How the fuck are ferry and train so high? Must be including suicides for trains, not really use how the ferry gets so much though. Heart attacks on long distance ferry trips? But then would expect similar from planes.
this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2025
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My guess for ferries would be that most ferry trips are very short. That means less total travel per trip, so for the same risk per trip it gets much higher risk per distance.
As someone who lives on an island, and regularly takes a sea ferry though unprotected waters, (ie not through a bay or harbor, waves have 100s of miles to build) that stat makes sense to me.
Id guess a lot of that could be attributed to people falling and injuring themselves.
As my dad would have said, "Landlubbers don't respect the Sea."
That floor may be shifting 6+' in one direction or another, and people without their sea legs will be getting up for the head, snack bar, or just to walk off the seasickness, then falling as the boat shifts.
And theres a lot of metal, and protruding metal (bulkheads, cleats, even just the metal floors and walls, etc). Even when the sea is calm as glass, the boat can still shudder or bounce randomly as it hits a random bit of turbulence. And its common for small kids to be running around or, say, an elderly person walking with a cane, not holding onto a railing to take a spill.
Finally, theres generally going to be a wait for advanced medical treatment, until you make it to port. Ive seen one person med evac-ed out, by helicopter, so its possible, but that was a crewman who's arm was amputed by machinery. For the average concussion/ broken bone, theres only so much the ships medic can do, and you're waiting til the ferry is docked for an ambulance.
The other risk is lost at sea incidents. Ferries tend to have pretty good fencing/ railings to prevent people falling overboard, but people do dumb shit. Like climbing or straddling those railings. And if its even 15 minutes before someone reports you, at 12mph, thats already 3 miles the boat's traveled, making a large (and constantly growing) search area to find you in, and you're a tiny speck spot in a vast sea. I know our ferries have only had one in my lifetime (and it was deemed a potential suicide- solo traveler who turned out to have no arrival plans like lodging arranged, went missing off anight ferry)
Motorcycle accidents have become very frequent in some twenty years in my region, with Thailand being on top.
Where I live, people are buying up motorcycles because they're cheap and gives them more mobility than a car and most forms of public transportation they deem as frustratingly slow. But with them having little or no formal driving education, coupled with DUI, do have a lot of accidents happening.
what's going on with ferries...
also how much does it change if you take out the Staten Island Ferry?
Quite a few crappy ferries sink weekly in South East Asia, usually overloaded way beyond safety margins.
Probably same with busses. Half a century old going down a mountain with no barriers.
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But how do they die? How many are killed by other drivers?
I've wanted a motorcycle for decades. NHTSA's stats on motorcycle accidents send very mixed signals:
- Thirty-four percent of motorcycle riders in fatal crashes in 2023 had no valid motorcycle licenses. -In 2023 motorcycle riders in fatal crashes had higher percentages of alcohol impairment than drivers of any other motor vehicle type (26% for motorcycles, 24% for passenger cars, 20% for light trucks, and 4% for large trucks).
- Forty-one percent of motorcycle riders who died in single-vehicle crashes in 2023 were alcohol-impaired
- Motorcycle riders killed in traffic crashes at night were two and a half times more frequently alcohol-impaired than those killed during the day (38% and 15%) in 2023.
- In States without universal helmet laws, based on known helmet use, 51 percent of motorcyclists killed in 2023 were not wearing helmets, as compared to 10 percent in States with universal helmet law
So basically, have a license and training and don't drink. Helmets are good for your health.
...
Twenty-four percent of motorcycles in fatal traffic crashes in 2023 collided with fixed objects, compared to 16 percent for passenger cars, 12 percent for light trucks, and 4 percent for large trucks.
Don't ride with a loonitick.
In 2023 there were 3,419 fatal two-vehicle crashes each involving a motorcycle and another type of vehicle. In 46 percent (1,588) of these crashes, the other vehicles were turning left while the motorcycles were going straight, passing, or overtaking other vehicles.
Well, that sucks :(
Yeah, speaking as a rider from the USA it's a mixed bag. If you ride safe (licensed and know what you are doing, not drunk, wear a helmet, and assume you are invisible) it's orders of magnitude more safe than the statistics say. Sadly, there are a lot of reckless riders dying on bikes.
Still, a ton of drivers will absolutely drive like you are invisible and just plow into you. You also have to ride carefully and be constantly aware of your bike and your surroundings. Plan for bad situations as you see them forming even though most of the time nothing happens. Small mistakes can be negated by four wheels but won't be forgiven on two.
I didn't start until the pandemic, which gave me an opportunity to work remotely for a time and save money. I have enjoyed riding. The motivation to be present in the moment for the sake of safety is a bit zen for me. In a car I feel like I can arrive at work deep in thought about the horrors of the world and not even remember how I got there. Admittedly, as I got more comfortable on the bike, my mind can still wander but it's easier to snap back and focus on not dying on the bike.
Still, a ton of drivers will absolutely drive like you are invisible and just plow into you.
I've had this experience in a miata and Fiero. Low roofline + small car = invisibility cloke :(
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Unexpected - I thought flying would be by magnitudes safer than anything, but it's in the same magnitude as bus, and not even train is x10. I always thought that all those safety regulations were unnecessary, just compensating for some psychological factor of how it FEELS dangerous due to overreporting, history and other factors. But apparently, they are needed so it just remains barely safer than other forms of public transportation.
Worth noting that this data shows flying to be two orders of magnitude safer than travel by car. I think what this showed me is that train, subway, and bus are all somewhat safer than I expected, rather than that air travel is less safe than I expected.
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I'll be honest, this will be skewed heavily by most motorcycles are not designed for two or more people
And most motorcyclists know that, and NEVER have any passengers, which self-selects for the risk takers heavily.
Also heavily skewed by the fact that most motorcycle deaths are not caused by the driver, but by other road users not looking, and doing stupid shit like taking a turn blind at 50mph then running the motorcyclist over.
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