I’m a frequent flier, which subjects me to all sorts of small tortures and petty indignities. But even as I’ve learned to maintain my composure while being herded onto airplanes and bruised by beverage carts, I find myself chafing at a phrase that litters my email inbox when I mention an upcoming trip to friends and family: “Safe travels!”
I know it sounds innocuous, and it’s meant to be reassuring. I should be gratified that people want me to arrive at my destination in one piece.
But there’s a dark implication in “safe travels.” It suggests every excursion could result in bodily harm, if not death. Is that really what travelers want to ponder as they set out for a family vacation to Florida or a corporate retreat in Kansas City?
The sentiment is also wildly out of touch with the reality of travel within the United States (and most of the world). Consider this: from 2010-2021, there were two fatalities involving commercial aircraft in the United States, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Not two per year – a total of two.
There are a lot of reasons not to like airplane travel, but the risk of getting injured or dying shouldn’t be one of them.
The story is similar with car travel. While there’s been some increase over the past 10 years in the fatality rate, based on miles driven, the rate is still lower than at any point from 1921-2007.
Also, most car accidents happen within 25 miles of one’s home, according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. Which makes it more appropriate to wish people “safe travels” every time they drive to the grocery store.
So why the kneejerk focus on safety when someone takes a trip? Newspaper databases show an increased use of “safe travels” in the past 15 years, which comports with my suspicion that the phrase was popularized in the aftermath of 9/11, when lax security protocols allowed planes to become tools of terror.
A robust security architecture has emerged to prevent another such terrorist attack. But navigating that architecture pounds into every flier the potential risk of flying – and so we’re left with a sendoff suggesting the end could be near.
What should replace the ominous “safe travels”? “Bon voyage” sounds a little too snooty, particularly when there’s no boat involved, nor a visit to Saint-Tropez. My vote is for a simple phrase that was once the standard when people told you they were going somewhere far away: “Have a nice trip!”
