Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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It is amazing how often the public perception of what great risks are, and the statistics, are so far apart. For example, a lot of people have the impression that in Europe or America you have a huge chance of being killed by terrorism.
In fact, in the last 10 years in America, a total of 300 people have been killed in terrorist attacks. That is about as many who die in motor accidents in a week in South Africa. That is a figure that will surprise most people, and in fact, more people die each year accidentally tangling themselves up in their bed sheets in America than from terrorist attacks.
To me what this really says is that they are so used to the statistics and the shock and horror stories that the media feeds us. It is sad, but it does not really make the news anymore that a woman and her son on their way to school are killed in the morning traffic - that 4 teenagers on their way home from a nightclub on Friday night are killed in a motor accident. That is not sensational – hundreds and thousands have died that way before and so, that is not what the media focuses on. They focus on the lightning strike that kills somebody on the beach, the child that walks into alligator-infested waters at a Disney Resort and is then killed by an alligator, the 20 people that are killed in one country by a hurricane and 800 people are killed in a much smaller country like Haiti, where there is not much of media presence, is not such a big story.
To me, the true sensational story should be that every single week in South Africa a full Boeing load of people are killed on our roads. Three times that number are seriously injured and maimed and by that I mean lose eyes, get brain damaged, lose their arms, lose legs, etc. I don’t mean suffer whiplashes. It is a tragedy that we have become so used to the death and destruction on our roads that we all forget that that, apart from the usual suspects such as lung cancer from smoking and heart disease, etc, that are the big killers. The bottom line is, regardless of where you live in the world, your chance of being killed by terrorists or a madman with a gun, before cancer, heart disease or a motorcar get you, are remote. That does not mean it cannot happen to you, but one really should not sensationalise the bizarre.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Friday 11-Nov-16
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Comments
Zanell said:
on Wednesday 30-Nov-16 05:14 PM
The sad part is that people really do think like this and it's only because we don't know much about that country and so we go with what we and hear and see in the news and make up our own minds.
Nicolle said:
on Tuesday 22-Nov-16 09:40 AM
People's interest is sparked by the unusual. The boy who "fell" into the gorilla enclosure is far more unusual than the person who died in yet another car accident. Harsh perhaps, but true.
Zindy said:
on Tuesday 15-Nov-16 08:37 AM
Your life has never been promised, Many past wrongs cannot be corrected but many future wrongs may be prevented from what you learn by making mistakes and observing the happenings around you to avoid the same situation.
charlotte said:
on Monday 14-Nov-16 04:33 PM
I think death in any form is very tragic. From a heart attack to a vehicle accident and to bombings. If we had to be told about every single death in South Africa every day, we will be traumatized for life. One would be afraid to walk across the street, in case a vehicle knocks you over. I don't think we need to know all of this every day, there is so much more to life.
Jolene said:
on Monday 14-Nov-16 01:53 PM
The most terrible thing about car accidents is when innocent people gets badly hurt or die and the drunk driver that caused the accident walks away with nothing more than a scar.
"Accidentally tangling themselves up in their bed sheets shoe how on earth??
Joyce said:
on Monday 14-Nov-16 09:33 AM
I think death can happen anywhere and can come in different ways
Jessica M said:
on Monday 14-Nov-16 08:35 AM
How the heck can people accidently get tangled up in thier bed sheets and die. That should be on a 1000 ways to die lol. Anyways the biggest fear for me is the roads, I fear that the most. I don't fear death I fear being left with so much damage to myself that I have to rely on people to take care of me. I never want that.
latoya said:
on Monday 14-Nov-16 08:33 AM
Life is very short does not matter where you are, different incidents happen around us every single day, People are always scared of things that might take place but they forget your life is not guaranteed. When its your time its your time.
latoya said:
on Monday 14-Nov-16 08:33 AM
Life is very short does not matter where you are, different incidents happen around us every single day, People are always scared of things that might take place but they forget your life is not guaranteed. When its your time its your time.
Tersia said:
on Monday 14-Nov-16 07:22 AM
They say those who travel on the roads all day and often are often the ones who have a accident - as you would think they are the ones more likely to have a accident because they are on the roads a lot. It might be a fact or a myth, I am not sure. I must say I am always stressed out driving on the roads. It takes a lot of thinking for all the other drivers and stress to be on the roads, if you just for one second lose your thought a accident can happen so fast.
It's quite sad that so many people more die on our roads, and you can definitely see why - people drive like lunatics!! Especially this time of the year...
The sad reality is that only bad news will make it to the radio or TV, it ensures for more viewers. At the end of the day, your time will come - if its by car accident or death by someone's hands - your time is already set in stone... Rather just live your life to the fullest and enjoy what and who you have while you still can.
Helen said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 02:28 PM
Media does makes us all scared. But how this kind of business will make money if not to bring to all our attention what happened. But it is so sad that more we hear about death and diseases then success and happiness. And America always first to report on disasters, even if these disasters did not happened in USA.
tamzyn said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 02:09 PM
The scariest part of my day is traveling on the roads either to the office or to Court. I have also had many close calls, where I wonder how I escaped without having a serious accident. I suppose car accidents do not make headlines as often as terrorist attacks because they are just so common that they are expected.
Sinead said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 01:37 PM
I actually agree with this blog. Media sensationalizes the wrong thing sometimes. It's the same as when they report the number of people being killed by sharks vs hippos. They'd rather report stories of shark attacks than hippo attacks (which are more statistically). I don't understand why we aren't warned more about the more probable events like you say car accidents. Working with Road Accidents makes me never want to get on a motorcycle EVER! Seeing what could happen terrifies me and people need to be made more aware of what could happen whether it's their fault or not...
Nicky said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 12:34 PM
I'm not always sure about how reliable and accurate statistics are. How much weight I attach to a statistic depends on how the conclusion was arrived at and where it was sourced from.
Similarly with perceptions-in the ideal world perceptions should be based on fact and what we know for sure, realistically that's not what our perceptions are based on-that's why its called a perception. If only we had the abilty to sort through all the sensationalism and drama we'd all be able to see what the true issues; benefits and risks are and then act accordingly.
Dune said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 12:30 PM
People tend to look at the most horrific story they can find in the headlines. However some major incidents never reach the headlines, on a daily basis you hear about horrific accidents on our roads alone. I guess they only tend to publish what they think will be a best seller at that stage. It does not matter what statistics say at the end of the day. If your day has come it has come.
Michelle said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 12:29 PM
Just to hear the word death gives me a mini heart attack, I don't like to think about it. And I also think its a good thing to live for today because tomorrow is not promised.
Mathilda said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 10:54 AM
Live everyday like its your last ,I live by that quote I just think its important to not live your life thinking about what you could have done different or should have done .
Whatever you want to do, do it there's only so many tomorrows
People stress to much about when they are going to die ,rather living their life to its fullest
Henrietta said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 10:28 AM
Live everyday as if it is your last. When Im on the phone with my husband I always end the call love u in case it might be my last time saying it knowing how bad the road are in South Africa. I think from the medias point of view, its whatever grabs the public attention and a child being killed by an alligator is more eye grabbing than another accident that claimed how many ever lives. So many people I know are afraid of flying in case the plane crashes but we dont realize our chances of dying in a car crash is way higher and yet they rather drive than fly.
Lucretia said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 10:25 AM
I think as humans we become desensitised about things that happen more often than not - possibly a coping mechanism. How often don't things break in the media, that is out of the norm, which cause horror, shock and even an outcry by some and then after a few days, it is forgotten. Stats are there for one to measure things by but, unless it affects one personally, or one is actually studying that specific statistic, its significance is of little importance.
Suzanne said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 09:56 AM
I recently did a certificate in community journalism and even at small scale we were taught to look for the most "attention-drawing" headlines and stories. Unfortunately, when there have been 20 car accidents and 1 terrorist attack in a week - the car accidents fade into the background and the terrorist attack will be the reason why people buy your newspaper. This is the sad reality and leads to a lot of misperception about the dangers around us.
Tamaryn M said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 09:33 AM
I think it boils down to there being something bigger behind certain tragedies, for instance, terrorism is seen to have some sort of faction working behind the scenes hatching evil plans and that scares a population. This is what the media feeds off and in so doing actually aids the state of fear amongst nations and the notoriety which terrorists seek.... but it sells! Car accidents, cancer and the like don't apparently have some "evil force" plotting and scheming the deaths and that why they are less newsworthy.
Brenda van den Bergh said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 09:29 AM
Death has many forms, and we cannot single out any form of how we will leave the world one day. Death is each man's fate and it will happen in some form or another whether it be a car accident, an illness, a terrorist attack or if you are fortunate enough, old age. But to live your life in fear of death will only rob you from the gift of life. The human race sensationalizes too much on the things that should not actually consume us, but we will always have the dramatic ones who are convinced that terrorism will take their lives, when in actual fact there may be a drunk driver just around the corner. But as you say, it is only those sort of things that strike fear, as it is all that is publicised by the media.
Angelique P said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 09:24 AM
It's very scary to think your live can end so quickly.
That is why I say live life to its fullest.
You'll never know if you will be here tomorrow.
I am just glad I don't know when or how I am going to die. Just imagine how scary it would have been to know how you will die someday.
Catherine said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 09:10 AM
The reality is that, life can be snapped out of you in a split of a second. It doesn't really matter how it happens, be it terrorism, accident cancer or whichever way it happens. My opinion is one should live everyday as if it's the last day because you are not guaranteed of tomorrow. Having said that, terrorism is real, in Kenya the Al Shabaab publicly warn their own not to go to certain malls, park stations, popular supermarket because such places are targets for attack. In such circumstances,one lives in fear because you don't when, what time or where they attack next.
Prishani said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 09:03 AM
So many people die on our roads everyday, it is often caused by speeding or drunk drivers or plain carelessness, it is sad to know that even the most fatal accidents don't receive media coverage, maybe if people constantly heard of the fatalities caused by motor vehicle accidents it would make them be more careful and considerate on the roads! I suppose that even being aware these statistics doesn't change much for many, if it did there would probably be less cars driving on our roads. I would think that the same would apply to terrorist attacks, we are aware that it can happen but does that mean we have to put our lives on hold.
Melissa said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 09:03 AM
Life can be taken away from you like a bang, so live everyday as if it is your last day because one never knows if you will still be here tomorrow. Road accidents can be prevented if people just know how to drive and obey the rules.
Liesl said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 09:02 AM
Whoever controls the media controls the mind. The media must be one of the most powerful entities on earth. They have the ability to make the innocent look guilty and the guilty innocent. I believe it's important to not allow everything you hear or read to control your mind and dictate your thinking whether it comes with stats or not. When the human race believed that the earth was flat they also had lots of "findings, research and information" to back their theory up. Our roads are very dangerous and it's a topic often discussed. We all have a beginning and an end it's the when and how that we do not know.
Nina said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:58 AM
The time that I spent working for Netcare911 really opened my eyes. There are terrible accidents on our roads every single day and there is nothing that upsets me more than to see small children sitting on their parents laps or standing at the back while driving. Some people obviously do not have a clue what happens with that child when they are involved in an accident. It is sad to hear the statistics and to realise how vulnerable we are on the road.
Sally said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:51 AM
I believe if it is your time it is your time, whether it is a terrorist attack, motor vehicle accident, heart attack, cancer or even a robbery. Appreciate each day that is given to you.
Melissa P said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:46 AM
Death is part of everyday life. We all have to make peace with it. Our paths are set out for us and we have to enjoy the ride.
Daniella said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:43 AM
I think if the media focuses on Motor Vehicle Accidents, they would spread awareness and then less and less people would drive drunk or drive recklessly. Before working here i was oblivious and never wore a seat belt and always said it would never happen to me, now that I know that it can happen without it even being your fault its always best to be cautious and aware and the media needs to spread that awareness.
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:33 AM
We have to also remember that people also remember the big attacks in America such as 9-11 and that a single terrorist attack like that could happen and kill over 2000 people. I read that over 2000 people died 9-11. It could happen any day and we do not know what the future holds or which maniac or terrorist group will succeed with their plans or how many times they tried but failed and yet to still execute their plans - its all just scary and its unfortunate that through media we are of the view that terrorism kills more people than it actually does but like any negative aspect in life it gets blown out of proportion, and that is just the society we live in. Something we need to accept and come to terms with because it is never going to change and we all do it.
Juliet said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:32 AM
It does not matter what time I drive along the highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria I see on average 2 accidents on that freeway every single time! It is the most insane road to travel on!!! The perception that Pretoria and Joburg are a 45min is completely inaccurate. I have driven on this freeway for over 5 years now and it is an average of 1-1.5hours one way. Plus it is one of the most dangerous roads I have ever driven on besides the road from Johannesburg to Durban.
I like this stat about only 300 people being killed by terrorists because sometimes when I speak about emigration to people they say Oh well in the UK or USA you will be killed by a terrorist so why leave SA?!?! Seriously.
Jessica Apfel said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:32 AM
Sensational stories draw public attention and outrage, it is a shame that car accidents have become the status quo. As RAF Attorneys we are to ensure that our client's diginity is upheld and safeguarded, they are not merely a different name to a case, but real people that have suffered real pain and loss. As South Africans we shouldnt be so accepting of this.
Sarah said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:18 AM
Its scary how the people drive in South Africa. More 4500 people died in 2014/2015 cause by road accidents. The worse way to die is by a car accident.
Brenda Du Toit said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:17 AM
Its scary how your life can be taking away from you so easy .it can happen on the road or at your house every where you go your life can be in danger and you wont even know it coming.You have to live if today is your last day because not every day is promise.
Clare said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:16 AM
Tomorrow is not promised, I believe that if its your Time to go to heaven then its your time... Being in a Accident, getting killed by someone or just simply in your sleep, regardless time on earth is not promised that why you should live as if today is your last day. Enjoy the time you have with your Family and Friends, treat people they way you would like to be treated.. Be happy with who and what you are because when you are gone you can not change it. I have lost my older sister to a car accident she left behind three little boys and she was also anemic so if it was not the accident the took her she could of died from no blood.
Alexis said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:15 AM
It can happen at any time anywhere. There is nothing that nobody can do about it. Terrorist attacks, yes are targeted more in certain places, but then it could happen here or anywhere at some point
Bianca said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:14 AM
I don't believe that any destined circumstance can be measured or predicted by any statistic. Motor vehicle accidents on our road are most of the time, extremely fateful and not even half of the accidents receive media coverage so people are not even aware of half of the tragedies on our roads. The reality is that no matter where you are, something could happen to you whether it is an accident, terrorist attack or whatever, you cannot avoid it or not live because the statistics are high.
Thabitha said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 08:03 AM
Tragedies and death is part of life even if it is scary but the truth is they are there and we can not run away from them.
Kaylee said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 07:57 AM
Accidents on our roads are horrific. Just the other day I was driving home from work and saw two major accidents happen in front of me! I can just imagine the stats on roads with all the flashfloods at the moment. I agree though, only the out of the ordinary tragedies make the news just to create a shock factor. I think that the news does not cover crime just like it doesn't car accidents, especially in this country where crime has just become accepted and murder doesn't even make the news unless it was some serial killer! Its sad that the news has become about shock factor.
Natasha said:
on Friday 11-Nov-16 07:29 AM
Scary how quick your life can be taken away and then some people are more worried about being killed by a terrorist I personally think car accidents are the worst. Even being killed in your own home by burglar's. You can die any way you wont even know its coming.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
