Why we worry about the wrong things


In Time magazine's 4-Dec issue, Jeffery Kluger wrote an article titled" Why We Worry About The Things We Shouldn't...... His article gives some really clear background for why this happens in human thinking, and how dangerous this can be. In the hardcopy version of the article, a pyramid diagram is used to show the relative number of deaths from various sources.... Out of a total of 2.5 million deaths annually in the US, accidental deaths account for 109,277, or about 4.4%.... This doesn't sound like much,but when you look at just the accidental deaths, MVA's account for about 41% of all accidental deaths in the USA. The next closest cause is drug overdoses at 11,212, or 10.3% and Motorcycle accidents at 3,676 or 3.4%.

Unfortunately, Mr. Kluger's article didn't breakout industrial or occupational death rates, but it should be clear that driving is one of the most dangerous things we do. If you feel the need for a personal refresher, take a ride on the 401 through Toronto at almost any time of day.

In the second show, I discussed some of my reasons for doing risk assessments on products. One of the key reasons to do this work is the complacency that creeps into our thinking over time. In Time magazine's 4-Dec issue, Jeffery Kluger wrote an article titled" Why We Worry About The Things We Shouldn't... ...And Ignore The Things We Should ". His article gives some really clear background for why this happens in human thinking, and how dangerous this can be. In the hardcopy version of the article, a pyramid diagram is used to show the relative number of deaths from various sources. Interestingly, one of the largest components of that diagram is deaths due to auto accidents. Out of a total of 2.5 million deaths annually in the US, accidental deaths account for 109,277, or about 4.4%. Motor Vehicle Accidents account for 44,757 of those deaths, or about 1.8% overall. This doesn't sound like much,but when you look at just the accidental deaths, MVA's account for about 41% of all accidental deaths in the USA. The next closest cause is drug overdoses at 11,212, or 10.3% and Motorcycle accidents at 3,676 or 3.4%.

Unfortunately, Mr. Kluger's article didn't breakout industrial or occupational death rates, but it should be clear that driving is one of the most dangerous things we do. If you feel the need for a personal refresher, take a ride on the 401 through Toronto at almost any time of day.

The article makes for interesting reading. I'd recommend it to anyone who is in the safety business.

Posted: Thu - December 21, 2006 at 09:41 AM          

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