# Most Dangerous Means of Transportation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793 "2010-08-01T14:56:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/21 "2010-08-02T03:40:36Z")
Yeah, if what you took away from Mythbusters is that elevators are dangerous then you didn’t pay enough attention to the episode. It was a giant pain in the ass for them to get an elevator to fall at all in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/22 "2010-08-02T03:57:30Z")
Matter of fact, a Space Shuttle on a normal, routine landing bears an uncanny resemblance to an elevator going through an absolute worst-case scenario. The way it lands is a lot closer to what most folks would call “falling” than “gliding”. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/23 "2010-08-02T04:04:51Z")
Eh? The Shuttle lands at about 250 mph; faster, but not greatly so, than an airliner. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/24 "2010-08-02T05:18:50Z")
The space shuttle orbits the earth and thus does move through space I do not think the vertical trip up there should only be counted. I mean that thing goes through the worse climate, ive seen pictures of little meteorites hitting the windshield and it having a big ass crack in it. The safest is probably the presidential motorcade, or more likely Air Force One although the Pope mobile I think statistically is safer. Nothing says I trust you god like 4 inches of bullet proof glass. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/25 "2010-08-02T09:31:21Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Eh? The Shuttle lands at about 250 mph; faster, but not greatly so, than an airliner. The space shuttle has a terrible glide ratio, much worse than an airliner. I can’t find the figures now, but that is what Chronos is referring to. I’d say the space shuttle is probably the most dangerous form of tansport per trip. By distance covered, climbing is probably the most dangerous mode (not form) of transport. Travelling by motorbike is much more dangerous than travelling by car, but I believe quad bikes are even more dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/26 "2010-08-02T13:30:49Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Yeah, if what you took away from Mythbusters is that elevators are dangerous then you didn’t pay enough attention to the episode. It was a giant pain in the ass for them to get an elevator to fall at all in the first place. I did not say that elevators are the most dangerous means of transportation… but that _falling_ elevators were. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/27 "2010-08-02T13:36:58Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > having a big ass crack in it. I didn’t know the shuttle went to Uranus ::::rimshot:::: ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/28 "2010-08-02T14:54:09Z")
You know, having thought about it a bit more, I think it’s clear that [surfing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cfx7V5e-8Q) is the most dangerous form of transportation. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/29 "2010-08-02T15:35:41Z")
> [@](#): > > The space shuttle has a terrible glide ratio, much worse than an airliner. I can’t find the figures now, but that is what Chronos is referring to. It’s pretty close to 1:1, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, either. Basically, it spends most of the re-entry falling, to build up airspeed, then uses that airspeed to swoop closer to horizontal right at the very end so it can land. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/30 "2010-08-02T16:48:52Z")
I’d have to say the H.L. Hunley submarine was the most dangerous form of transportation. It killed most of one crew and all of another during training and killed a third crew when it went on its first mission. That’s close to a 300 percent mortality rate. Or, in other words, it’s roughly 3 times more dangerous than flying in a kamikaze plane. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/31 "2010-08-02T17:00:39Z")
From personal experience, I’d say it’s a 1964 Vespa GL. I’ve been rirding it for about ten years now, and have been pulled out in front of, merged into more and plainly not been seen by more people than any other mode of transport I’ve used. That includes motorcycles, bicycles and cars. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/32 "2010-08-02T17:17:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Although, come to think of it, most of the miles the Shuttle travels aren’t really “traveling”, in the sense of going from a starting place to a destination. The Shuttle’s destination is just low earth orbit, which is only a few hundred miles, tops, from its starting point. So by that measure, it’s again one of the most dangerous, and might even beat motorcycles. Actually, the destination is the landing strip. Which in most cases is at KSC, only a few km from the launch pad… (This reasoning would also make the shuttle one of the slowest modes of transportation, because it usually takes 2 weeks to cross that small distance from launch pad to runway.) ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/33 "2010-08-02T17:19:58Z")
Of course, jumping off a bridge is a form of transportation too, involving small distances but with high mortality rates. In the same vein, those kamikaze planes and submarines from WW2… H. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/34 "2010-08-02T17:49:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, the destination is the landing strip. Which in most cases is at KSC, only a few km from the launch pad… That’s like the old joke: Jokester: I’d like a round-trip ticket Travel agent: Where to? Jokester: Back here, of course. Most modes of transportation will eventually take you back to somewhere near your starting point, but there’s usually some destination in between. You don’t take the Shuttle because you want to get from the launchpad to the runway; you take it because you want to get to low Earth orbit. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/35 "2010-08-02T18:09:24Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > From personal experience, I’d say it’s a 1964 Vespa GL. I’ve been rirding it for about ten years now, and have been pulled out in front of, merged into more and plainly not been seen by more people than any other mode of transport I’ve used. Proof that the Italians perfected cloaking technology in the early 1960s. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/36 "2010-08-02T18:40:20Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@yanceylebeef](#): > > > > From personal experience, I’d say it’s a 1964 Vespa GL. I’ve been rirding it for about ten years now, and have been pulled out in front of, merged into more and plainly not been seen by more people than any other mode of transport I’ve used. > > Proof that the Italians perfected cloaking technology in the early 1960s. 😉 Nah, it was one of the jokes the Illuminati periodically play, painting “fnord” all over some mass-produced item and watching hilarity ensue. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/37 "2010-08-02T19:30:26Z")
How does painting all over something ensure hilarity? Aren’t most things painted all over? ---
**Author:** ![ajdebosco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@ajdebosco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajdebosco)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/38 "2010-08-02T20:04:41Z")
In the US, it seems it is anything on two wheels, wherever there are four wheeled vehicles on the same stretch of road. I’ve been dusted up more than once by trucks, busses, cars, etc. when I’ve been on a bicycle, scooter, moped and motorcycle. The other drivers just don’t look, or don’t care. When I travelled to Cote D’Ivoire, pedestrians were being run down at an alarming rate. Before I arrived I was concerned about HIV, dengue and yellow fevers, but my contact there said there were a plethora of wreckless drivers, and when coupled with newcomers to the cities fresh out of the sticks, the death rate from getting plowed over by a bus, lorry, or car was of epidemic proportions. I’ve heard things are quite similar in China these days, too.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/39 "2010-08-02T20:12:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How does painting all over something ensure hilarity? Aren’t most things painted all over? 😃 That took me a minute to get. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793/40 "2010-08-02T20:27:42Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > [@Duckster](#): > > > > [Walking](http://en.epochtimes.com/news/5-1-17/25754.html). > > I’m curious to see whether this holds up outside the US. Especially in countries that offer better facilities for pedestrians ( **like, all of them** :D). Do you have any evidence for that claim? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-means-of-transportation/548793.md?page=3)