We look to Google® for everything we’re anxious about. Google holds all the answers—so why not flip those search queries to figure out what the American people are worried about?
Discovering the issues that Americans search for on Google could tell us what each state values and finds important. It could also predict what problems communities around the nation have, what factors affect the US, and even what citizens’ political ramifications are.
To determine what plagues our nation most, Your Local Security (YLS) took a deep dive into finding America’s top medical, workplace, driving, home, and public concerns. After collecting, sorting, and organizing this information, we used Google’s search trend data to analyze and find each state’s top safety issue. We’ve listed the results below.
Most Searched Safety Concerns in America
From drowning to choking, forklift malfunctions to federal government changes, the US has plenty of safety concerns. The map above lays out what worries each state. In the following sections, we explain each safety concern.
Workplace Safety
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic, 14% of all fatalities in 2014 were due to falling to a lower level in the workplace. The dangers in a work environment are unique and diverse, but the hazards that the National Safety Council curated include working at heights, poor housekeeping, electrical threats, forklifts, lockouts, chemicals, and confined spaces.
According to our research, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, Wyoming, and Texas rank the highest in searches for workplace-related issues.
Driving Safety
Getting behind the wheel can be quite unsafe, and a lot of US citizens worry about the risks they face on the road—and for good reason. In 2016, about 40,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes. Many people wonder about alcohol, speeding, distracted driving, and car accidents and how these factors influence driving safety.
We found that New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Georgia, Washington, North Dakota, and Minnesota googled driving safety issues the most.
Home Safety
The National Safety Council reported that 146,571 people died from unintentional injuries in 2015. Many accidents could happen in the home, such as poisoning, falls, choking, suffocation, drowning, fires, burns, prescription drug overdoses, suicide, and gun violence.
Our findings indicate that Idaho, Montana, Alabama, New Jersey, South Carolina, Delaware, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Iowa, Colorado, Illinois, South Dakota, Alaska, Maryland, and Maine search for home-related issues more than any other state.
Public Safety
Public safety issues may be some of the most worrisome to Americans because these concerns relate to politics and the overall wellness of the United States. These topics include natural disasters, health care availability, economic fluctuations, terrorist attacks, Social Security changes, income discrepancies, hunger, homelessness, illegal immigration, drug use, unemployment rates, energy use, racial differences, climate change, and air pollution.
We discovered from our data that Idaho, Tennessee, Indiana, New York, Arkansas, Florida, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, California, Vermont, Hawaii, Arizona, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Nevada, Michigan, Oregon, and Utah search for public safety issues most often.
Medical Safety
In the United States, one out of twenty hospitalized patients contracts health care-acquired infections. This is one of the many medical safety worries that occupy America’s thoughts. Other problems include diagnostic errors, falls, medication errors, readmissions, and wrong-site surgery.
Of all the states in the US, only Kansas searched for medical-related issues most.
What issue are you most worried about? Does that topic match your state’s top search? Share this information with your friends and family and see how your thoughts compare, and let’s work together to make sure our communities are as safe as possible by utilizing these safety resources.
About YourLocalSecurity.com
YourLocalSecurity.com aims to provide the security tools and information needed to build a safer home environment. For media inquiries, please contact media@yourlocalsecurity.com.
Disclaimer: All research and data collected by Your Local Security.
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