Lifeboats on the Titanic
The ship carried too little lifeboat capacity for everyone aboard, under outdated regulations.
The Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in April 1912, killing more than 1,500 people. It carried lifeboats for roughly 1,178 people, far fewer than the number aboard, in part because maritime regulations were based on ship tonnage rather than passenger capacity.
The shortage of boats was compounded by evacuation confusion, uneven loading, distance from rescue, and the ship's rapid sinking. The tragedy prompted changes in maritime safety rules and monitoring, but no single design choice explains every death.
More lifeboats and better drills could have increased survival, though launching capacity and evacuation timing would still matter. The claim that aesthetics alone caused the shortage oversimplifies regulation, industry practice, and assumptions shared across the period.
Safety margins are easiest to dismiss when disaster seems impossible. The case asks how institutions can ensure that preparedness keeps pace with the scale of the risks they claim to manage.
The tragedy prompted changes in maritime safety rules and monitoring, but no single design choice explains every death.
Where am I relying on an assumption of safety instead of checking whether the system can protect everyone who depends on it?