Yesterday, a young teen in Los Angeles was killed by a hit and run driver. The young man died, but he wasn't in a car. He was skateboarding. It made me wonder just how many young people die from car accidents in the United States. Well, if you're going to die and you're 16-20 years old, it's by motor vehicle traffic crashes. In 2003, it was the number one cause.
The top three causes are definitely where the big numbers are with 5,988 deaths from car crashes, 2,489 deaths from homicide, and 1,813 deaths from suicide*. Totaling 10,290 deaths in one year, leaving 20,580 grieving parents not to mention brothers, sisters, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and maybe even children since today 16-20 yr old parents are not a rarity. Over 10,000 deaths a year that I argue are largely preventable.
What are we doing about it? These are not incurable diseases. Although some may point out that suicide is often linked with depression, which is a disease, I counter that it's not incurable. We should be addressing depression before it takes hold. Stopping murder is not just about more police; it's a mindset that needs to be addressed before the murder weapon is being brandished. In the same vein, the attitude of a young driver must be formed before he revs the engine up and squeals down the street.
But then how do we reach these young minds?
- It's seems like a daunting task, but we need to tell each and every one of their stories with great gory detail. Show the autopsies, show body parts being picked up off the roads, heads blown off by bullets. I challenge the paparazzi to leave Brittany alone and cover every funeral and interview every family member and friend - reality TV is uber-popular now, right?
- We need websites posting photos, names, ages, and stories. We need a dedicated news channel devoted to these lost lives. Let's divide the number of dead by 365 days in the year; it comes to just over 28 deaths a day. That's 28 breaking news stories every day, just over one every hour.
- Let's make a SIMS video game in which winning means the player has to have a family thrive after the death of teenager. Oh wait, I know, the SIMS characters can be programmed to match actual family members of the player, and the player is the one who dies in a car crash, or is shot in a drive-by, or commits suicide because he lost the last video game.
Am I talking crazy? If so, I don't apologize. I just think the numbers are a little crazy. You know because we're America and all that. I challenge the media and government to step up, and for society to shine a light on these tragedies. Our youth should not be so disposable that over 10,000 a year go silently into the darkness forgotten by society at large.
In 2003, the leading causes of death for 16-20 yrs old were
- Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes
- Homicide
- Suicide
- Accidental Poisoning
- Malignant Neoplasm
- Heart Disease
- Accidental Drowning
- Congenital Anomalies
- Motor Vehicle Non-traffic Crashes
- Accidental Falls