Sadly, automobile accidents have been much in the news lately. Everyone I know is still in shock from the terrible loss of Bryan Osper on Monday. Today’s Times-Standard carries a story about the equally tragic death of 14-year-old Eureka High student Mariah Redman in an accident over the weekend.

Injury from automobile accidents is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the CDC. It’s the most common cause of death for people between the ages of 5 and 34. 

What does that look like? A couple of days ago, the transportation consultancy Ito published an interactive map of every automobile-related death in the United States between the years of 2001 to 2009, with the ages and sexes of the decedents and the circumstances of the accident indicated by markers.

Take a look at Humboldt County. This is only nine years. It’s not pretty.