Americas Accident Capitals

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<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<st1:place w:st="on">Americas</st1:place></st1:country-region> Accident Capitals

Disease is no longer the leading cause of death for Americans under 44 years old.

Thanks to the enormous strides made by modern medicine, disease is no longer the leading cause of death for Americans under 44 years old. Accidents are. And they're becoming increasingly toxic.

In the past five years, more people have died in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> from accidental poisoning than any other form of unintentional death except for motor vehicle accidents. And the gap between those two categories narrows more and more every year.

In <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Massachusetts</st1:place></st1:State>, poisoning replaced motor vehicle accidents as the number-one cause of unintentional death in 2005. Ditto for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></st1:place>

In the past 15 years, accidental poisoning death rates among people between the ages of 20 and 64 climbed by more than 110 percent. In fact, poisoning now kills more Americans between the ages of 35 and 60 than motor vehicle accidents. While the scourge of poisoning deaths has attracted little attention from politicians and public health officials, it's no secret what's causing them—prescription drugs.

Prescription drug sales per capita strongly correlate to the unintentional poisoning death rate, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In particular, sales of opioid analgesics like oxycodone and hydrocodone in any state bear a statistically significant correlation with drug-poisoning mortality rates. In other words, pain killers frequently kill more than pain.

"The combined evidence seems to indicate that the increase in poisoning mortality is primarily among adults (ages 20 to 64) of both sexes, and is mainly attributable to abuse of opioid analgesics," says the CDC report.

While the poisoning epidemic is certainly alarming, most accidental deaths seem far more prosaic in comparison. Falls, suffocation, drowning and so forth are all on the list of the leading causes of accidental death.

Forbes.com and the National Safety Council, a non-profit organization based in <st1:City w:st="on">Itasca</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ill.</st1:State>, ranked <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> cities according to per-capita rates of accidental death for the 10 leading causes of unintentional death in 2004, the most recent data available.

While the data for accidental injury fatalities does not change substantially from year to year, poisoning deaths have increased so rapidly in recent years that Forbes.com used the more limited data available for 2006 rather than rely on the potentially dated information from 2004.

"Generally, the data does not change that much from year to year," said Alan Hoskin, a researcher at the National Safety Council, "especially for large areas like the total <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> and entire states. For smaller areas, like MSAs [metropolitan statistical areas] and CMSAs [consolidated metropolitan statistical areas], changes can be more pronounced, because you are dealing with smaller numbers."

In the end, we found the numbers were so small it made it impossible—with the exception of poisoning—to draw any true conclusions. But the curious case of factoids we ended up with were interesting nonetheless.

Take all the deaths in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Florida</st1:State></st1:place>, for instance. Maybe it's all the retirees, or the spring breakers. Whatever the reason, the sunshine state is tops when it comes to accidental death. Watch your step in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">West Palm Beach</st1:place></st1:City>—falls are frequently permanent. <st1:State w:st="on">Florida</st1:State> leads the nation in the total number of accidental deaths caused by falling, and <st1:City w:st="on">West Palm Beach</st1:City> leads <st1:State w:st="on">Florida</st1:State>, edging out two other state locales, <st1:City w:st="on">Fort Lauderdale</st1:City> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:City></st1:place>.

Looking for a breath of fresh air? <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:place></st1:City> may not be the best place to find it. More people die from suffocation in <st1:City w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:City> than anywhere else in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>

And if too little air doesn't kill you, too much water just might do it.

In addition to fire-related accidental death, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:place></st1:City> also takes the cake on drowning to death. At least it makes sense this time. Plenty of coastline, warm water and some of the world's best beaches—sounds like a recipe for disaster.

But <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Florida</st1:State></st1:place> can't claim the title for all types of accidental deaths. Once known as "Little Chicago" for rampant bootlegging activity, <st1:City w:st="on">Johnson City</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Tenn.</st1:State>, is <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s capital of motor-vehicle deaths. No one knows why there are so many car accidents here, but some residents claim it's the narrow, undulating roads. Others say the beautiful vistas provided by the <st1:place w:st="on">Blue Ridge Mountains</st1:place> make it difficult for drivers to concentrate on the road.

Look both ways when crossing the street in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gary</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ind.</st1:State></st1:place> In fact, if it happens to be between midnight and noon, look twice again. This small town, roughly 28 miles southeast of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:City>, had the highest rate of pedestrian deaths in 2004, almost all of them happening between midnight and noon. By 2006, pedestrian deaths in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gary</st1:City></st1:place> had increased by nearly 400 percent.

Matching the accidents to the cities:

To find the accident capitals of the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region>, the National Safety Council, a nonprofit organization based in <st1:City w:st="on">Itasca</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ill.</st1:State>, identified the number of deaths in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> cities for the top 10 leading causes of accidental death in 2004.

Forbes.com then used those numbers to determine the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> cities with the highest number of accidental deaths per capita for the 10 leading causes of unintentional death. Unlike other categories, which change very little year to year, accidental poisoning deaths have increased so rapidly in recent years that Forbes.com looked at 2006 data rather than 2004.

Motor Vehicle Accidents: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Johnson City</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Tenn.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 107

Estimated Population: 180,000

Once known as "Little Chicago," thanks to its rampant bootlegging activity, <st1:City w:st="on">Johnson City</st1:City> gives <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tennessee</st1:place></st1:State> its only category "win," if you can call it that. No one knows why there are so many accidents here, but some residents claim it's the narrow, undulating roads. Others say the beautiful vistas provided by the <st1:place w:st="on">Blue Ridge Mountains</st1:place> make it difficult for drivers to concentrate on the road.

Poisoning: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 58

Estimated Population: 560,000

Unlike most types of accidental deaths, which tend not to change much year to year, poisoning is a moving target. In less than a decade, accidental poisoning deaths have risen by a whopping 79.6%, from 4.4 per 100,000 population to 7.9 per 100,000. In 2006, poisoning replaced motor vehicle accidents as the No. 1 cause of accidental death in the state of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Massachusetts</st1:place></st1:State>. Ditto for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></st1:place> The culprit: pain killers like Oxycontin and hydrocodone.

Falls: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">West Palm Beach</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Fla.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 122

Estimated Population: 105,000

Watch your step in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">West Palm Beach</st1:place></st1:City>--falls are frequently permanent. <st1:State w:st="on">Florida</st1:State> leads the nation in the total number of accidental deaths caused by falling, and <st1:City w:st="on">West Palm Beach</st1:City> leads <st1:State w:st="on">Florida</st1:State>, edging out two other state locales, <st1:City w:st="on">Fort Lauderdale</st1:City> and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:place></st1:City>.

Suffocation: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Fla.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 16

Estimated Population: 65,000

Looking for a breath of fresh air? <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:place></st1:City> may not be the best place to find it. More people die from suffocation in <st1:City w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:City> than anywhere else in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>

Drowning: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Fla.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 15

Estimated Population: 65,000

If too little air doesn't kill you, too much water could do it. In addition to suffocation, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Daytona Beach</st1:place></st1:City> also takes the cake on drowning to death. At least it makes sense this time. Plenty of coastline, warm water and some of the world's best beaches--sounds like a recipe for disaster. Cars are allowed to drive on the beach here, too--the Daytona 500 did begin as a beach race before NASCAR existed. Could alcohol-fueled spring breakers play a role in this as well? Probably.

Other Land Transport: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Macon</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ga.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 12

Estimated Population: 225,000

Bicycles, roller skates and pogo sticks should be used only with extreme caution in the city General Sherman spared during the Civil War (it's a good thing he did, or the kazoo may never have been invented). For safer travel, use MITSI, Miss Molly and Sweet Melissa, the three trolleys that shuttle tourists around to major <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Macon</st1:City></st1:place> landmarks.

Natural/Environment : <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Yuma</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ariz.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 11

Estimated Population: 160,000

On July 28, 1995, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Yuma</st1:place></st1:City> reached a all-time record high temperature of 124 degrees. Even for the unforgiving deserts of southern <st1:State w:st="on">Arizona</st1:State>, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Yuma</st1:place></st1:City> is extraordinarily hot. It is also dry. The combination has turned more than a few afternoon strolls into virtual death marches. After 14 illegal immigrants from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region> perished in the intense desert heat in 2001, illegal immigrants have called the desert corridor that cuts across <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Yuma</st1:City></st1:place> the "Devil's Highway."

Struck by an Object: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Newburgh</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">N.Y.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 5

Estimated Population: 28,000

Half way between <st1:City w:st="on">New York City</st1:City> and <st1:City w:st="on">Albany</st1:City>, the small town of <st1:City w:st="on">Newburgh</st1:City> sits in the heart of <st1:State w:st="on">New York</st1:State>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><ST1:PHudson Valley</ST1:P</st1:place>. <st1:City w:st="on">Newburgh</st1:City> was the first city in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> to be electrified, which galvanized enormous growth in manufacturing and industry. Since then, the city has fallen apart--at least partially. A hot real estate market in the early half of this decade fed a local construction boom and the subsequent rise of scaffolding, ladders and heavy machinery that often facilitate fatal accidents.

Pedestrian: <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gary</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ind.</st1:State></st1:place>

Deaths: 6

Estimated Population: 100,000

Look both ways when crossing the street in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Gary</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Ind.</st1:State></st1:place> In fact, if it happens to be between midnight and noon, look twice again. This small town, roughly 28 miles southeast of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:City>, had the highest rate of pedestrian deaths in 2004, almost all of them happening between midnight and noon. By 2006, pedestrian deaths in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gary</st1:place></st1:City> had risen by nearly 400%.