10.2: Unintentional Injuries
The leading cause of death for Americans between 1 year of age and 44 years of age is unintentional injuries, or accidents. This rather broad category includes accidental poisoning and drug overdoses, automobile accidents, and unintentional falls. Of these, accidental poisoning (including drug overdoses) caused the highest number of deaths, killing 112,728 Americans in 2022. (CDC - Injury Prevention and Control, 2024, CDC - National Center for Health Statistics, 2022).
Susceptibility to different types of injuries varies by age. While drowning poses the largest threat to those under 4, older children and teens have higher rates of injuries from motor vehicle accidents and gun-related accidents. Drug overdoses are a higher risk for young, middle aged, and older adults, while falls tend to be the highest risk for those over 75 (Seabert et al., 2021). For all ages, hazardous behaviors and environments play a role in the risk of harm.
Motor vehicle crashes continue to be a significant cause of death and injury across the lifespan. In spite of lockdowns and stay-at-home orders during the Covid-19 pandemic years, data suggests that Americans were driving more recklessly - motor vehicle accident deaths spiked in 2020 and didn’t begin to decline until 2022. Even though there were fewer cars on the road, it is likely that reckless driving, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and not wearing seatbelts contributed to an increase in accidents and deaths (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2022). Perhaps because there were fewer cars on the road, this enabled higher speeds and more dangerous driving. There are also likely psychological and socioeconomic factors that may have influenced driving behaviors as well. In terms of injury prevention, a lot of headway has been made in designing safer vehicles and roads. Yet the use of technology in vehicles has been mixed: while texting and taking phone calls (even hands-free phone calls) are distracting to drivers, the development of automatic safety features promises to help drivers prevent accidents altogether (NHTSA, n.d.). Historically, epidemiology and public health efforts have played a significant role in reducing deaths and injuries. Refer to Chapter 6 for a summary of the Haddon Matrix and its application in preventing motor vehicle accidents and injuries.