There has not been a fatal airline crash from a flight leaving the United States in years, thanks in part to the regulation of the FAA. However, each day there are around 30,000 flights in the US. On each and every one, the FAA requires flight attendants to read over a long and lengthy list of safety precautions, including how to buckle a seatbelt, how to affix an oxygen mask, how to locate an exit, and so on. During these messages, often delivered in a loud, unintelligible garble, and with an utter lack of enthusiasm, Americans lose more than 14,000 days of work per year.
Surely there is a solution. The FAA requires those seated in Exit Rows to verbally confirm they've read safety information. Perhaps we could ask the same of first-time fliers, and let everyone else have a better flight.