The news is an ubiquitous part of modern life. Particularly, the popularity of blogs has had a huge impact on how people get their news and how news reaches its audience.
Years ago, blogs were used only by a very specific group of people. Today, however, anyone and everyone can have a blog. Relatively-scholarly magazines, including The Atlantic and Scientific American, now host popular blogs which update regularly. Almost every media organization and newspaper has a professional blog, as organizations must now scramble to stay relevant in a world where anyone with a computer can function as a journalist. Subsequently, we are constantly bombarded by news and information.
In a competitive environment where everyone is always trying to tell the story first, it is easy to see why “disaster stories” make for an easy sell. It seems like people are often attracted to bad news, and accidents are not terribly difficult to report on. Automobile accidents are all over the news—which can make heading out onto the roads and driving seem very risky.
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How media perceptions and actual facts differ
While it is always important to exercise caution and to be alert on the roads, the actual facts about auto accidents help downplay this “risky” mindset. Accidents will always happen, but it is actually drastically safer to get behind the wheel now than it was thirty years ago. And, as an added bonus, contrary to all the violence we see on TV, we actually live in the least violent period in history.
The 2012 United States Census included data on Motor Vehicle Accidents and Deaths. These reports showed the number of auto accidents and the number auto accident-related of deaths from the year 1990 to 2009. As a general trend, these numbers have been on the decline in recent years. The National Summary of Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents also shows us this data in a more condensed way.
Even though America as a whole seems to be moving in the right direction as far as total accident numbers are concerned, there is still a lot of progress to be made. According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, over 37,000 people die in road crashes each year in the United States alone. In addition to these deaths, 2.35 million Americans a year are injured or disabled as a result of automobile accidents.
Being involved in an automobile accident can be scary and confusing. If you or a loved one have been injured in an automobile accident as the result of someone else’s negligence, we encourage you to contact us at (801) 506-0800. At Good Guys Injury Law, we will do our part to help you receive a fair settlement and relief from your injuries.
Photo “Car crash, Karrinyup Road Stirling” copyright to perthhdproductions