The regulations have evolved over the years to address accident prevention, and most pilots prefer to use regulations as a minimum guideline to exceed in their own flight operations. Perfect safety is unknown in transportation and probably in most of life's endeavors. Our expectations have been based largely on the airline safety record. By almost any measure, commercial air travel is probably the safest mode of transportation. This is because of the tremendous emphasis that is placed on the reliability of aircraft, air crews, and the air traffic control system in which they operate.
General aviation uses many of the same procedures as the airlines to achieve a good safety record.
It is not quite as good as the airlines' record for some of the same reasons that pleasure boating is not as safe as traveling on an ocean liner. The aircraft are different, the pilots are different, and the objectives are different. But just as the diligent and cautious boater can operate safely while recognizing the limitations of his or her craft, so too can general aviation pilots. Pilots who develop and maintain their skills can fly with exceptional safety and derive maximum pleasure from this exciting activity. Pilots learning to fly are placed in a system that provides checks and balances to ensure that they aren't exposed to dangerous situations before they have been given the necessary knowledge to cope.