Road deaths 400 times greater than those from terrorism
Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
The death toll from road crashes is nearly 400 times more than that from terrorist attacks. Between 1994 and 2003, there were 3094 deaths from terrorist attacks in the 29 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This includes the death toll from 9/11. Of course, these figures are shocking - but did you know that far more people die from road accidents? That's the conclusion of the OECD study.
The annual death rate from road crashes is about 390 times higher than that from terrorism. In the U.S. the rate is 142 times higher, in Poland 55,000 times higher. Indeed, deaths on the road are the equivalent of a 9/11 every nine days, for all the countries put together. What is more, the number of Americans who avoided flying post 9/11 and then went on to die on the road is actually bigger than those dying in the terror attacks. We, quite rightly, put enormous resources into trying to guard the population from terrorists. Maybe a little more should be done to increase road safety.
Source
Injury Prevention November 2005 Volume 11 pages 332-333
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