The National Safety Council put out the odds of dying from injury based on 2003 data. I recently reviewed this very interesting data and thought it was time to break some myths. The media typically makes a big deal about shark attacks, alligator attacks, death by guns in the home, air crashes, etc. These are the big ticket items to get attention and ratings.
What is the reality?
Here are the top causes of death and the odds of dying from them:
Cause Odds of Death
Heart Disease 1:3.6
Cancer 1:4.5
Stroke 1:15
Lung disease 1:20
Accidents 1:22
For example 1 out of 15 people will die from a stroke. But more specifically let's look at some stats based on the lifetime risks of dying from various types of accidents. Let's start with Transportation related risks:
Pedestrian 1:626
Bicycle 1:4919
Motorcycle 1:1020
Car occupant 1:237
Pick-up or van occupant 1:900
Heavy transport vehicle 1:8480
Bus 1:104,113
Train 1:156,169
Streetcar 1:1,874,34
Well this all seems to make sense, the larger and heavier the vehicle the less likely you are to die. The exceptions being a street car which I always thought of being more like a heavy bus which is extraordinarily unlikely to result in death, and being a pedestrian being safer than being an occupant of a car. I guess it all depends where you walk. But you say wait EMDoc, everyone says air travel is pretty safe, and it is, with odds of 1:5051. Not however better than a bus, train or streetcar. Why Greyhound and Amtrak are not capitalizing on this I have no idea.
There is often discussion about how dangerous it is to have firearms in the home. Opponents of the right to bear arms would say that they might accidentally misfire and kill someone.
Unintentional Firearm Discharge 1:5134
Assault By Firearm 1:314
I think this justifies my having a firearm to protect my family who has a much greater chance of killing me than I do accidentally killing myself or one of my family members.
Most towns require fences around your pool that are a minimum of 4 feet tall, anyone could hop over them, it is a joke. What's the real risk of drowning:
Bathtub 1:11,289
Swimming Pool 1:7278
Natural Body Water 1:3060
Last time I looked 4 foot fences were not required around the oceans, lakes and streams, but you have more than double the chance of drowning there. And if you did not notice you are safer in a bus, train or streetcar than in your own bathtub!
And to those of you who continue to believe that using illegal drugs like heroin and other psychedelics is okay, your odds of dying is 1:406, making it nearly as risky as walking down the street. Sadly, death from complications of medical and surgical care is 1 out of 1313. A number that in my mind I should always be trying to improve during my clinical practice. Going to your doctor should never be more dangerous than riding in a bus in my mind.
There is so much more interesting information at the National Safety Council site so go check it out....in the meantime I've got to run off to a shift, I think I'll catch the streetcar.