Let me present some stats on planes, trains, and automobiles in selected countries from around the globe. Specifically, I present metrics on trips by each mode of transportation, reported accidents, and finally, scores for each mode for each of the countries in list. I also explain the data sources, my methodology, and caveats. Sit back, and enjoy the read.
First, let’s get some of the definitions, disclaimers and caveats out of the way regarding the source data.
Data
Despite the small subset of countries selected, the numbers (e.g. number of trips, number of accidents) vary greatly by source, and of course, year to year. With some digging and triangulation, I’m providing reasonable estimates to the best of my knowledge. The actual numbers herein should all be considered as estimates.
Factors like economic conditions, seasonality, politics (war, sanctions), and global events (e.g., pandemics) can significantly impact the numbers. For more precise figures, consult official sources like the FAA in the US, EASA in Europe, IATA for international air transport data, and similar organizations in specific countries for flights, and other corresponding road and transportation authorities for trains and motor vehicles.
Various data sources have been used such as statista.com; destatis.de; gov.cn; forbes.com in addition to the above-listed official sites.
Definitions
All the vehicles mentioned here include stats only for passenger transportion (civil or private) and does not include commerical traffic stats. A “passenger vehicle” for example includes cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks designed for personal transportation. Motorcycles and commercial vehicles are not included in these metrics.
The numbers for flights include both arrivals and departures, including domestic and international flights. The proportion of each will vary by country.
What constitutes an “accident” can differ by country. For example, for trains, it might include collisions, derailments, accidents at level crossings, or incidents involving passengers falling in stations. Countries have different systems for recording and reporting accidents. Same is true for planes and automobiles making data collection quite challenging.
The number of accidents do not correspond necessarily to casualties or fatalties. The severity of accidents are not cateogirized.
It’s worth mentioning that the sheer number of automobiles on the road at any given time in the USA, the number of arriving and departing flights from the USA account for much higher number of incidents relative to other countries. The death tolls from accidents in certain countries such as China are likely much higher than reported.
Methodology
First, I present the raw numbers of passenger flights per year by country. This gives us an overview of the airline traffic.
Secondly, I present the raw number of reported accidents per year by country. This gives us an overview of the overall number of accidents by country.
Then, to compare all the different countries of different sizes and traffic, at a fair and the same scale, I present the ratio of total number of flights per year to total number of airline accidents per year.
Finally, I normalize the ratio and rescale to a score of 1 (least score) to 10 (highest score in the list of countries) with a customized Min-Max normalization.
This methodology is applied for trains and automobiles measurements as well, except for for trains where we consider the number of passenger train trips per year (all directions, within the country), and for automobiles where we consider the total number of registered cars in the country for computing their respective ratios. The scoring is also calculated using the above methodology on a scale of 1 to 10.
Now, it’s time to time to see the metrics and the visuals!
Planes
There’s an airline accident for every 85 million flights on average in Italy, compared to for every 34.12 million flights in USA. Higher bar is correlated to being safer, and vice versa.
Higher the score, the better (safer). Each score is bound to a range between 1 and 10 inclusive. Italy and France have the best score.
Trains
There’s a train accident for every 33.33 million trips on average in Japan, compared to for every 50 thousand trips in Canada. Higher bar is correlated to being safer, and vice versa.
Higher the score, the better (safer). Each score is bound to a range between 1 and 10 inclusive. Japan and France have the best score.
Automobiles
There’s an auto accident for every 393 cars in Japan on average, compared to for every 48 cars in the USA. Higher bar is correlated to being safer, and vice versa.
Higher the score, the better (safer). Each score is bound to a range between 1 and 10 inclusive. Japan and France have the best score.
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