I feel like this is in the process of happening right now. The number of car-critical and car-hostile posts has been increasing and the sentiment is gaining traction on "the left" lately. What is strongtowns if not one such publication?
Designing cities/towns where you don't need a car is one of the best things a society can do.
Healthcare expenses is a similar political wedge-issue that causes tons of deaths (Medicare for all, etc.) and doesn't get nearly as much media coverage because it's less terrifying.
You can see this even irrespective of how many deaths there are, like when there's a really big fire/explosion/storm that gets news coverage but casualties are zero or very low. Those are more likely to get coverage than a single car crash that killed more people
I hear a lot more ads on the radio informing me about all the ways a DUI will screw over my life, even if I don't kill anyone, but almost nothing about guns.
Now, at a national level, sure, guns dominate. But I'd say the larger differentiating factor is intent. The killer on a shooting spree sparks terror in a way that a stupid drunk driver does not, even if the latter is more of a risk.
This is entirely untrue.
In my state, for example, you must be at least 18 to purchase firearms generally and 21 to purchase handguns or semiautomatic rifles. Every sale has a mandatory criminal and medical background check. The transfer applications (state and ATF Form 4473) require listing your name, date of birth, address, declaration of citizenship, Social Security number, driver license number, etc. Firearms must be stored in "secure gun storage." They are not permitted on various types of school property or property being used by a school, public demonstrations, state capitol grounds, and so on. You can only discharge firearms in certain places. You must have a license to conceal one on your person. You cannot possess short-barreled shotguns or machine guns. You need special licensing for short-barreled rifles and suppressors. I'm excluding a bunch of stuff—mostly federal laws—but you get the point. Violating any of those laws is a gross misdemeanor or felony. Keep in mind I live in a state with relatively permissive firearms laws! The laws in plenty of other states are much more severe.
Purchasing, owning, and operating a vehicle is much more easier than purchasing, owning, or operating firearms.
* Age limits: There is a similar age limit to buy a gun as there is to drive a car
* Driver's license: Pretty much anyone with a pulse over the age of 16 can get a driver's license and it's nearly impossible to revoke permanently
* Insurance: The legally required insurance limits in some states is so low that it's effectively useless
Say a DUI driver kills a random family of 5. Is that going to make national headlines? Probably not. Very little to be gained politically. It doesn't really enrage us because we love and celebrate alcohol too much to be capable of villainizing it like guns. So as a result, it doesn't spread very far on social media.
Now say a raging incel shoots 5 people at a mall (2 die, 3 are injured). Is that going to make national headlines? You bet. It easily enrages at least half of us since guns are a wedge issue. Hence, it spreads like wildfire on social media. As it's spreading, it is further coupled to politics whenever people use the story to further political goals like mobilizing peers to go out and protest, drum up support for a preferred candidate, and more.
You won't see a public reaction to car accidents similar to guns until the media decides either alcohol or cars are villains that need to be eradicated from society.