The amount of people who die in car accidents every year is staggering. Would we ever tolerate 37,000 fatalities in any other way? (And that number, which is actually 37, 261 — is a historic low, the lowest level since 1961.) All this week, NPR is looking at how safe our roads are, in a variety of stories about cars, drivers, roads, and all the infrastructure that both protects and exposes us. TOTN is doing two shows; today, we'll ask what you'd give up to prevent deaths on the roads. It's easy to say "anything," and mean it, but keep in mind that the climate change agenda is in slight conflict with safety agendas (smaller cars are greener, but if you get in a crash, they aren't as protective as that big ol' SUV). And that you may not want your elderly relative to have to give up his or her keys, but senior drivers can be a real safety problem (so can younger drivers).

Tomorrow, big rig trucks. We can't operate without the goods they bring us, but sharing the roads can be tough — and dangerous.