High-speed police chases kill 1 person almost every day

High-speed police chases may look really cool in movies, but the reality is a whole lot uglier, according to USA Today. Their study reports that between 1979 and 2013, 11,506 people were killed in police chases — over 5,000 of whom were innocent bystanders.

The rate of high-speed chase fatalities is actually so high that, on average, they're responsible for the death of nearly one person a day. By comparison, one person a day on average is shot to death by the police, according to an FBI estimate from June (although that number is believed by many to be much higher).

Most chases begin with an attempted traffic stop (89 percent) and end quickly, USA Today reports; 76 percent were over in only five minutes or less in California. But of all the daredevils who try to make an escape, the California Highway patrol calculated 28 percent of high-speed chases ended in crashes; in Minnesota, that number was as high as 40 percent.

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The grim long and short of it is, don't try this at home. Jeva Lange