To put things into better perspective, in Queensland during 2022:
- 72 Motorcycle riders died due to transport accidents
- 12 Aircraft occupants died due to powered aircraft accidents
Maybe flying is the safer option.
[Australian Bureau of Statistics, 3303.0 Causes of Death, Queensland, 2022, V20-29, V95]
Yes, they used to say its safer than driving a car. But I dont think thats the case anymore. But, I was thinking the other day that its much safer than riding a motorbike, since you don't have drunk drivers and geriatrics gunning for you when you're in a plane
I've had a couple of close calls on a cycle with drivers pulling right in front of me. One time with a passenger and I had to take the bike sideways and still stopped only inches from the vehicle. Caused me to keep my eyes glued on vehicles stopped at on-roads from then on.
But statistics will be statistics. It's not the total number of fatalities which are important, but the overall percentage of fatalities for the number of active operators. I would suspect that there are a LOT more cycles on the roads than hobbyists buzzing around the skies.
This discussion reminds me of a saying about the old days on the autobahn where there was no speed-limit. As a whole, you were very unlikely to get in an accident on the Autobahn. But if you did, it would almost certainly mean that someone was going to die in the most gruesome of ways. This is how I view personal aircraft, except maybe with an increased chance of something bad happening.
Everyone has to go at some point. It might as well be while doing what you love.