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According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million lives are lost every year in road traffic accidents. That is an incredible number. 1.2 millio
by donaldc 16y ago
According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million lives are lost every year in road traffic accidents.
That is an incredible number. 1.2 million out of 7 billion. If the average person lives to age 70, that means that on average, one has a 1.2% chance of dying from a traffic accident.
- bh23ha 16y agoHaving been in 3 major car accidents, one for each decade I've been alive, where I was at the wheel only once and alcohol was not involved in any of them... I have to say I do not find these numbers at all surprising. I would have guessed higher.
- gcheong 16y agoAnother way to look at it is you've been in 3 major accidents and survived all of them, so it may be that the chances of having a fatal accident may be lower than you thought?
- tel 16y agoUnlikely. You're probably under the belief that That Can't Really Happen To You, just like almost everyone. At least experiencing the high risk of it a few times probably will help you to consider seriously the height of the risk. That said, being human you might overcompensate.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- code_duck 16y agoI'm not a statistician, but something about that doesn't sound right to me.
- Estragon 16y ago>>> p = 1.2e6/7e9 # Probability of dying in any one year >>> scipy.exp(log(1-p)*70) # Probability of NOT dying 70 years in a row 0.98807069644395429 >>> 1-_ 0.011929303556045712 There might be some roundoff error in the exponentiation. I am too lazy to check.
- retube 16y agoI thought it sounded high too, but it's correct.
- jbrennan 16y agoAnd that doesn't count the incredible number of serious-but-not-fatal accidents which surely cause much injury.
- lutorm 16y agoNot to mention most of those 7 billion likely don't drive, which effectively increases your risk if you DO drive.
- protomyth 16y agoDoes that number count bus accidents?