Using the automobile deaths per year versus the number of gun deaths per year is comparing apples to oranges.
To legally drive an automobile in this country you have to have a driver's license which requires a written, and in some states a driving, test. To license an automobile, you are required to have proof of insurance on that vehicle that meets or exceeds the State's standard of minimum insurance. The vehicle, in some States, must also pass a safety inspection. There is no longer, in many States, a prerequisite of taking some form of driving training or driver education, just the written test with questions taken straight from the State's driving handbook.
To legally purchase a gun in this country, from a gun store, you are required to undergo a Federal background check to see if you have been convicted of any crimes in which you would be ineligible to purchase a gun, be it a handgun or a long gun. This does not include the purchase of a weapon capable of being fired on full auto. Burst weapons I am unsure if it is necessary to under more Federal scrutiny to purchase. After the purchase, depending on the State of Residence, you may be required to be licensed by the local law enforcement authorities, through the State law enforcement authorities, to carry a weapon concealed or open. Some States do not have a licensing requirement to carry open, but do allow for open carry without a license. Some States do not allow open carry at all, but also do not require you to be licensed for concealed carry. A gun owner is not required by law, in any State I know, to carry insurance in the event the weapon is used in a manner that causes injury or harm to persons or property.
In both of the above cases, the States themselves regulate what constitutes the rules and regulations to follow when licensing a person to operate an automobile or to license an automobile.
Compare California's automobile licensing standards to those of most States in the Union, they are more restrictive in most circumstances.
Each State also sets its own rules and regulations governing who is allowed to obtain firearms legally and how that is done, with some Federal standards that are required to be met. As each State is reliant upon the Federal government for the accuracy of the database containing the criminal records of all person who should be there; which in turn is reliant upon the States to provide the proper information to be supplied to the Federal database, you have a co-dependency upon one another for the accuracy of the database.
When you look at the number of accidents on the road, you have to look at the number of those accidents in which the driver was legally licensed to drive a motor vehicle, the number of drivers who were legally and properly insured and then derive your statistics from those data.
As the factors for the licensing and the regulation of both automobiles and firearms is completely different and incompatible, comparing the two is also incompatible.
One other thing to point out, at least if you believe in the wording of the Constitution, one has the RIGHT to keep and bear arms, where as driving is a privilege. The legal purchase of a gun is regulated by the State, the legal purchase of an automobile is not, one just needs the funds or credit. The licensing of an automobile and the right to carry a gun is also regulated by the State. Any i***t can drive a car, any i***t can purchase and use a gun. Any responsible person can drive a car, any responsible person can purchase and use a firearm.
The estimated total number of guns (both licit and illicit) held by civilians in the United States is 270,000,0001 to 310,000,000
http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-statesOverall, there were an estimated 247,421,120 registered passenger vehicles in the United States according to a 2005 DOT study
http://www.usa.org/cars/US Population: 316.7 Million at time of posting
http://www.census.gov/popclock/The point is, apples to oranges.
Using the automobile deaths per year versus the nu... (