Why did people not want to get into life boats in the Titanic?

Titanic was equipped with only 20 lifeboats. She had 14 regular lifeboats with a capacity of 65 people each, 2 emergency lifeboats (Boats 1 and 2, which were stowed in the swung-out position) with a capacity of 40 each, and 4 Englehardt collapsible lifeboats with a capacity of 47 each. The collapsibles had wooden hulls, but with canvas sides that could be cranked up when needed. Collapsibles C and D were stowed inboard of Boats 1 and 2 at the very forward part of the Boat Deck and Collapsibles A and B were stowed upside down on the roof of the Officers' Quarters on either side of #1 funnel.

There were 2228 passengers on the Titanic. Probably life boats were not made because people believed the ship was unsinkable and also because they wanted to make as much money as possible, so whoever could pay was cramped into the steerage.

Answer

There were 2,227 people on board, but the total capacity of the 16 lifeboats and 4 collapsible boats was 1,178 people, which was only sufficient for 52% of the passengers.

There was a lack of lifeboats because of:

• Outdated maritime safety regulations : British Board of Trade laws stated that ships weighing more than 10,000 tons must carry at least 16 lifeboats with a capacity of 5,500 cubic feet - These regulations were based on the world's then-largest ship in 1890s.

• The total lifeboats of a ship were determined by the volume of the ship, i.e. the ship's GRT (Gross Registered Tons) and not by the total number of passengers and crew the ship could carry.

• the White Star Line's wish to leave the decks unobstructed so that the passengers could have better views,

• the White Star Line's wish to give the ship more aesthetics from an exterior view (for another example, the Titanic had 4 funnels, but the fourth funnel was a dummy which was added because "it made the ship look better.")

• the belief that in an emergency, Titanic's design would enable her to stay afloat long enough for her passengers and crew to be transferred safely to a rescue vessel.

• Never anticipating that everyone would have to be evacuated rapidly at the same time.