There are three main statistics to which automobile safety can be compared: (Data taken from UK transportation)
Deaths per
billion journeys
Bus: 4.3
Rail: 20
Van: 20
Car: 40
Foot: 40
Water: 90
Air: 117
Bicycle: 170
Motorcycle: 1640
Deaths per
billion hours
Bus: 11.1
Rail: 30
Air: 30.8
Water: 50
Van: 60
Car: 130
Foot: 220
Bicycle: 550
Motorcycle: 4840
Deaths per
billion kilometres
Air: 0.05
Bus: 0.4
Rail: 0.6
Van: 1.2
Water: 2.6
Car: 3.1
Bicycle: 44.6
Foot: 54.2
Motorcycle: 108.9
While road traffic injuries represent the leading cause in worldwide injury-related deaths, their popularity undermines this statistic.
Mary Ward became one of the first documented automobile fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland and Henry Bliss one of the United States' first pedestrian automobile casualties in 1899 in New York. There are now standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the Euro NCAP and the US NCAP tests, as well as insurance-backed IIHS tests.
Deaths per
billion journeys
Bus: 4.3
Rail: 20
Van: 20
Car: 40
Foot: 40
Water: 90
Air: 117
Bicycle: 170
Motorcycle: 1640
Deaths per
billion hours
Bus: 11.1
Rail: 30
Air: 30.8
Water: 50
Van: 60
Car: 130
Foot: 220
Bicycle: 550
Motorcycle: 4840
Deaths per
billion kilometres
Air: 0.05
Bus: 0.4
Rail: 0.6
Van: 1.2
Water: 2.6
Car: 3.1
Bicycle: 44.6
Foot: 54.2
Motorcycle: 108.9
While road traffic injuries represent the leading cause in worldwide injury-related deaths, their popularity undermines this statistic.
Mary Ward became one of the first documented automobile fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland and Henry Bliss one of the United States' first pedestrian automobile casualties in 1899 in New York. There are now standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the Euro NCAP and the US NCAP tests, as well as insurance-backed IIHS tests.
