THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602090065
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
CHANCES ARE you know someone who has been in an automobile accident in the past week. Do you know anyone who was in a commercial airline crash in the past year?
This is not a rush to the defense of the commercial airline industry in the wake of the recent crash in the Caribbean, the cause of which we may never know. This is not about causes, either. This is about you and flying - about your chances of being involved in a plane crash.
Since 1980, there have been an average of less than 200 airline fatalities yearly. On the other hand, there are about 45,000 automobile fatalities yearly.
On average, 19,800 passenger planes take off every day in the United States alone, carrying more than 1.3 million passengers on hundreds of routes crisscrossing the country. The jet airplane has become the inter-city bus of modern America, ferrying some 500 million Americans each year to business appointments, vacations, weddings, funerals, family gatherings and all the other events of contemporary life.
Nevertheless, your chances of dying in an airplane crash are quite small (1 in 10 million), especially when compared with your chances of dying from a bee sting (1 in 5.5 million), a bicycle accident (1 in 88,000) or smoking (1 in 600 by age 35).
If you care to take air safety statistics to a somewhat absurd conclusion here's the bottom line: If you wanted to be in an airplane accident, and the law of averages applied, you would have to take a scheduled flight every day for 4,000 years.
This statistic comes from ``Cleared for Take-Off,'' a guide to crash positions and evacuation techniques published in England. RESERVE YOUR CAMPSITE
If camping in a national park is in your vacation plans, you should know that reservations procedures have changed for more than a dozen park service units, including Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.
The system, which took effect Jan. 15, allows a family (up to six people) or group (minimum of 10 and maximum of 30) to reserve a campsite up to five months in advance.
Beginning on the 15th day of the month, Destinet, a reservation service, will take reservations for a one-month period. For example, on Feb. 15, reservations can be made for the arrival dates starting June 15 through July 14.
Previously, reservations could only be made 56 days in advance.
Park service units in this area utilizing the Destinet service are Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, Assateague (Maryland) and Cape Hatteras (North Carolina) National Seashores and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. In Shenandoah, only the campgrounds at Big Meadows are in the reservation system; all other campgrounds in the park are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Reservations for national park campgrounds can be made by calling (800) 436-7275 for Yosemite and (800) 365-2267 for parks in the United States and Canada. All other international reservations should be made by calling (619) 452-8787.
Destinet operates daily from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. Pacific standard time until Feb. 29. From March 1 until Sept. 30, hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. Reservations may also be made by writing to Destinet at 9450 Carroll Park Drive, San Diego, Calif. 92121. ISN'T IT ROMANTIC?
In case you've forgotten, Wednesday is Valentine's Day. For the occasion, Harlequin, the leading publisher of romance novels, asked 100 travel agents to choose North America's 10 most sensual places. Here's their list, in order.
1. Chateau Lake Louise, old-world gentility in the Canadian Rockies, with a stunning view of Lake Louise and the Victoria Glacier.
2. Las Brisas, with canopied beds, individual casitas with private terraces and pools overlooking Acapulco Bay.
3. The Fairmont Hotel, an elegant landmark atop San Francisco's Nob Hill.
4. Mount Airy Lodge, a sprawling resort in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, famous for catering to newlyweds.
5. The Phoenician, golf and other upscale resort amenities in the Arizona desert near Scottsdale.
6. Hotel del Coronado is a hotel in the grand Victorian style on a peninsula just south of San Diego, Calif.
7. Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City is tres French, and each room has a superb view of the St. Lawrence River.
8. Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colo., where the Gore-Tex-clad glitterati gather to see and be seen in the 19th century glamour of silver mining days.
9. The Plaza, the elegant queen of New York City on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park.
10. The Bel Air in Los Angeles, a getaway with trees, softly babbling brooks and gliding swans. THERE'S STILL TIME
Mardi Gras out of the question? Not necessarily. The greater New Orleans area's 25,000-plus hotel rooms traditionally are 95 percent filled during Mardi Gras weekend (Feb. 17-18, with the culmination of the celebration Feb. 20, Fat Tuesday).
But it's not hopeless. And don't assume that only the highest-priced rooms are left. There are invariably cancellations in all price ranges, though at this point full prepayment usually is required. The Greater New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau suggests two lodging hot lines for travelers: Call the local hotel/motel association at (800) 695-2264 and Room Finders USA at (800) 473-7829. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The Virginian-Pilot,
Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804) 446-2904. by CNB