Sinking in quicksand

Sinking in quicksand – Is it really as deadly a threat, as shown in the old b&w movies?

Quicksand – the hidden deathtrap

If you are as old as me, then you have probably seen it in the movies… The black and white movies about heroic adventurers heading into the jungle, fearless, and proud. There they had to fight the bad guys, the ferocious indigenous, the hostile environment made up of dangerous cliffs, rivers, and waterfalls, insects, and bigger man-eating animals. Last on that list, there was usually the quicksand. 

We saw a character falling in, while the others stopped immediately. The one who was sinking in quicksand screamed and waved his arms, while the others shouted at him to not move. Then they tried to reach him with a branch, a rope, or even a snake. Sometimes they succeeded, while other times the person in the quicksand slowly, inch by inch was consumed by the deadly trap. Often we could see a stretched-out hand sinking down slowly into the mud. Sometimes leaving a piece of fabric, or a hat on the surface.

But what is the truth about all that?

What is quicksand and how does it form?

First of all, it’s not only sand. Any granular material can in theory form some sort of quicksand-ish substance. Most common is still quicksand made from sand, slit, or clay, mainly because that’s what you would find in nature. 

Under normal conditions, rainwater or sea water will sink through the soil to the groundwater level. But sometimes, a pocket of water without drainage can form, or there can be streaming water under the surface, sideways, or upwards. In some cases, the material, usually sand or clay mixes with the water and creates a kind of porridge. On top, it will appear solid, and you won’t know what it is until you’ve put your weight on it with your foot. The saturated sediment that forms the surface will suddenly break and you will fall in.

Where can you find quicksand?

In the old movies, quicksand was sometimes found in the desert. That wouldn’t be very probable. As water is a necessary ingredient, deserts probably do not host any quicksand. Instead, you should try riverbanks, marshes, and areas close to lakes and the sea. 

Can sinking in quicksand swallow you whole?

No, it can’t. Not under normal conditions, and not the so-called wet quicksand. The reason for this is that even though it’s much denser than water, it still follows the laws of nature. A body with lower density will float. Water has a density of about 1 kilogram/liter. A sand/water mix in quicksand, on the other hand, has a density of around 2 kilogram/liter. It is practically impossible to sink lower than to half your body, about your waist-line. 

If you fall in, what should you do?

Here are a few tips:

• If you’re in deeper than your knees, you can’t walk out, so just forget that, and do the following.
• First… Always move slowly. For every inch you move upward, let the sand fill the space underneath. It takes time, but it’s the only way. If you get tired, rest. You are not in a hurry.
• Lose weight. Throw away your backpack. If you can, take off your shoes, your jacket, etc.
• If you can, take a step backward. It’s possible that you could reach the solid ground from where you came if you weren’t walking too fast when you fell in.
• Try to lean backward to a back-floating position. When your feet reach the surface, try to move very slowly to the “shore”.
• Try to find a branch or something to hold on to. If you have a trekking pole, use it horizontally under your back when getting up to a floating position. 
• Breathe deeply. This will increase your buoyancy as well as keep you calm. 
• Remember that the biggest threat is exhaustion, not the suction. 

The special case of dry quicksand

Dry quicksand made out of sand shouldn’t really be a problem. Dry sand is just sand, although scientists have succeeded in creating low-density sand in laboratory environments. This lightweight sand can swallow heavy objects. It has never been found in nature, though.

But the quicksand phenomena can occur in other, lighter granular materials… Like grain.

In 2002 a man fell into a grain silo in Germany. By the time the firefighters came, he was already down to his armpits. With every breath, his lungs emptied and he sunk a little. At a certain time, the pressure from the grain on his chest started to cause severe pain, and the rescue team feared that he would suffocate. They gave him oxygen, but as he just couldn’t expand his chest to inhale they had to try something else.

They lowered a huge cylinder over the entire body of the man, Then they sucked the grain out from the surrounding space with an industrial vacuum. The man survived.   

Has anybody ever died as a result of sinking into quicksand?

Well, I could say no, nobody ever dies directly from falling into quicksand. Because it’s not possible to be sucked down and drowned by it, like in the old movies. That’s just not how it works.

But, there are still casualties caused by secondary effects of falling into quicksand. If you don’t get swallowed whole by it, being stuck can be very dangerous in some ways. 

Apart from the very rare deaths in silos, and other places where there is light, dry, granular material, many casualties are caused by people being stuck in quicksand when the tide returns. As you will find quicksand where there’s water, people get trapped and then they die from drowning. That could also happen on riverbeds. Other dangers include attacks by wild animals, dehydration if you’re stuck for long, and other medical complications that happen while you are trapped and can’t find help.  

Conclusion. 

Sinking in quicksand is not a death trap, as portrayed in the old movies. It just isn’t. You will fall in and you can get stuck there, even for long if you’re in bad physical shape or you panic, etc. But you could not die from drowning in the mud unless you’re wearing lead pants and a golden sweater.

Having said that, there are dangers connected to the fact that you are stuck. The biggest hazard by far is the possibility that water could submerge you while you are trapped. Either as the returning tide on the beach or the increased water flow in a river. 

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sources

• Britannica / How deadly is quicksand?
• Slate / The rise and fall of quicksand
• The Quicksand Page
• BBC Future / Can quicksand really suck you to your death?
• Eaglecreek / How to escape quicksand
• Wikipedia / Quicksand
• Wikipedia / Dry quicksand
• Dailymail / Quicksand horror death of mother

Is going by air, with a commercial airliner, the safest way to travel?

The statistics are very well documented and as well-founded as you could possibly desire. But I would still like to scrutinize it for a bit. I think it’s a good idea to look into what we mean by safe, and what we mean by travel… Because statistics are never better than what you understand it to be. 

Which is the safest way to travel?

If I go for an hour on my motorcycle, or if I go for an hour with my private airplane is not exactly the same thing. With the motorcycle, I will cover 50 miles of beautiful mountain roads. But with my private jet, I will cover 500 miles. So do we calculate the number of incidents per hour or per mile?

Here are some other difficulties when trying to figure out which is the safest way to travel:

• A train crash could kill hundreds of people, while a motorcycle would kill one, or two. 
• Going by bus means riding with a professional driver, while you would probably drive your own car. 
• Cars and motorcycles are mostly used in the city, while trains are for going across the country. And the city is a more dangerous environment. 
• Going by boat could mean going on your own, small fishing boat, or going with a 150.000 tonnage cruise ship.

These are just a few considerations, but there are many more. 

Deaths per traveled mile.

An often-used parameter, when comparing travel safety is deaths per traveled mile. The distance is the figure against which the death rate is compared. In that case, a four-hour flight from New York to Los Angeles equals a 42-hour drive… Or if you want, two months by bicycle.

This might seem an absurd comparison, but some travel means are mostly for leisure, like a motorcycle. So, going back to our example, in the beginning, it is not perfectly correct to compare the one-hour drive in your private airplane, to ten hours on a motorcycle, if both drivers are just cruising around.  

Then, there is the danger for the others. If a motorcycle drives off the road, or a train does it, there’s quite a difference in danger for the others, those who were not in the vehicle. 

But let’s try to find out which is the safest way to travel. And we will use deaths/distance as the formula. Not only deaths among the travelers on board, but also the danger for any bystander.  

Train – 0,6 deaths per billion kilometers.

The train is a very safe way to travel. While streets are full of other cars, bicycles, dogs, grandmas, grandpas, and children… The rail is free from any obstacles. It’s a straight line. Unfortunately, even on a straight line, things can go wrong. 

The majority of deaths by trains are not by train crashes but by trespassing. And the majority of trespassers who die are pedestrians, often people who are hit by the train while walking or standing on the tracks. Or cars at level crossings. Incredible as it may seem, 25% of all fatalities in level-crossing accidents are actually the car running into the train and not the other way around.

A significant part of deaths at railroads is suicide.

For those who ride the train, sitting inside, it is one the safest way to travel. 0,6 deaths/bn kilometers becomes 0,1 if you count only the passengers. Some smaller countries don’t even have statistics for train deaths as no passengers die. 

Car >6 deaths per billion kilometers.

Since practically only European and North American countries keep statistics over deaths per distance in road traffic, this figure is probably much higher.

Car is a dangerous means of travel, surpassed only by motorcycle. About 1,35 million people die every year in road accidents worldwide, and the vast majority of them involve a car. And some 25 to 50 million people suffer non-fatal injuries. As with the train, an additional danger with cars is that they run into things and people.

The safety inside the car is one thing, but since the car is the preferable transportation in most cities, they kill pedestrians, and other drivers as well.

• Western countries with modern, well-maintained roads are much safer than third-world countries.
• Safety is increasing as cars are getting a higher level of passive safety, like airbags, seat belts, automatic brake systems, etc.
• The percentage of fatal incidents where pedestrians are killed by a car is generally increasing. The passive safety helps decrease fatality for passengers but not for people outside the car. 
• Lower speed limits and more frequent controls help reduce incidents.
• The safest roads are motorways (freeways), while urban and rural roads are less safe.
• A vast majority of the collisions with pedestrians with a fatal outcome, happen in dark.
• 20-30% of all fatal incidents are caused by excessive speed. 

Motorcycle  ~ 125 deaths per billion kilometers.

All that has been said about cars is valid for motorcycles too. The difference is that the motorcycle doesn’t have any passive safety, no airbags, or seat-belts.

Furthermore, a motorcycle is a typical vehicle for young people, and young people are more dangerous in traffic. Drivers between 18 and 24 have a double probability to die in a traffic incident compared to others. 

Buses – 0,4 deaths per billion kilometers

Buses are generally very safe. But even here it can be tricky comparing the figures. Buses in Germany are safer than buses in India, mainly because the traffic in Germany is generally safer. Buses in urban areas crash more, but with fewer fatalities. 

One interesting fact is that large buses represent a very small part of the incidents with deadly outcomes. It is much safer to go with a greyhound coach than with a chartered 9-seater. 

Airplane – 0,05 deaths per billion kilometers.

Although many are afraid of flying, it is the safest way to travel you can think of. Even though it might seem strange and dangerous to sway up there, over the clouds in a thin metal-tube, it’s actually not. 

As trains have their rails to go on, airplanes are practically flying where there is nothing to bump into. It’s like driving on a freeway without traffic and where the road has no sides. 

You might be afraid that it could stop working and just fall down… Well, that happens but it is very rare. And an airplane can continue even if a motor goes out, or two… Even if all of the engines die, the airplane can still glide down and land if there is something to land on within reach.

Small airplanes are more dangerous than big ones. Not because size matters, but because the big airliners are maintained and run by professionals from the big aviation companies, and they follow a long set of security regulations. 

Boat – 2,6 deaths per billion kilometers.

But the boat is a very different means of transport compared to the others. You usually don’t take the boat to the office or take the boat to get out of town for the weekend, unless you live in Venice, Italy. So, where do the statistic come from?

Big passenger ships, cruise ships, local ferries, and long-distance ferries. These boats are very safe. Then there are the private small boats… The fishing boats, and the leisure boats. These are not very safe. And mostly because we are not safe. The vast majority of fatal incidents with small boats are due to human errors. 20% of the deaths involve alcohol. 

Walking and Cycling – about 50 deaths per billion kilometers.

Walking doesn’t kill you. But walking in the city or on the side of the country road makes you a target for cars, buses, and motorcycles. In fact, all pedestrian deaths come from being hit by others.

Unfortunately, we do not see the same decrease in mortality here as with the other transportation methods. Walking and cycling seem to become more dangerous as time passes. 

The very high death toll is not the whole truth though. Walking is slow, and it will take a great deal of time to reach one billion kilometers, walking. Deaths per hour would be a better measurement. 

Conclusion – Flying is the safest way to travel.

Yep, flying is the safest way to travel. Followed by trains and busses. 

Why is it so? 

The answer is divided into three parts:

1. Airplanes, just like trains, don’t normally run into other objects. The sky is relatively free from obstacles, as are the rails. 
2. Big things protect you more. A big bus is very much safer than a small car. The physical equation tells us that the kinetic energy of the big body is bigger than that of a small body. If a bus runs into a car, the car will immediately move in the direction of the bus, while the movement and direction of the bus will change very little. The passengers in the car will suffer more damage. 
3. Professional drivers and pilots driving vehicles that are maintained by professional mechanics and controlled by all kinds of regulations by the authorities are safer. That’s just the way it is. A small private plane is much more dangerous than a big airliner. A big cross-country highway bus is much safer than a small charted van. Even taxis, although taxi drivers are thought of by many as reckless, have a lower rate of incidents than private cars. Only calculating traffic incidents, not the possible danger of being assaulted by the taxi driver. 

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sources

• Eurostat / Rail accident fatalities in the EU
• Wikipedia / Transportation safety in the US
• International transport forum / Road safety Annual report 2018
• Journalist’s Resource / Transportation safety over time
• Financial Revue / Are smaller planes more dangerous than larger planes?
• The New York Times / That taxi ride is safer than you think
• WHO / Road traffic injuries
• NSC / Injury Facts 2017 Report