In Germany in comparison the chances to die in any traffic accident (car or no car) is 1 in 351. So year. Pretty much safer.
TIL There’s a category in the German death statistics named “Resulting from the insertion of a foreign object into a natural body opening.” And I’m only mildly disturbed. That killed 775 People in 2023 btw.
I’d take slight issue with this.
Having untreated depression and working at heights are also dangerous but driving is by no means safe. As @brotundspiele pointed out driving is safer in most other developed countries than it is in the USA. Simple behaviour and policy changes can make it substantially safer and the fact that drivers don’t take the danger of driving seriously is a huge factor making it more dangerous.
Since you brought it up, let’s dive into the numbers as presented[1]. The top all-cause is heat disease. A disease that’s preventable by moderate exercise (e.g. walking, biking, playing baseball, anything really) and avoiding common legal drugs (tobacco and alcohol being most implicated, but also most available).
Next up, cancer. Also a general class of disease that has many causes, but has also been shown that moderate exercise reduces cancer risk.
COVID and respiratory disease? Preventive measures like vaccines and, again, moderate exercise also reduce this risk. Oh, and cars are a factor in this category (long-term inhaling tailpipe emissions will make your lungs unhealthy).
Opioid overdose (1:55)? Suicide (1:87)? That’s somewhat self explanatory to fix, but good medical care and moderate exercise again helps.
Guns? That’s all cases of guns. Homicide (1:219) and suicide (1:159) by guns must be rolled up to get to the 1:89 figure. Homicide is a big issue to untangle, like suicide. That said, homicide has been linked to car infrastructure depressing local economies and as a tool in segregating black communities into unfit areas away from economically viable white ones.
Then we’re finally down to falls (1:92) and cars (1:93).
What can we take away from this? If you’re trying to reduce risk, go for a walk or ride a bike regularly. It’ll help you avoid heart disease, improve odds against respiratory diseases, and is a good tool for upping your mental health game. No need to trust me. I’m a dog with a keyboard. Talk to your doctor about it. You may be surprised how effective reducing drinking, stopping smoking, and going out for a walk every day can do.
Whoops, my bad. Pedestrian “incidents” (ran over by car) is the next cause (1:468). Cycling isn’t too far behind (1:3,162). Maybe we should continue to drive overhead bad parts of town, inhale our neighbor’s car fumes, and enjoy our near-guaranteed death by heart attack and choking.
[1] In the OP’s data source. It’s a good source, but it is US biased and biased in NHTSA’s reporting (e.g. person in hospital from a car, but died >30 days later? That’s natural causes.).
Which is still lower than the chance that you’ll commit suicide. Or just simply die from a fall…or just from catching COVID.
So yeah. Pretty safe.
In Germany in comparison the chances to die in any traffic accident (car or no car) is 1 in 351. So year. Pretty much safer.
TIL There’s a category in the German death statistics named “Resulting from the insertion of a foreign object into a natural body opening.” And I’m only mildly disturbed. That killed 775 People in 2023 btw.
Does the insertion category include choking, or just…other things…?
It’s further divided into
so it’s the whole package.
Huh. German efficiency…love it!
I’d take slight issue with this. Having untreated depression and working at heights are also dangerous but driving is by no means safe. As @brotundspiele pointed out driving is safer in most other developed countries than it is in the USA. Simple behaviour and policy changes can make it substantially safer and the fact that drivers don’t take the danger of driving seriously is a huge factor making it more dangerous.
Since you brought it up, let’s dive into the numbers as presented[1]. The top all-cause is heat disease. A disease that’s preventable by moderate exercise (e.g. walking, biking, playing baseball, anything really) and avoiding common legal drugs (tobacco and alcohol being most implicated, but also most available).
Next up, cancer. Also a general class of disease that has many causes, but has also been shown that moderate exercise reduces cancer risk.
COVID and respiratory disease? Preventive measures like vaccines and, again, moderate exercise also reduce this risk. Oh, and cars are a factor in this category (long-term inhaling tailpipe emissions will make your lungs unhealthy).
Opioid overdose (1:55)? Suicide (1:87)? That’s somewhat self explanatory to fix, but good medical care and moderate exercise again helps.
Guns? That’s all cases of guns. Homicide (1:219) and suicide (1:159) by guns must be rolled up to get to the 1:89 figure. Homicide is a big issue to untangle, like suicide. That said, homicide has been linked to car infrastructure depressing local economies and as a tool in segregating black communities into unfit areas away from economically viable white ones.
Then we’re finally down to falls (1:92) and cars (1:93).
What can we take away from this? If you’re trying to reduce risk, go for a walk or ride a bike regularly. It’ll help you avoid heart disease, improve odds against respiratory diseases, and is a good tool for upping your mental health game. No need to trust me. I’m a dog with a keyboard. Talk to your doctor about it. You may be surprised how effective reducing drinking, stopping smoking, and going out for a walk every day can do.
Whoops, my bad. Pedestrian “incidents” (ran over by car) is the next cause (1:468). Cycling isn’t too far behind (1:3,162). Maybe we should continue to drive overhead bad parts of town, inhale our neighbor’s car fumes, and enjoy our near-guaranteed death by heart attack and choking.
[1] In the OP’s data source. It’s a good source, but it is US biased and biased in NHTSA’s reporting (e.g. person in hospital from a car, but died >30 days later? That’s natural causes.).