Which is responsible for more American deaths last year?
(a) The terrorist who want to kill every one of us
(b) Motor vehicles
If you only watch national TV news, you’ll undoubtedly be surprised to learn that it’s (b):
The number of people killed on U.S. roadways in 2005 climbed to the highest level in 15 years, an increase tied to rising deaths among motorcyclists and pedestrians, the federal government reported yesterday.
A total of 43,443 people died in traffic accidents last year, up 1.4 percent from the previous year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The agency said the motorcycle death toll rose for the eighth consecutive year.
Full report here (.pdf file).
Let me get this straight: since 2000, we’ve had what, 5,000 Americans killed from terrorism? And in the last year alone, over 43,000 were killed out on the roads.
But if you were a Martian whose only contact with Earth was in watching MSNBCNNFox, which of the two would you think was more dangerous to human life? Terrorism, of course. It’s terror all the time. Terra, terra, terra. If there’s not an alleged terrorism plot for the news networks to cover, they’re talking about potential future plots. “Are we safe?”
I’m not suggesting that terrorism isn’t something to be concerned about (especially if you’re a public policymaker). But how about some perspective on things? You know, a “fair and balanced” look at risk. Statistics suggest that 1 in 84 people will die in a motor-vehicle accident. Perhaps if the media devoted more air time to this threat, people would be more conscientious of road safety.
There’s another element to this. Not only are people far more likely to have their safety threated by a vehicle than by a terrorist, but the former is something you may actually be able to control. If a bomb goes off nearby, there might not be much you can do about it. You might simply be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But you can minimize the threat of auto accidents by taking precautions (e.g., seat belts) and driving safely (don’t drink or speed).
So ultimately, which of the two threats is it more useful to fret about?