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by aynsof 1464 days ago
I'd have expected the death rate to increase as the height increased. Any idea what's behind the seemingly random distribution?
5 comments

This isn't really reporting a death rate, it's reporting the distribution of heights given you died falling from a height.

I'd guess falls from higher heights are more deadly, but less likely (you're more likely to use fall protection on a 8 story roof than a 1 story roof, I'd guess; and there's also a lot more 1 story roofs than 8 story roofs)

That's the percentage of fall deaths caused from each height, not the mortality rate of a fall from a given height.
In other words, assuming falling probability doesn't vary with height, its estimating what % of time people spend at each height * probability of a fall being reported at that height * probability of death at a given height.
It probably depends a lot on what you are going to hit as you fall. A drop onto a safety line over an empty void may be safer than a 2m fall onto a piece of equipment.
There is a proverb, may be Italian: it is better to fall from the window sill than the roof.
Add it up as you go up. :)