Forty is the year of living dangerously, Suncorp Life study finds

By The Courier-Mail, 6 January 2011

FORTY is the most dangerous age for Australians, blasting the commonly-held belief that adolescents are the biggest risk takers, according to a new study.

Suncorp Life’s Year of Living Dangerously report analysed the top five causes of accidental death in Australia and found that those in the prime of their lives are more likely to die by accident than any other generation.

The report also found Queensland is the road death capital of Australia.

“Tragically, Queenslanders have the worst record on our roads with 311 accidental deaths recorded during the review period, 81 more than the next state Victoria. Considering population as a factor this equates to 7.7 deaths for every 100,000 people, considerably higher than the national average of 6.1 for every 100,000 people,” Suncorp Life CEO Geoff Summerhayes said.

Of the 461 accidental deaths in Queensland during the review period: 68 per cent were on our roads; 12 per cent died by poisoning; 12 per cent fell to their death; 6 per cent drowned and 2 per cent choked to death.

The Year of Living Dangerously report shows that those about to enter middle age are the "unlucky generation".

“Surprisingly it is not the young who are most at risk of accidental death, but those approaching middle age, with 40 years old the average year of death across the top five accident categories," Mr Summerhayes said.

“By the time you turn 40 it’s likely you’ll have a mortgage. You may also have a young family that need looking after and in some cases elderly relatives that need caring for too.

“Yet 40 years old is the most dangerous year of all, and most people don’t even know it."

Queensland represented a significant 20 per cent of the national 2277 accidental deaths recorded during the review period.

From a generational point of view:

* Generation Z (0-18 years) is most prone to drowning;

* Generation Y (19-30 years) is the most dangerous on our roads with the highest incidence of road deaths;

·* Generation X (31-45 years) is most likely to suffer from accidental poisoning;

* The baby boomer generation (46-64 years) is most at risk from choking deaths and falls.

Accident data was analysed for the 2008 calendar year from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport and Work Safe Australia.