Accidental DeathAccording to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in 2005 the states with the highest number of MVA were Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, and Wyoming. Driving under the influence of alcohol is reported to be the single most important factor in death by MVA. The second most important factor in death by MVA is driver fatigue. Statistically, 55% of MVAs involving fatalities had some type of traffic violation There are eight main causes of accidental death in the USA including motor vehicle accidents (MVA), falls, ingestion of poisons, drowning, fire, medical or surgical malpractice, land transportation accidents, and firearms. In Canada the leading cause of death is cardiac disease followed by cancer, stroke, chronic respiratory disease and then Alzheimer's disease. In the United Kingdom the leading cause of death related to MVA is hemorrhage followed by cerebral injury, a combination injury, spinal injury, crush or asphyxia and then the chest injury. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in 2005 the states with the highest number of MVA were Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, and Wyoming. Driving under the influence of alcohol is reported to be the single most important factor in death by MVA. The second most important factor in death by MVA is driver fatigue. Statistically, 55% of MVAs involving fatalities had some type of traffic violation associated with the accident. The most common traffic violations associated with fatal MVAs are in order of highest occurrence to least: driving at an unsafe speed, the failure to yield the right of way to another driver, crossing the center line, failure to stop at a stop sign, improperly overtaking a vehicle, disregarding a traffic signal, following a vehicle too closely, and then miscellaneous violations. Other revealing statistics are that 50% of all fatal MVAs occur at night, 50% of all fatal MVAs involve a driver that can legally be cited for intoxication, 62% of fatal MVAs happen in rural areas, and lastly 65% of fatal MVA involving a pedestrian occur in urban areas. Makes you think twice about where you want to live do it?
Many of us have a fear of flying especially after the events of September 11th, but the truth is that there is 4 times the likelihood of dying in an automobile accident per mile traveled than in an airplane. When there is a fatal airplane accident usually it occurs during takeoff or during the landing; with takeoffs being riskier. You are 25 times more likely to die in a car than you are in a bus when comparing by passenger mile; providing of course that you actually ride the bus. Motorcycles are 35 times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than cars. Most boating fatalities are caused by drowning and 80% of boat drowning victims was not wearing their life jackets. When the accident was not vehicular related; 44% of them occurred in the home. Of accidents that occur in the home falls are the most frequent followed by poisonings, fire, and suffocation by obstructed airway (choking), suffocation (smothering), firearms, and then poisonous gas is the least occurring home accident of the more commonly occurring home accidents.
Working can be fatal as workplace fatalities show. 42% of all workplace fatalities are vehicular related, 20% involve some kind of violence, 15% are caused by machinery or falling objects, and 10% are associated with environmental contamination, with 10% also being attributed to falls and only 3% of workplace fatalities being caused by fires or explosions. Seems then that most things in life have a risk for being a fatal activity for you including riding in a car, being a passenger in a plane or boat, or spending time in your home. Accidents do not seem to be quite so uncommon anymore. |
The Medical Discovery Of The Century