It can feel like the world is out to get you, especially when people die in such easily avoidable ways.

This isn't to make light of tragic accidents, or people suffering from long term illnesses, but when you look at the staggering amount of gun deaths in the country, or the number of people still losing loved ones to lung cancer after years of smoking, it becomes apparent maybe some people don't want to avoid it at all.

When it seemingly would be so easy to step to the side.


Reddit user, Viapiane, wanted to know what common pitfalls you can avoid when they asked:

"What is a common death that could easily be avoided?"

Classes and preparation are important for a reason, to make sure you know what to do when a dangerous situation arises.

Last thing you want is to be out at sea and not know what to do if the boat capsizes.

Take a class.

And stay away from that raccoon.

Swim Classes As Soon As Possible

"Drowning. Practice water safety and teach your kids. It's so sad to hear of a child that drowned from falling in a pool when supervision and education could have prevented that."

Imrealbutter

Take A Class And Go To A Range Before Even Thinking About Buying One

"Gun accidents. There are rules around guns for reasons."

TheBitwolf

"Yup. I grew up in a SUPER hillbilly home. Dad was an avid gun collector. He never even had to lock them up because the rules were NON NEGOTIABLE. For as long as I can literally remember, we knew the rules. And you did NOT f-ck around. The consequences were very real and we knew it. That's just the way it was. Period."

JustGenericName

"No matter how they're phrased, it always comes down to the four universal rules of firearms. If someone is disobeying even ONE of these rules, they're not safe to be around when handling guns."

  • "Treat every gun as if it is loaded. Always. It doesn't matter if you "know" you just saw them empty the chamber and remove the magazine. It doesn't matter if the slide/chamber is locked open. Always. Loaded. Trust but verify."
  • "Never point the barrel of a gun at something or someone you are not willing to destroy/harm/kill. Is it ok to point a gun at someone if the gun isn't loaded? See Rule 1."
  • "Keep your booger hook off the bang switch. The finger does not touch the trigger until such time as the target has been acquired and you are immediately ready to apply deadly force."
  • "Know your target and what is behind it. This goes back to Rule 2. Bullets do not always stop on/in whatever you are actually firing the gun at. Overpenetration is a thing. Missing is a thing. You are responsible for whatever that round hits after it leaves your gun."
jmrichmond81

Seriously. Don't Go Near The Raccoon.

"Death from wild animals. Most people are going up to animals and provoking them. What are they expecting to happen?"

FoxKid720

"People are trained to think cute fluffy animal is adorable because wild domestic animals like cats and dogs are deceptively friendly, as they've learned being nice to the humans can mean pets and food handed to them. Wild animals not so much. They're also self trained to think that dogs growling and upset till they run away means the bear will do the same. No, it's just going to take your face off."

Sasparillafizz

You would think being in control of a 2,000 pound metal object would make people a little more careful.

And you would be surprised how often you are wrong.

Let The Gas Go

"The carbon monoxide deaths in Texas last year come to mind as especially tragic because a lot of people just didn’t know how to avoid them, like by not turning on the car in a closed garage"

jq12ton

"One cause of CO poisoning that's much less well known is starting a car when it's exhaust and up to their tires are buried in snow. The exhaust collects under the car, having no where to go thanks to the snow, then re-enters the car through the wheel wells and other areas, filling it with CO and killing anyone who's inside trying to stay warm."

"Happens to dozens of people every year when a sufficiently large snowstorm hits an area."

jackp0t789

Eyes Up. Don't Drink. Buckle Up.

"Vehicle accident fatalities. So many are due to DUI, texting, drowsiness, carelessness. If people just took driving more seriously and realized it was a privilege rather than a right and that their road rage/road policing/rushing can result in killing someone, maybe people would slow down and take more care."

"I live in a pretty bad area for driving. People can't stay in their lanes when the road curves, they merge over without checking blindspots, they merge over going 20mph less than the posted speed limit when you're right on top of them, etc etc. It is one of my biggest fears that my SO will die in some utterly stupid and fully preventable auto accident because some jackass was being a careless, and therefore enormously dangerous, driver."

ohmynymph

Whatever the cause of death may be, there could have been long term warning signs, things to look out for, before it happens.

Talk to someone to get your anger issues under control, go for a walk and for the sake of the world, get your COVID vaccine.

Don't Let Things Escalate

"In conflict that is looking to turn violent?"

"Walk away. Swallow the ego and walk away."

"There's a number of people who would still be alive if they followed this."

thatswhatshesaidxx

"I think this also applies to a lot of conflicts with strangers generally. It's really senseless to argue with a stranger and especially to let that escalate into a fight. I mean what is a good outcome there? You take a risk of getting at least punched, sued, injured or killed just to win and not see that person ever again if you're lucky?"

"That wouldn't even be worth a bruise for me. It's not 'manly' or strong to carry out those conflicts. Strong real men choose their conflicts wisely and don't resort to violence but solve their problems with words where necessary. You either talk things out with people you are close too or you walk away."

quackiemcduck

Taboo To Talk About, But Nonetheless Important

"Unfortunately, it's incredibly hard to stop once your drinking crosses that invisible line. Alcohol eventually changes your body chemistry, creating a dependance on it."

Complete_Business_31

Get It Checked When You Can

"Colon cancer. Super curable when caught early. Death sentence when caught late."

Scrappy_Larue

"A colonoscopy is terrible, but the relief when doc says, I found 3 precancerous polyps and removed them, it’s a giant relief."

CommercialExotic2038

2020. 2021. 2022?

"Covid. Get vaccinated."

sneeeki

"And now, also get boosted. Unless you have other major health issues, that pretty much guarantees you won't die from Covid."

AgoraiosBum

Starting Crap

"Starting crap in bars, you'd be surprised how quickly a bar fight can escalate to someone getting their head cracked open or paralyzed. All you have to do is just not take it personally move on with your business and don't engage in petty squabbles."

Urbanfalcon756

"Worked in the ER, one of the trauma cases of the week was a 25 year old who was in a drunk bar fight and got decked. He sustained a fall from standing and he died."

salty-MA-student

bad road planing...

"Car accidents. All can be easily avoided if some idiots juts follow the transit rules. The only reason we have many people dying in accidents is just because of us (people). I know there are excluded cases where the problem was the infrastructure or a bad road planing, but most of the times is a human error."

STJ41

Get a Vaccine

"I’m not sure if it’s common, but cervical cancer caused by HPV. There’s a vaccine for strains of HPV that cause cancer that’s done wonders at reducing it. And regular Pap smears are great at detecting it and any cell abnormalities. Prevention and early detection is key. Everyone should get their HPV vaccines."

whorgans

Fallen

Dog Oops GIF by AFV PetsGiphy

"All those people falling just for sake of a selfie."

Arrowhead1600

"We went to the Grand Canyon a couple of months ago (our first visit), and there were so many people climbing over the guardrails and walking out to sit on the edge of the precipice to take photos. People die doing that every year."

BSB8728

"dive shallow"

"Drowning in lakes. Many times when people drown its because they dove into the water and once they got past the warm water on the top, they hit the much colder water under the thermocline and their muscles seized up. Teaching people to 'dive shallow' or go into the water slowly isn't a big change, but would save a lot of lives."

PinocchioWasFramed

Don't Start

"Diseases caused by smoking."

Ditlev1323

"My grandfather dropped dead of a heart attack 12 years after he quit smoking, and smoking was still listed as a contributory factor. I guess after 40 years of John Wayne levels of cigarettes consumption the damage was done. It's best never to start."

Johhnymaddog316

Buckle Up

"Children dying in vehicle accidents as a result of them not being in the proper safety seat, the seat not being properly installed, or them.not being properly buckled in or a combination of all of them. So easily avoided if parents and care givers just put the seat in correctly, made sure it was the correct seat for their child's size, and always make sure their child stays buckled."

Lemurtoes666

Body isn’t ready yet...

"I heard this from a death janitor. Heart attacks on the toilet first thing in the morning. If you wake up and need to poop, do a couple laps around your place first, maybe put the kettle on. Never go straight from bed to the toilet. He said it had something to do with going right from a sleeping state to sitting and bearing down. Body isn’t ready yet. He’s not a doctor but he sees the dead people so I believe it."

ivytiger99

Tragedy

"Fentanyl overdoses. They're the leading cause of death for people 18-45 years old in the US, more than all other drug overdoses combined. Tons of those deaths could have been easily avoided by testing drugs before doing them."

Bruhtonium_2

The world is a dangerous place, so make sure you're keeping an eye out for yourself and those around you.

That cute raccoon is coming for your face.