Does the Article Tell the Whole Story?

Date: September 16, 2026

Author: Tim Platnich

A recent news article on Global News (dated September 15, 2026) is headlined: "Alberta on track to see the most traffic deaths in a decade: 'Disaster waiting to happen'"

The article notes that in 2015, Alberta experience 286 traffic deaths as recorded by the RCMP. As of the end of August, 2026, there were 192 traffic deaths in Alberta. Straight-lined, that will equate to 288 by the end of the year. This would be a 10 year high. The suggestion is that traffic fatalities are rising. The article goes on to suggest that rising fatalities are the result of increasingly poor driving behaviour.

Graphing the data is illustrative - see below. Note if you take out 2015 and 2026, fatalities have oscillated consistently between about 250 and 210 fatalities per year. 2015 and 2026 stand out as anomalies. One statistic not considered in the Article was population growth. In 2015, the population of Alberta was 4,150,147. In 2026, the population had increased by 906,930 people and was 5,057,077, an increase of about 25%. Looked at that way, traffic fatalities, as a function of population, have been decreasing with 2026 again being an anomaly. Even still, 2026 traffic fatalities (as straight-lined) represent a much smaller percentage of the population: .0057% of the population vs. .0069% in 2015. This is a 17% decrease in fatalities relative to population - if my math is correct - not guaranteed.

The Article bemoans the loss of life represented by these fatalities particularly because they are totally preventable. But are they? Are humans ever capable of perfect driving?

In any event, consider that since 2023, more than 1,000 people in Alberta have died by MAID per year. Truly preventable deaths.

Of course there are differences in the two cases. Traffic fatalities are the result of accidents - negligence perhaps, or just bad luck. On the other hand, MAID deaths are intentional. Is that better or worse? MAID deaths put an end to suffering. A traffic fatality may or may not have that result - probably not - unless one believes that the human condition is invariably one of suffering, just in different degrees.

I know what you are thinking - this man has too much time on his hands.