Accident Toll by Types.
The total number of accidental deaths occurring in 1939 indicates that the great improvement in the record achieved in 1938 was fully maintained. The 1939 total of all accidental deaths was numbered 93,000, or 800 less than the 1938 total. This brings the death rate down to 71 per thousand persons, 1 per thousand less than in 1938. The death rate is thus one of the lowest on record, lower than in any year except 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1932 — all years in which industrial production was at a low level and other activities also restricted.
Motor vehicle accident deaths, which dropped from 39,643 in 1937 to 32,582 in 1938, reached a total figure of 32,600 deaths in the year 1939. However, motor vehicle travel is running about 6 per cent higher than in 1938. It is evident, therefore, that highway users are traveling more safely per mile in 1939 than they were in 1938.
Deaths due to public accidents not involving motor vehicles are about 1,000 fewer in 1939 than in 1938 — there were 15,000 deaths this year compared with 16,000 last year. There was no major catastrophe, such as the New England hurricane and tidal wave which occurred in September 1938, and in addition there was a decrease in drownings in the summer months. It was far the lowest of deaths from this type of accident for any year since 1928. Drownings and firearms deaths were even fewer than in the years before 1928.
The 1939 total of occupational accident deaths was 3 per cent below that of 1938. The total this year was 16,000, compared with 16,500 last year. In the early part of the year when employment was at about the same level as in 1938 comparisons were quite favorable, this year with last. But with the large increase in the number of workers that occurred in the fall the number of deaths rose. Industrial accident rates based on exposure are showing considerable decreases from 1938 in plants doing vigorous safety work. A large group of such companies show reductions in 1939 ranging from 5 to 10 per cent.
Home accidents are the only class failing to show some reduction from 1938. There were, in all, about 500 more deaths in 1939 than in 1938, which would make a 1939 total of 32,000. Fatal falls have undoubtedly been somewhat more numerous, and deaths from burns and asphyxiations may have increased. Home accidents are a difficult problem. Much of accident prevention must be based on education of persons in the hazards involved in their activities, and on thorough-going inspection of physical structures and equipment for hazards which can be eliminated. Safety work can be carried on most effectively when there is a fair degree of centralized control and responsibility. Control of conditions in the home is held by about 30,000,000 families. This means that tremendous efforts must be put forth to achieve any results.
Prevention Activities.
Accident prevention work in 1939 was characterized by the continuation on an even larger scale of the many safety activities begun in earlier years. Several state legislatures revised their motor vehicle laws and many cities introduced improvements in traffic ordinances. Budgets were expanded to permit a wider and more thorough application of the three fundamentals of traffic safety — education, engineering and enforcement. State motor vehicle and highway departments, city police and engineering departments, the courts, local safety councils and other organizations working for greater safety on the streets and highways showed greater enthusiasm and cooperation in 1939 than in any previous year.
Public education programs carried on through the newspapers, the schools and the radio were more widespread and complete than ever before. Finally, the public has come to realize to a greater extent than ever the seriousness of the problem, and has given increasing support to both public and private efforts in accident prevention.
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