The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board thinks that people should be outraged by the impact of car accidents on our society, but they’re not. He doesn’t know why, and he thinks it may have to do with how little people really grasp the number of deaths in motor vehicle accidents every year.
For instance, most people agree that World War I and World War II were catastrophic events that took a large number of lives. The impact of those lost lives can still be felt today. So can the impact of the wars on modern society.
However, between January of 2000 and July of 2019, more Americans passed away in vehicle accidents than the total number who died in both wars combined. It’s a staggering fact, one that really brings home just how many lives are lost on the road every year or even every day. In less than two decades, we repeated the death toll from years of the most devastating wars ever fought in human history. Those wars are still talked about today and continue to show up in movies, books and other parts of culture. But almost no one talks about car accidents in the same way.
Plus, many car accident deaths are meaningless and easily avoidable. They happen because people choose to text and drive or drink and drive. They happen due to human error and mistakes behind the wheel. These are deaths that do not have to happen at all, but the numbers continue to grind their way upward, year by year. In the time since the end of WWII, we have lost vastly more people in accidents than in the war.
If you have lost a loved one or suffered serious injuries in a car wreck, you may have a right to seek compensation. It’s often possible to claim lost wages, medical bills, funeral expenses and more. An experienced advocate can help you pursue a claim.