According to new report, an all time high number of Americans are dying by accident caused by fatal overdoses and falls. However, death caused by car crashes decreased. Use of opioids is one of the main drivers in overdoses. These drugs killed 13,486 people in 2014.
The National Safety Council found out that more than 136,000 people died accidentally in 2014, a 4.2 percent surge over the year, and the figure is up 15.5 percent in the last decade. In 2014, 42,000 people died from overdose or accidental poisoning.
Improved vehicle safety has been seen as a reason to cut down automotive deaths, as well as changes in drivers license requirements for teenagers.
"Far fewer teenagers and young adults are dying on the roads than they were in 1981," National Safety Council director Ken Kolosh said.
But he says driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding and not fastening seat belts problems continues as leading to around 10,000 crash fatalities annually.
Distracted driving caused by cell phones and other portable electronic devices, is increasingly issue, too, but Kolosh says there is not a lot of good data on how it leads to accidents.
"Distraction related crashes are very under-reported," says Kolosch. "It's very difficult for police officers at the time of a crash investigation to get accurate information about the level of distraction at the time of the crash."
Kolosh points out that statistics do not necessarily mean that Americans are accident-prone, but rather that individuals and society can tackle issue to prevent these accidents.
"Every individual has the opportunity to make choices to keep themselves safe," he said. "It's all preventable. Every accident is preventable, but it's not necessarily the [fault] of the victim."
