"The general public has a very hard time rationalizing and making decisions based on risk assessments. People get nervous on US commercial air carriers even though this is by all measures currently the safest form of transport in the history of transportation. Literally safer than walking down the street."

I've thought about this a lot; for me, it's not the mortality rate that bothers me the most.

It's the method of passing. Having been in a plane experiencing a serious issue it was a lot scarier because of the duration than the traffic accidents I've seen which were basically over immediately.