Suicide Overtakes Car Accidents as Greatest American Killer

What’s the Latest Development?

In the past, the leading cause of injury deaths in America has consistently been car crashes but a new study has found that there are now more deaths each year from suicide than by car accidents. In all, rates in both the United States and throughout the world have gone up between 2000 and 2009. “Deaths from intentional and unintentional injury were 10 percent higher in 2009 than in 2000.” The study also found that while “deaths from car crashes declined 25 percent, deaths from poisoning rose 128 percent, deaths from falls increased 71 percent and deaths from suicides rose 15 percent.”

What’s the Big Idea?

Part of the reason for this trend is due to the increased amount of emphasis put on vehicle safety, while sadly, it is much harder to prevent suicide. Even more troubling, experts predict that that the actual number of suicides is 20 percent higher than the reported number of suicides. One expert has said “We know a great deal about how to prevent suicides, but have yet to overcome centuries of stigmatic attitudes—and the consequent lack of political will—to build the collaborative effort to turn these many lives from despair and hopelessness to ones of meaning and brighter futures.”

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