"StellaStar" wrote in message
...
"According to scientists and others who study the phenomenon, there have
been as many as 10,000 accidents attributed to unintended acceleration
nationwide since 1985.

Memorize that. Include the source, so you're not suspected of promoting
an
urban legend. Repeat it every time someone asks if flying isn't
dangerous.

Of course, the statistic quoted isn't precisely the interesting one. Not
all accidents attributed to unintended acceleration cause fatalities, or
even injuries. On the other hand, there are plenty of accidents that kill
or injure an innocent bystander that are due to reasons other than
unintended acceleration.

I assume by "flying isn't dangerous", you really mean "flying isn't
dangerous to non-participants".

If you want to be proactive, every time some old or impaired driver
squishes
some innocent bystanders, mildly point out that that kind of thing doesn't
happen in aviation.

Maybe point out that "that kind of thing rarely happens in aviation".
Pilots certainly have killed innocent bystanders, and have even done so
recently. However, I'm sure it's true that the relative rate is MUCH higher
for automotive accidents than for aviation accidents. Almost everyone hurt
in an aviation accident is in the accident vehicle, while automotive
accidents hurt bystanders (either in other vehicles, or just standing
around) on a regular basis.

Pete