Table 1: Risks 1996 in the US and Colorado—Activities that lead to Accidental Death
| Activity in both the US and Colorado | Fatalities in 1996 | Number of Participants | Annual Risk (2)(annual deaths per million) | Estimated Duration of Risk (3) | Lifetime Risk (deaths in the lifetime of a million persons) | |
| Home Accidents -from falls |
CO | 251 | 3,820,000 | 66 per million Coloradans | 70 yr | 4600 deaths per million Coloradans |
| US | 8,200 | 268,500,000 | 31 per million Americans | 70 yr | 2200 deaths per million Americans | |
| -from fires or burns | CO | 17 | 3,820,000 | 4.4 per million Coloradans | 70 yr | 310 deaths per million Coloradans |
| US | 2,900 | 268,500,000 | 11 per million Americans | 70 yr | 770 deaths per million Americans | |
| -from poisoning | CO | 130 | 3,820,000 | 34 per million Coloradans | 70 yr | 2400 deaths per million Coloradans |
| US | 7,800 | 268,500,000 | 29 per million Americans | 70 yr | 2000 deaths per million Americans | |
| Driving a car -by driver (4) |
CO | 668 | 2,844,084 | 230 per million Colorado drivers | 50 yr | 12,000 deaths per million Colorado drivers |
| US | 43,300 | 177,800,000 | 240 per million American drivers | 50 yr | 12,000 deaths per million American drivers | |
| -by population | CO | 668 | 3,820,000 | 170 per million Coloradans | 50 yr | 8500 deaths per million Coloradans |
| US | 43,300 | 268,500,000 | 160 per million Americans | 50 yr | 8000 deaths per million Americans | |
| Pedestrian | CO | 80 | 3,820,000 | 21 per million Coloradans | 70 yr | 1500 deaths per million Coloradans |
| US | 6,100 | 268,500,000 | 23 per million Americans | 70 yr | 1600 deaths per million Americans | |
| Motorcycling -by registered bike (4) |
CO | 22 | 94,639 | 230 per million Colorado motorcycles | 10 yr | 2300 deaths per million motorcycles |
| US | 2,300 | 3,800,000 | 610 per million American motorcycles | 10 yr | 6100 deaths per million motorcycle | |
| Lightning | CO | 4 | 3,820,000 | 1 per million Coloradans | 70 yr | 70 deaths per million Coloradans |
| US | 90 | 268,500,000 | 0.3 per million Americans | 70 yr | 21 deaths per million Americans | |
| Tornado | US | 88 | 268,500,000 | 0.3 per million Americans | 70 yr | 21 deaths per million Americans |
| Ski Accidents (5) | CO | 18 | 11,800,000 skier- visits | 1.5 per million skier visits | 50 yr | 8 deaths per million skier-visits |
| US | 36 | 52,500,000 skier- visits | 0.7 per million skier-visits | 50 yr | 35 deaths per million skier-visits |
- Source of US data is National Safety Council, Accident Facts, 1997 Edition. Itasca, IL. Source of Colorado Data is “Table D22. Deaths from Selected Injury Causes: Colorado Occurrences, 1993 to 1996,” Health Statistics Section, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. National deaths from lightning and tornado are averages from 40 years of data.
- Annual risk is the number of deaths divided by the number of participants.
- It is assumed that an average person lives 70 years. Some risks, like the risk of dying from an accident in the home, will be faced over an entire lifetime, while other risks are only applicable for a shorter period of time, like driving a car. It is assumed that person will ride a motorcycle for only 10 years.
- Colorado Department of Revenue. (303)205-5758.
- Number of skier visits from Colorado Ski Country USA (http://www.skicolorado.org) and the National Ski Areas Association. A skier visit is one skier skiing one day.
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