Hello readers! Today I tackle the topic of transportation. Let's say you're going on a vacation, and you have the choice to either fly there or drive there. Which is safer? Which is more fun? Which is the least boring? Which one is better overall? That is what I will address today.
Why would I write a post on driving and flying? Because I am 17, and I am currently enrolled in driving classes. (Yes, I am a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to getting my license.) I want to take some of the boringness that I have to sit through, and make you sit through it too. Of course, you could just not read this at all and spare yourself the boredom, but I like to pretend that I'm forcing you to read this blog. I'd also like to dedicate this post to my driving instructor, Bill, for making driving class slightly less boring, and for cementing my decision to become a teacher in later life.
First I will relate to you some experiences I've had in both flying and driving, starting with flying. I have flown a grand total of once (twice if you count the trip back) and it was to Florida in the winter of '04-'05. I was in fifth grade at the time, so I don't really remember much about the flight itself, besides that I was reading this really boring book about Native Americans for a book report. It was probably around three or four hours, and luckily I got to sit with my mom instead of the stereotypical large drooling middle-aged man who takes up too much room. I didn't even have any annoying kids kicking the back of my seat! What luck.
As for driving, I consider myself a good driver for my age. I'm not pretending to be some driving whiz, because I'm not. But I do think that I'm pretty good at it, as far as 17-year-olds go. The longest driving trip I've ever been on was one to the Outer Banks of North Carolina last summer, which was a 12 hour trip. I got to drive a bit, but I wasn't as good back then and I didn't drive for very long. I hate driving for a long time, but I don't mind sitting in a car too much.
So let's compare the two! Flying is much much quicker obviously, and you are never expected to help out with the actual navigation of the thing. Even though flying on a plane gives you a spectacular aerial view, (you gotta have a window seat, though) I think that the scenery that you see while driving is more up close and personal. You can actually SEE what you're driving through when you're driving, putting into practice that old saying about a journey being more about how you get to your destination rather than what you do when you get there. Also, while driving, you can bond and have fun with family, whereas on a plane, you might not even sit together.
When you start to talk about safety, a plane may seem like the obvious choice. With driving you have problems like other people on the road who really shouldn't have a license (or don't even have one) as well as the potential danger of encountering a drunk driver. There are obviously many more issues with driving, but the following still holds true; the average SAFE driver has a better chance of arriving at their destination intact than the average SAFE airplane pilot.
All the problems with driving are really out of the driver's control, so when you look at the navigation of the vehicle itself, drivers come out on top. Why? Well, not many people know that airplanes are built very poorly. Statistics show that an average of 43% of a plane's parts are substandardly produced, meaning that lots of things could go wrong because a couple screws are loose. Seriously. Looking at all this, I declare that driving to a location is better than flying there.
Last, but definitely not least, I will teach all of you some basics about driving, so that hopefully you can become safer drivers like me. When driving, you must keep two limbs on the steering wheel, whether you use two hands, two feet, a hand and a foot, a foot and a tongue, or a hand and an ear, or a tongue and your willy, it makes no difference. Two body parts on the wheel at all times to retain maximum control of the vehicle. The second and final rule to driving is this: red means no, green means yes, and yellow means maybe.
Well, there you have it! That's my thoughts on driving and what not. When you comment below, tell me your thoughts. Is driving or flying better, and why? And how good of a driver are you? If you liked this post, keep coming back for more! And tell people about this blog. Tell everybody in the whole world. See ya next time :)
P.S. I just have to post this video of funny driving fails. These people obviously didn't follow my instructions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-cAbV265rA
Post #2...Comment #2 :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, so you were only 17 and in high school when you wrote this. Now that you are 18 and in college, I am sure you are more fully aware of the fact the statistics can be skewed and twisted into supporting different points of view, depending on the integrity and motivation of the source of the data.
For example...
According to Jeff Wise, in "Psychology Today," flying fatalities in the U.S. comes to "one per billion passenger trips." In comparison, auto accidents kill some 50,000 people a year. Driving a car feels safer to most people but it cannot compare to the safety statistics in commercial flight.
Even though you may have found a statistic that points out the alleged substandard quality of the airplane parts being used, it still is not enough to overcome the stats on the number of fatalities involved in both modes of transportation.
As you can see, these things can be (and are) argued back and forth constantly.
Now that you have had some more time behind the wheel, I would be curious to hear your current take on driving.
Here is a good quote on traffic lights that you should NOT follow:
"Red means Stop
Green means Go
Yellow means...Go Very Fast !!!"
And finally, your You Tube link on this post has been shut down...
This video contains content from Koch Entertainment, NBC Universal, Sony ATV Publishing and The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), one or more of whom have blocked it on copyright grounds.