Since you are much more likely to die in a car on the way to the airport than you are in a plane, would you agree that the fear of flying is an irrational fear? How would you explain it?
by 
Dinocex
ANSWERS: 7
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Probably in that there is more to fear other than getting in a certain type of vehicle and it's safety statistics. Fear or heights, noises, crowds of people, vertigo and simply that humans aren't designed to fly. There's more I'm sure.
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Considering human behavior, our fears are not based on statistics, but rather how society impacts us. Even thought airplanes are a safer means of transportation, movies like Snakes on a Plane and events like 9/11 makes us more hesitant stepping on a plane rather than a car. Another thought about airplanes is that every airplane crash is glorified on TV and newspapers, every car crash is not, so while cars may be safer our media persaudes us otherwise. Also that natural design humans are not made to fly, so having a fear of flight is quite natural.
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Although I do not have this fear, I don't think it's necessarily irrational. Fear of flying results in part from the fact that you have no control in an airplane-- you are a sitting duck strapped into a seat. In your car, you are at the wheel and have at least a shot at preventing an accident yourself, whereas in a plane you are solely in the hands of a pilot and dependent upon the manufacturer and maintenance crew for your safety. Also, everyone has either survived a car crash or knows someone who has. Airplane crashes are more likely to result in death. Another seed of fear of flying is disbelief that a huge, heavy metal tube with wings can actually get off the ground, sustain enough speed and altitude to remain in the air, and can land in a controlled manner. It's defying gravity! To some people this seems so improbable that they can't accept it. I think this is the most irrational of the reasons behind fear of flying, and that people who fear flying because it "defies nature" may feel better about it with a few lessons in physics and aerodynamics. Still others fear flying because of motion sickness - dramamine helps a lot.
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in a car ppl feel like they have more control as for a plane they have no control so with no control comes that fear to fly... if we do or dont most of our fear comes with things we feel like we have no control.
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I think the fact that its more likely to survive a car crash than a plane crash might have something to do with it...it doesn't matter which one occurs most often. People always throw out that statistic to people who are afraid to fly "its more likely you'll get in a car crash than a plane crash". Yeah, yeah, but people walk away from car crashes. Its not so easy to do at 30,000 feet.
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Sometimes I think of the fear of flying as a luddite fear or, instead, a fear of the scientifically challenged. Ya gotta know there are star trekkers who are still scared of the transporter. WAIT they did an episode of that on Next Generation with rarely met engineering assistant Reg Barclay.
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you don't have control, when you drive you have control or you understand the rules, when you fly you don't know exactly what's going on
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