Bob Kerrey: “there is a national health epidemic in America that does not receive the attention it deserves. This epidemic is…”

“there is a national health epidemic in America that does not receive the attention it deserves. This epidemic is responsible for the loss of 1.2 million pre-retirement years of life a year; more than is lost to cancer or heart disease. It is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 15 and 24. Last year, more than 41,900 Americans died from this epidemic and more than 3 million suffered serious injury. In Nebraska alone, the epidemic claimed 293 lives in 1996 up from 254 the year before. The only good news has been that in Nebraska, during the first 6 months of this year, the death rate has slowed slightly. Most tragic, is the fact that this epidemic is almost 100 percent preventable. This epidemic I am talking about is death and injuries related to driving. While America has made significant progress in reducing traffic accident rates, deaths, and injuries have trended upward in the 1990's. Traffic accidents impose extraordinary costs on our health care system. About $14 billion a year in health care costs are attributable to traffic accidents. Taxpayers bear $11.4 billion of that cost. In terms of lost productivity, property damage and health care costs, these accidents extracted $150 billion out of the economy for the last year that statistics are available. The most important point is that traffic accidents are almost completely preventable. The smallest actions of a driver can make the difference between life and death.”