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American Morning

Are We Safer Than We Think?

Aired July 08, 2002 - 08:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: There was a rash of vague terror warnings with officials calling for the public to enjoy themselves, but remain vigilant. Now the long weekend has passed without any major terrorists attack. Could it be we're all safer than we think?

Carol Lin take a look at the statistics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The odds certainly appear to be higher after September 11th, when as a nation, we watched the unthinkable unfold. And it seems to keep unfolding, as ordinary people are caught in what used to seem so unlikely. July 4th, a crazed gunman opens fire near the LAX ticket counter, killing two people. And so maybe you start thinking, wow, this could happen to me.

An estimated 31 million people have traveled since the 4th, whether by car or plane. That's like the entire state of California leaving for a long weekend and safely returning home. An estimated 120,000 airplanes took over from our nation's 420 airports, and arrived at their destinations.

Air crashes, whether from pilot or control tower errors or hijackers, are incredibly rare. To put it in perspective, even frequent fliers, those who fly more than 100,000 miles a year, the odds of them dying in a plane crash are only one in a half million.

In fact, according to the Security Information Center, over your lifetime, you're far more likely to die from eating peanut butter or drinking diet sodas or taking a bath than dying in a plane crash.

Those who flied less than 2,000 miles a year are more likely to have an airplane hit them on the head than actually go down inside one.

And what about the terror threat from anthrax? Last year, dozens of Americans were exposed to anthrax through the mail. My mother, like many Americans, still opens her mail with rubber gloves, checking the envelope for anthrax. The national safety council figures show that you have a one in 276 million chance of being exposed to it. You're about 100,000 times more likely to die from falling on the stairs. So overall, your odds of dying from a catastrophic event stand at less than one in 400,000. How good are those odds? Let's put it this way: You have you a 35 percent greater chance of being killed by your own dog than Osama bin Laden.

Carol Lin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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