17,000 People Die Each Year From Accidents

A shock statistic is that over 17,000 people die each year from accidents in the UK. This does seem a particularly high figure.

An article from the guardian reads:

"The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were 484,367 deaths registered in England and Wales in 2011, a fall of 1.8% compared with 2010. The age-standardised mortality rates (which takes account of aging population) in 2011 were the lowest ever recorded for England and Wales, at 6,236 deaths per million population for males and 4,458 deaths per million population for female.

Cancer death rates have fallen by 14% for men and 10% for women in the previous decade.

And between 2001 and 2011, the death rates for circulatory diseases fell by 44% to 1,803 deaths per million population for males and 1,110 deaths per million population for females.

We may worry about murders or swine flu, but the big killers of heart disease and cancer are much more significant in terms of public health. What is also striking is how constant many of these numbers of deaths are - why do around 17,000 people die each year in accidents, for instance? Why do around 200 people accidentally drown every year? "

It does show that all of us need to be wary and take care of ourselves, life is a fragile thing that we do not want to be taken away from us just yet.