For the first time in history, an American is more likely to die from an accidental opioid overdose than they are from a motor vehicle crash, according to an analysis from the National Safety Council.
The U.S. opioid crisis has come to the forefront of the country's consciousness since a rapid increase in fatalities in 2010, but eclipsing the number of highway crashes marks a critical point in the country's struggle with heroin, synthetic-opioid and prescription pill addiction.
The odds of dying accidentally from an opioid overdose have risen to one in 96, according to the watchdog group. The odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash are one in 103.
(MORE: The US is about to break its own record for kids who've died in hot cars within a year: National Safety Council)“We’ve made significant strides in overall longevity in the United States but we are dying from things typically called accidents at rates we haven’t seen in half a century,” said Ken Kolosh, manager of statistics at the National Safety Council. “We cannot be complacent about 466 lives lost every day."
(MORE: Fentanyl, other opioid drugs behind 54% increase in overdose deaths in 6 years: CDC)NSC analysis also shows that falls – the third leading cause of preventable death behind drug overdose and motor vehicle crashes – are more likely to kill someone than ever before. The lifetime odds of dying from an accidental fall are one in 114 – a change from one in 119 just a year ago.