Transportation safety-new math lessons learned

The mission was to re-examine the domestic, national, and international personal transportation system fatality statistics to evaluate progress in improving transportation safety. Hopefully, this evaluation will lead to the formulation of an alternate national transportation system strategy for the nation. The approach was to re-evaluate the collision and fatality data published in the Statistical Abstract of the United States, and formulate new statistical comparison techniques. As examples, cumulative collision incidents and cumulative fatalities to establish historical and current trends were used, as well as the changes in trend line resulting from implementation of Federally mandated seat-belt, air-bags, and speed limits. A further step was to compare alternate transport systems on a fatalities per fatal vehicle incident basis, in contrast to convention based on distance. A final goal was to establish per vehicle fatality ratios between alternate modes of transport. While the scope of this study initially includes fatality statistics for scheduled airlines on a worldwide basis, the focus is essentially confined to the scheduled United States airline industry, and its fleet of aircraft-in-operation, in international and domestic passenger service. General aviation is specifically excluded since the fatality rate is almost seven times the scheduled service airline industry. Comparisons are made to motor vehicles-in-use on-the-roads for personal and commercial transportation, operating within the continental United States. Specifically included are trucks and buses