Sasha drives whenever she must travel, because she's terrified that if she were to travel in a plane it would crash. Statistics show that there are 40,000 deaths per year in automobile accidents and only about 200 in air transport, but news programs tend to sensationalize plane crashes and minimize car wrecks. As a result, people like Sasha can easily call to mind examples of plane crashes. They are relying on the

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Sasha is relying on the availability heuristic, which is the cognitive shortcut where people base their judgments on readily available and easily recalled examples. The news programs' constant coverage of plane crashes makes them highly memorable, even though they are statistically rare compared to car accidents.

Sasha Drives Whenever She Must Travel, Because She's Terrified That