safer. Two years ago, by contrast, Americans picked flying as safer by 19 points. (Far more people are killed in traffic accidents in this country — more than 40,000 last year — than in plane crashes.)
As noted above, experience matters: Frequent fliers are less worried about airline terrorism, and more likely to think flying is safer than driving.
Just 22 percent of frequent fliers (people who fly at least every few months) say they're worried about flying because of the risk of terrorism; this soars to 50 percent of those who've never flown. Similarly, by 66 percent to 25 percent, frequent fliers say flying is safer than driving in a car. Those who have never flown think driving is safer by a 78 percent to 12 percent margin.
More than 85 percent of the public flies infrequently if at all: More than seven in 10 can be described as infrequent fliers, flying once or twice a year or less; and 14 percent have never flown. Another 14 percent fly at least once every few months.
Frequent Fliers
|
|
Frequent Fliers |
Infrequent
Fliers |
Never Flown
|
| Worried to Fly |
22
|
44
|
50
|
| Not Worried |
77
|
55
|
43
|
|
|
Forty-eight percent of women express concern about terrorism in air travel, as compared with only 35 percent of men. And most women think driving is safer than flying, whereas a majority of men opt for flying, albeit by a fairly narrow 50 percent to 43 percent.
Gender Gap
|
|
Men |
Women |
| Worried to Fly |
35 |
48% |
| Not Worried |
63 |
51% |
| |
|
|
| Flying Is Safer |
50 |
38% |
| Driving Is Safer |
43 |
54% |
|
|
Methodology
This ABCNEWS.com survey was conducted by telephone Oct. 3-7 among a random national sample of 1,021 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation were done by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa.
ABCNEWS polls can be found on the Internet in our Poll Vault.
PRINT THIS PAGE
VIEW MOST EMAILED