Posted on 01/28/2023 8:17:27 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Fatal accidents account for a significant number of deaths in the U.S. every year. For example, nearly 43,000 Americans died in traffic accidents in 2021.
However, as Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu explains below, without the right context, it can be difficult to properly interpret these figures.
To help you understand your chances, we’ve compiled data from the National Safety Council, and visualized the lifetime odds of dying from various accidents.
The lifetime odds presented in this graphic were estimated by dividing the one-year odds of dying by the life expectancy of a person born in 2020 (77 years).
Additionally, these numbers are based on data from the U.S., and likely differ in other countries.
For comparison’s sake, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,000,000. In other words, you are 4000x more likely to die by a lightning strike over your lifetime than to win the Powerball lottery.
Continue reading below for further context on some of these accidents.
Motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of accidental deaths in the U.S., with a 1 in 101 chance of dying. This is quite a common way of dying, especially when compared to something like bee stings (1 in 57,825).
Unfortunately, a major cause of vehicle deaths is impaired driving. The CDC reports that 32 Americans are killed every day in crashes involving alcohol, which equates to one death every 45 minutes.
For further context, consider this: 30% of all traffic-related deaths in 2020 involved alcohol-impaired drivers.
The odds of drowning in a swimming pool (1 in 5,782) are significantly higher than those of drowning in general (1 in 10,386). According to the CDC, there are 4,000 fatal drownings every year, which works out to 11 deaths per day.
Drowning also happens to be a leading cause of death for children. It is the leading cause for kids aged 1-4, and second highest cause for kids aged 5-14.
A rather surprising fact about drowning is that 80% of fatalities are male. This has been attributed to higher rates of alcohol use and risk-taking behaviors.
Lastly, let’s look at accidental firearm deaths, which have lifetime odds of 1 in 7,998. That’s higher than the odds of drowning (general), as well as dying in an airplane accident.
This shouldn’t come as a major surprise, since the U.S. has the highest rates of gun ownership in the world. More importantly, these odds highlight the importance of properly securing one’s firearms, as well as learning safe handling practices.
As a percentage of total gun-related deaths (45,222 in 2020), accidental shootings represent a tiny 1%. The two leading causes are suicide (54%) and homicide (43%).
Interested in learning more about death? Revisit one of our most popular posts of all time: Visualizing the History of Pandemics.
what are the odds of dying from old age vs ‘dying suddenly’?
No, they're comparing a lightning strike over a lifetime with a one-time Powerball jackpot. Instead, assume 50 Powerball tickets a year over 50 years. Then the odds are comparable.
No, they're comparing a lightning strike over a lifetime with a one-time Powerball jackpot. Instead, assume 50 Powerball tickets a year over 50 years. Then the odds are comparable.
No, incorrect reasoning and math. Even if you had 50 x 50 tickets for a single drawing, your odds would only go from 1 in 292 million to 1 in 116,800. The odds per the chart for death by lightning strike is 1 in 138,849. Sure, that's roughly the same odds, 1 in 116.8 K vs. 1 in 138.8 K, but that's for a single drawing of 2500 tickets ($5000, by the way) vs. a LIFETIME of lightning exposure. AND, the odds of each individual lottery drawing are INDEPENDENT of past and future drawings, so 50 tickets a year (2 tickets a week for most of the year, for a lottery that draws 3x a week every week) over 50 years is still 1 in 292,000,000 for EACH drawing. Even if you had a single ticket for 292,000,000 drawings in a row, your odds each time are still 1 in 292,000,000.
“No, they’re comparing a lightning strike over a lifetime with a one-time Powerball jackpot. “
The jackpot is not in the list of lifetime odds. It is merely referenced for comparison.
thanks alot- now my brain hurts-
I did not see the new drugs stat.
91,799 from Fentanyl. 2021
Are you adopting the “lightning never strikes twice in one place” when drawing the odds down to 116,800?
What are the odds of getting the same numbers over 2500 tickets?
The idea of “lifetime odds” when it concerns mortality isn’t that straightforward. Consider crib death.
I do do see odds of being murdered by a “person of color”. Curious where that would fall in that picture.
Nobody dies of old age.....something kills them.
One problem...
Based on the data, your life time risk of an accidental death is a tiny fraction above one per cent.
That sounds absurdly low to me.
From memory, accidental death in the USA is always in the Top Ten causes of death.
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