clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Report: Guns will probably kill more young Americans than car accidents in 2015

Young Americans are more likely to die from guns than car accidents for the first time in decades.

The Economist charted the forecast for 2015 and beyond, based on an analysis of federal data by the Center for American Progress:

(The Economist)

What's behind this change? It's not that gun violence is getting worse. The number of deaths from car accidents is on the decline, thanks in some part to fewer drunk driving deaths. Deaths from gun violence also dropped, along with all violent crime, since the early 1990s. But gun-related deaths have failed to drop significantly further in recent years, held up by homicides, suicides, and accidents.

Gun-related deaths are much higher in the US than other countries. The Center for American Progress reported, "American children and teenagers are 4 times more likely to die by gunfire than their counterparts in Canada, 7 times more likely than young people in Israel, and 65 times more likely to be killed with a gun than children and teenagers in the United Kingdom."

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for Vox Recommends

Get curated picks of the best Vox journalism to read, watch, and listen to every week, from our editors.