Your Odds of Dying

[Ciraxis]

8:51 PM PST - Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Steven Stiefel

Are you a gamblin’ man?

Face it, you could eat it five minutes from now of a brain aneurysm or car wreck, so why worry? In fact, a lot of us worry about things we can’t control , tragedies that probably wouldn’t happen even if we had some way of controlling them.

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Since terrorists used four airliners as missiles on Sept. 11, 2001, many people have been terrified to get on airplanes when, in fact, it is safer to fly now because vulnerabilities in airport security have largely been fixed. The government is considering loosening its stanards so that, for instance, you can carry a pocketknife on board a jet airliner again -- unless you look suspicious.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each of us stands a 1 in 88,000 chance of being killed in a terrorist attack of any sort. Your chance of death in a deliberate, fiery plane crash is a 1 in 55 million. That qualifies as an irrational fear.

We repeatedly hear the shopping mall scenario of terrorists causing some incident. Assuming you shop two hours a week, your chances of being affected if this happens are 1 in 1.5 million.

Actually, you are much more likely to be killed right at home. The odds of you being murdered are 1 in 197. You stand a 1 in 299 chance of dying in an assault from a firearm discharge. The odds of dying by hanging or strangulation – 1 in 5,330 – far outweigh the chances of the terrorists getting you.

While we’re at it, let’s look at the other odds you’re up against...

1 in 55,928 chance of death by getting stuck by lightning.

1 in 20,605 in your clothes igniting.

1 in 10,455 of dying in your bathtub.

1 in 10,010 by falling from a ladder or scaffolding.

1 in 9,396 due to excessive heat.1 in 8,389 due to excessive cold.

1 in 7,972 in a drowning accident.

1 in 6,842 in a railway accident.

Our men and women in uniform stand a 1 in 207,261 chance of dying in operations of war.

We hear ya. You don’t wanna die. Well, guess what? It’s going to happen eventually. There's nothing to say you won't be that 1 instead of one of the 20,605 who don't catch on fire.

If you want to improve your odds of hanging around, you must assess potential risks and then do what the insurance industry calls "mitigate". Basically, this means taking steps to prepare for the worst case scenario that might come along so the insurance company is less likely to have to pay any claims you might otherwise file.

If loss of life and property are preventable, their suggestions are worth a listen.

- Buy and know how to use a fire extinguisher. So you can suppress flames enough to escape a burning home if your electrician wired things wrong.

[__Kratos__]

You have odds in dying? Pretty sure we all kick the bucket... So... if anything your odds are BAD on top of BAD!

[Ciraxis]

ain't that the truth!

[Tia]

The odds of you being murdered are 1 in 197.

That seems a really high figure, are there really that many sick puppies out there?

[Dr1273]

What a depressing way to start the day knowing your odds at death.

[NJC]

the odds of me dying while watching die hard