Well, when you put it like that, it is much clearer.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
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91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
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03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
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actually, I would much rather hop on a German Maglev high speed train than either driving or flying, but it doesn't look like there is much chance of that happening.

Unless you move out of the US, of course. Germany is doing gangbusters and is actually looking for qualified workers. (Not much maglev there though, just high-speed metal-on-metal rail.)

Incidentally, when I flew on an intra-European flight from Germany: no ID check or TSA functionary yappin' atcha, just had to show my ticket. No shoe carnival nonsense either. Their equivalent of the TSA is probably just as effective (and they've had a long history of terrorist incidents), but not so big on the suckurinety theatre.

Well, the movie "Unstoppable" is based off the CSX runaway train. How is europe? Timeline: Major recent train crashes in Europe | Reuters

Eschede train disaster wasn't so good for high speed rail either

I wouldn't take the train either. Probably will crash and burn.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Oh no..........

You can't ride on them.

Ever see what happens when the TGV hits a truck:


French High Speed Train Hits Truck --NTDTV.org


No trains for you.

So what mode of transport has no hassle and is perfectly safe? It is late and I can't seem to find one.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Cars........cars.........cars are safe. How many times do I have to tell you that?

Planes are not safe.

Cars are safe.

I can always drive my car because I'm a safe driver.

Cars are safe.

100% agree! Front of the line when you declare. TSA folks admire, re-secure your gear and off you go.

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touched by his noodly appendage

Commercial aviation (SWA, Alaska Airlines, etc) deaths per 100 million passenger miles traveled (2009): 0.0077

Total motor vehicle (Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Audi, etc) crash deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (2010): 1.1

Pedestrian (Belleville, Bates, Nike, etc) deaths per 100 million miles walked (2008): 1.43

Bicyclist (Specialized, Schwinn, Huffy, etc) deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (2001 estimate) between 3.7 and 12.6

General aviation (Cessna, Piper, Gulfstream, etc) deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (2004 estimate): 13.1

Motorcyclist (Suzuki, Kawasaki, Ducati, Harley, etc) crash deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (2010): 24.4

So flying commercial is the safest way to travel. Driving is vastly more dangerous, but still second best. Walking is a little worse. Cycling is considerably worse. General aviation is worse still, and a motorcycle is the most dangerous popular way to get around. Still, at 24.4 deaths per 100 million miles traveled, riding 15,000 miles a year for 60 years would still only give you a 22% chance of getting killed on your bike.

Sources:
- Health Indicators Warehouse

By the Numbers, Flying is a lot Safer than Driving or Taking the Train | Airline Reporter | Blogging on the airline business

http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/almanac-safety.html

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/810968.pdf

Note: All data lazily gathered on Google whilst drinking Heineken in front of the computer after a long night at work.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I think I'll stay home......

Are you sure? People could break in, natural disasters, etc.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Kinda depressing that cycling/walking are more dangerous per mile travelled than driving. I suspect the a significant percentage of cyclist/pedestrian deaths are caused by automobiles. A quick perusal of your sources seems to confirm this.

I like to look at risk per hour, i.e. is an hour of driving more or less risky than an hour of cycling. On that axis the gap between cycling and driving substantially closes and walking an hour becomes safer than driving an hour. As well, the drive to the airport is more risky than the flight itself.