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LIVING & TRAVEL

5/14-5/20: Do Safety Concerns Limit Your Travels?

"Qantas never crashed," according to Rainman. It was the only airline he was willing to fly. Do safety concerns affect where and how you travel? Does the ValuJet crash make you wary of ValuJet, or wary of flying? Or wary of travel itself? Do you have any tips for safer travel, besides staying home and surfing your way through a virtual vacation?

bsn: Remember the old adage, 'Buyer Beware'? Well folks, in our 'Race to the Bottom', as clearly indicated by the wave of cheap everything (what ever happened to quality) from WalMart to ValuJet, you can see that you ultimately get what you pay for! How many of those who perished bragged to their friends about the cheap fares!!! As our real wages have gone down, instead of fighting to make things better, we have simply decided to do everything on the cheap. Whether its goods made with slave labor or planes flown with poor main- tenance and inexperienced pilots, if its cheap, Americans love it. Lets face it, most of America is the $4.99, all you can eat, buffet crowd. Do people think they are getting quality for their buck, or are they getting VALU...?

scoutjw: Flying is just like everything else. You get what you pay for.

Chief: As a member of the Armed Forces I take risks every day. Just driving 100+ miles a day presents a risk I must contend with. I believe we have to live with some risk. Just how much is acceptable is an individual decision. Even staying at home rolled up in a ball presents a health risk. Caution! Living may be hazardous to your health.

mamarin: I just don't get the idea of getting worried only when a plane crashes or when there is a big accident . The risk involved in any kind of activity is part of the normal life, even if you stay in home all day long there are risk you can't prevent. Valujet is only a sign of problems in that specific plane, not in all the aircrafts in the world. I think you just have to keep living as happy as you can be. Ps: Excuse my English, its not my first language.

Margamini: I try to evaluate risks rationally. Sure, airplane crashes are dramatic and grusome, but one is much more likely to be injured in an automobile collision. Yet how many of us think of that when we are shopping for a shortbed pickup truck (the price of which is cheaper than that of a "real" car because trucks don't have to meet passenger car safety standards); or when we suck down a few brews before driving home (even moderate amounts of alcohol impair motor skills, reaction time and judgement); or drive 85 mph on the parkway because is feels like freedom? Yes, I'm concerned about safety, but not obsessed. If I were, I'd be agoraphobic (and increase my risk of injury or death due to a household accident).

chrisz: Air travel is still the safest way to go, but I do have a couple concerns: 1- The nation's Air Traffic Control network is running on seriously outdated computer systems. Some are over 25 years old, and anyone reading this knows how obsolete this is. While there have only been near misses (or near hits!) due to this problem, it is perhaps just a matter of time before something worse happens. Also, the controllers, while highly trained and skilled, are as overworked as their equipment. 2- The FAA is both responsible for safe air travel, as well as the promotion of the air travel business. Many feel this is a conflict of interest. If so, where does the FAA draw the line between safety and commercial viability? Our network of Air Traffic Control systems needs immediate and extensive upgrades, and for the FAA, I have no suggestions, other than this issue be investigated further.

Darkwolf: Well...Cheaper fares mean that workers of that airline are working for less. Therefore; those workers have less of a reason to do their jobs the best they possibly can. In short: Pay for less, get less.

AlMiller: Normally I will always go for the cheapest fare available when flying, but I don't think I would fly an airline called ValuJet because of its tacky name. On the West Coast, there is no ValuJet and the low fare airlines provide high quality service. Southwest Airlines is a great example: low fares, happy employees and an unbeatable safety and service record. SW Airlines sets the industry standard without K-Mart tackiness.

cupcake: My tip: never go on Tarom (Romanian airlines). I flew to Egypt with them (over the sea, in other words) and some guy with a broom had to poke the engines to get two of the propellers to go round. One of them stopped going round so we had to come round again for some more poking before we took off. My conclusion: don't mess around with a dodgy airline just to save a few bucks. It could turn out to be a false economy.

kronie: The fear of encountering danger or problems on a vacation is just plain wrong! My last great vacation entailed a trip to the great land of Mexico, in the excellent tourist town of Can Cun. While the actual stay there was nice, the aftermath was not. Montezuma's Revenge soon took its toll. I spent the following week never being further than a 30 second sprint from the bathroom. Sure it was a rather unpleasant experience, but the vacation was well worth it. Well, kind of... maybe... i think.

spleen: "Everything that goes up must come down"--whether it's in one piece is the question.

KevinN: Driving seems so much more dangerous than flying. I've never been in a plane crash, but I've been in a few wrecks in cars. Of course, I travel in automobiles much more often than in planes. How many people do you know that have been killed in a plane crash; in auto accidents? Still, I catch myself staring at the sky when I drive by the airport; I've taken Physics, but when I see that huge metal bird hanging in the air, it summons some sort of ingrained supposition, I suppose. People don't fly, but we try very hard. Planes are flown, maintained, and navigated by trained professionals, but many people drive drunk or without their glasses. A friend of mine fixed his muffler with *baling wire*. He's an art major, responsible for keeping that muffler from flying off into my windshield. I guess any form of travel is an issue of risk which we accept when we leave the house. But most accidents occur in the home...

AShade: I'm not sure that I would fly an airline called ValuAnything...you get what you pay for I guess. Trains are an awesome way to travel. You get to see the countryside from your seat and meet other people while you're travelling. But you have to like the slow pace. Personally, I'd rather take my time instead of rushing here or there. We all need to slow down a bit and think about what we're doing instead of just reacting. Trains allow you time to get to know other people. I had some really meaningful exchanges with people that I met. I'll never forget it. But I can't tell you much about the plane rides I've had other than the noise and the bad food.

mabourn: Caveat emptor. (Look it up) People should check the safty records of airlines before they fly. The idea is to get the safest trip possible for what you are able to spend. Not flying, for many people is not an option. The truth is that airlines in the United States are safe. It is also true that they will continue to be safe because it is in their economic interest to do so. If an airline has a poor safty record, people will loose confidence in them and take their business somewhere else. If that hapens, they are out of business.

MADMAC: Man was not meant to fly. When man flies he risks his life. But then, I'm a gambler by nature. Safer travel? If you come to Alaska... Avoid the mudflats, lest you get sucked in and die. Moose are more dangerous then bear Don't surprise a bear and don't piss one off. Be careful not to get lost. The woods all look the same.

Josh48: Yup.

rjnerd: The most dangerous part of the trip is still the walk across the parking lot at the airport. Still, I like rigor on the part of the FAA, and encourage more of it. How about making the repair person and the inspector ride the first flight of anything they work on. It might encourage a bit more attention.

Billzebub: Ya gotta go sometime. When your number is up, it's up.

VickyW: I personally never fly in a plane over 15 years old. I do not think I am "obsessed" with a fear of flying, but I do believe that we can make good decisions based on facts. Be informed! Make wise decisions. When we purchase a new car, most of us spend a lot of time researching everything from safety features to the color of paint. I see no reason to not do the same when flying. So we do the best we can. However it's always best to follow this old saying, "Live today as if it were your last. Then you are always ready to go."

KMorrison: Is air travel really becoming more dangerous, or is it just becoming more publicized? The alternative is that we could all stay home and do our traveling via the Internet...let's hope we never have a hard drive crash. But then, I guess we wouldn't see that on the evening news...

ericish: I'm a private pilot...and I love to fly. I use com av. often...a crash has makes no ripple in my decisions on travel.Cars crash often...stop going to work?

JackM: No. If I gotta go, I gotta go. So, I go. Given a choice, I'd pick the carrier with the best safety record, but even that is not a guarantee. Generally, I make the sign of the cross, and "all aboard!"

JAMICO: The reason for Qantas Airlines perfect safety record lies in the fact that almost all their flights are on very long legs with a very small percentage spent in the most dangerous takeoff and landing phases. Their is nothing inherently more safe about Qantas' operation than that of most US domestic airlines. So, yes, to minimize your (already infinitesimal) chance per hour of being involved in a serious accident, fly long transoceanic flights on any airline and minimize the takeoffs and landing you are exposed to! And why do we panic about the safety of air travel when we hear of the Valujet crash when we continue to drive on the highways inspite of the far greater chances of being killed there? Hey, guys, pull yourselves together! Enough of the mass hysteria! Flying on the airlines IS safe!

Sue_: I would not fly ValuJet at this time. Safety concerns do affect where and when I travel. I had wanted to go to Israel recently but didn't because of the political climate over there.

rosvicl: Air crashes aren't a big deal. The riskiest part of the trip is the drive to or from the airport. But cars crash so often that it's not considered news. Maybe it's an acceptable risk (though I take the subway when I can), but it's still a risk. Airplanes are inspected a lot more often than cars, and drivers are a lot more likely to be tired or drunk than pilots. At least with airlines, we can look up the safety record: I have no control over the driver in the next lane.