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29
From a national and economic standpoint the child who is
killed in a road accident is a greater potential loss to the community
than a person of over 65 years of age who dies from cancer or a
heart disability.
Recently, Dr. D. J. R. Snow, Epidemiologist to the Department
of Public Health for Western Australia analysed vital statistics
with a view to determining the number of ' useful years lost' for
each of the major causes of death and his investigations revealed
that on this basis ' automobile and other accidents ' head the list as
the primary cause of premature death with cancer and coronary
disease in 3rd and 5th places respectively ; suicide occupies 7th
position in this new form of classification.
Observations of this nature only emphasise the necessity for
even greater attention on accident prevention measures.