One way of addressing comparative risks is to look at the risk of a variety of activities. Of course, this is not the whole story. We all accept greater risks for things we choose to do and enjoy doing, and all sorts of other factors come into play as well. But we provide here two different versions of comparative risks that other organisations have published.
Health and Safety Executive
The HSE include several tables of comparisons at the back of their report "Reducing Risk, Protecting People". We reproduce Table 5 here:
Average annual risk of death as a consequence of an activity.
| Activity associated with death |
Risk |
| Maternal death in pregnancy (direct or indirect causes) |
1 in 8,200 maternities |
| Surgical anaesthesia |
1 in 185,000 operations |
| Scuba diving |
1 in 200,000 dives |
| Fairground rides |
1 in 834,000,000 rides |
| Rock climbing |
1 in 320,000 climbs |
| Canoeing |
1 in 750,000 outings |
| Hang-gliding |
1 in 116,000 flights |
| Rail travel accidents |
1 in 43,000,000 passenger journeys |
| Aircraft accidents |
1 in 125,000,000 passenger journeys |
note: the HSE's table has details of the period covered and the source of each figure
Royal Society
The Royal Society gave lots of tables in their 1992 report "Risk: Analysis, Perception and Management". We reproduce here Table 10.
Risk from death of various activities in the UK in terms of Fatality Accident rate (number of deaths per 108 hours [ie per hundred million hours] of the people involved
| Activity |
Rate |
| plague in London in 1665 |
15000 |
| rock climbing, while on rock face |
4000 |
| fireman in London air-raids, 1940 |
1000 |
| travel by helicopter |
500 |
| civilian in London air-raids, 1940 |
200 |
| jack-up platform in winter at UK code limit |
200 |
| policeman in Northern Ireland, average |
70 |
| construction, high rise erectors |
70 |
| 'tolerable' limit of 1 in 1000 per year at work |
50 |
| smoking, average |
40 |
| travel by air |
40 |
| travel by car |
30 |
| oil and gas extraction |
15 |
| average man in 30s from accident |
8 |
| average man in 30s from disease |
8 |
| radon gas natural radiation 'action level' |
6 |
| construction, average |
5 |
| travelling by train |
5 |
| factory work, average |
4 |
| accident at home, all ages |
4 |
| accident at home, able-bodied |
1 |
| all manufacturing industries |
1 |
| 'tolerable' limit 1 in 10 000 per year near major hazard |
1 |
| 'tolerable' limit 1 in 100 000 per year near nuclear plant |
0.1 |
| terrorist bomb in London area |
0.01 |
| target risk for fire in public building |
0.005 |
| building falling down |
0.002 |
