Hacker News Reader

Of course, the same applies to driving. Take out DUIs, excessive speeding, texting, etc. and the accident rate associated with driving goes way down as well.

View on HN

The problem is that when you're driving your fate is much more in the hands of the drivers around you than when you're flying. A stupid driver often takes out nearby cars along with their own. It's extremely rare for a stupid pilot to take out any aircraft but his own.

While true, you can still heavily tilt the odds in your favor while driving by being attentive, being in control, and avoiding bad weather when possible.

And, on the flip side, it's unlikely that another plane is going to run into you but you're probably a lot more exposed to events out of your control such as unexpected weather (e.g. crosswinds) and mechanical failures with serious consequences in a plane than in a car.

That's sort of the debate here, I think. Given $DANGEROUS_THING with $EVENTS_BEYOND_MY_CONTROL, I want to predict and plan for $EVENTS_BEYOND_MY_CONTROL to the best of my ability.

What's more unpredictable: stupid human drivers, stupid robot drivers, complex mechanical machines, or weather? Who is John Galt?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com