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Preview: The Great Explorer November 25, 2009 9:20 AM
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Preview: Congo Gold November 25, 2009 9:06 AM
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Preview: Bob Ballard November 25, 2009 7:30 AM
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Rooney on Thanksgiving November 22, 2009 10:25 AM
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60 Minutes, 11.22.09 November 22, 2009 10:45 AM
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James Cameron's Avatar November 22, 2009 10:15 AM
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Maziar Bahari: Witness November 22, 2009 10:07 AM
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The Cost of Dying November 22, 2009 10:06 AM
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Web Extra: At Home, At Peace November 22, 2009 9:47 AM
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Web Extra: Comfort and Costs November 22, 2009 9:44 AM
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Extra: "A Peaceful Terrorist" November 22, 2009 9:44 AM
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Extra: "Mr. Hillary Clinton" November 22, 2009 9:36 AM
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Web Extra: A Defining Moment? November 22, 2009 9:32 AM
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Web Extra: Target Audience? November 22, 2009 9:32 AM
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Web Extra: His High-Tech Cave November 22, 2009 9:24 AM
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Preview: Witness November 21, 2009 5:05 AM
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Preview: The Cost of Dying November 20, 2009 11:47 AM
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Preview: Cameron's "Avatar" November 20, 2009 11:43 AM
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On The Set of "Avatar" November 19, 2009 10:34 AM
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Kroft's Reporter's Notebook November 19, 2009 11:39 AM
There has been a national outrage over %u201Conly%u201D 14 deaths at Columbine and %u201Conly%u201D 33 deaths at Virginia Tech. Substantial national concern is being expressed over %u201Conly%u201D 4,200 deaths in Iraq, and 58,000 in Vietnam. Those are totals! For vehicle crash deaths, we%u2019re talking 39,000 to 55,000 annually!
The fact that our society seems to accept a death toll of that magnitude per year, year after year, as a reasonable %u201Cside-effect%u201D of our automobile-driven transportation system in the USA is an indicator of just how sick we are. What really needs to grow from this realization is a movement for social reform that seeks to overturn the prevailing devaluation of human life.
Vehicle traffic crashes are the leading USA cause of death for every age 3 through 34. The WHO estimates that 1.2 million people die in road crashes every year and 50 million more are hurt, at a cost of more than $500 billion in lost income and disability. It%u2019s the number 9 killer world-wide, but rapidly moving into 3rd (yes!, 3rd) place.
Traffic %u201Caccidents%u201D are no accident; they are predictable outcomes, yet we must believe that they are preventable outcomes, and act accordingly.