Whenever you step onto a plane, you know that you’re taking something of a risk. Any number of mishaps can occur between walking through security and walking in the door of your home. It’s a big world and a lot can happen. In the wake of the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels, the world has become just a little bit scarier. As a traveler — whether you’re on the job or planning a getaway — these seemingly increased instances of violence can make your journey seem more treacherous than ever before. You might even be tempted to take a break from your wanderlust. That would be a mistake. Here’s a reality check to help you put things in perspective.
1. The Odds Are Significantly Against Terrorism
The US State Department has done the math and it turns out that over the course of a 12-year period (from 2001 to 2013), about 350 Americans died overseas as a result of a terrorist attack. That’s a pretty shocking number, until you consider the fact that an average of three-quarters of a billion air passengers pass through US airports alone on a yearly basis. When you’re traveling, you’re one anonymous cog in a big ocean of fellow targets. Your probability of being in the wrong place at the wrong time are minuscule and not worth orchestrating your life and travels around.
2. Your Odds Of Other Mishaps Far Exceed Terrorism
This might not cause you comfort, but it might help assuage your fears of terrorism. Your risk of dying in a fiery car crash (one in 19,000), drowning in the tub (one in 800,000), or being struck by a bolt of lightning (one in 5.5 million) are far greater than your risk of dying from a terrorist act. Heck, your odds of being crushed by falling TVs and furniture are greater than the odds of being a victim of terrorism. Are you going to avoid furniture because of that? And we haven’t even mentioned the fact that plenty more deaths result from gun violence in America than from terrorist attacks.
3. Europe is a Really Big Place
So you want to avoid Europe because of the terrible things that happened in Paris and Brussels et al. Not to state the obvious, but Europe is a really big place. It’s like this whole other continent. Imagine what you know about the United States. Now, imagine that you were certain that there’d be a terrorist attack in the US at some point in the next year. Would that keep you from traveling domestically? Probably not. That’s because the United States is a massive place that’s filled with tons of potential targets. The odds of you actually being at one is about as good as getting hit in the head with a meteor while you’re out checking the mail. It’s the same deal with Europe. Terrorists may be working in Europe, but you probably won’t run across one.
4. The Media Wants To Keep You Indoors
There’s an old adage that I may have just made up that goes something like, “A plane took off and landed on time at its destination is not a news story.” Guess what is a news story, though? Death and destruction. In the words of more eloquent folks than myself, “the media also can exacerbate fears that already exist, and create fears that didn’t previously exist. Airplanes are a golden topic for the media. Journalists know — the more we fear, the more we pay attention to the stories, and then the more we fear because we paid attention. The result is that we end up exposed to far more dramatic (and often un-newsworthy) airplane stories, as opposed to soothing stories that reinforce safety.”
