In 100 years the average lifespan has increased by 30 years in Britain. An article from the (UK) Office of National Statistics at http://visual.ons.gov.uk/causes-of-death-over-100-years/ presents the trends and details the causes.
".......The number of road deaths of young people may be attributable to the existence of the Blackout during World War II, when vehicles drove in total darkness........" They also had to contend with occasional American serviceman who, with his mind on auto-pilot after a long day of hard work, occasionally reverted to driving on the right-hand side of the road. My Dad said this happened to him one moonless night when he was driving alone back to his base near the English Channel from someplace up in the north. The signs had all been switched around to confuse the Germans, so he was concentrating on recognizing the intersections where he needed to make a turn when he suddenly realized he was driving on the right-hand side of the road in the pitch dark with no headlights to warn anyone coming the opposite way, and he had been doing so for at least an hour. His first thought was, "Thank God for rationing," figuring that lack of fuel had probably kept everyone else off that particular stretch of road that night and saved him from a head-on collision.
Fascinating data and so clearly represented. The changes in causes of deaths point to many variables that effect health.
ReplyDelete".......The number of road deaths of young people may be attributable to the existence of the Blackout during World War II, when vehicles drove in total darkness........" They also had to contend with occasional American serviceman who, with his mind on auto-pilot after a long day of hard work, occasionally reverted to driving on the right-hand side of the road. My Dad said this happened to him one moonless night when he was driving alone back to his base near the English Channel from someplace up in the north. The signs had all been switched around to confuse the Germans, so he was concentrating on recognizing the intersections where he needed to make a turn when he suddenly realized he was driving on the right-hand side of the road in the pitch dark with no headlights to warn anyone coming the opposite way, and he had been doing so for at least an hour. His first thought was, "Thank God for rationing," figuring that lack of fuel had probably kept everyone else off that particular stretch of road that night and saved him from a head-on collision.
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