Yeah, I was mostly thinking about things like safer cars (more safety testing and more stringent tests, better materials, next generation 'vehicle stability control' and laser cruise control used for emergency braking, mesh networking, 4-point seatbelts, etc), better design of sidewalks and bike paths, the hardening of buildings in earthquake and hurricane-prone areas, automatic monitoring systems on swimming pools to prevent accidental drowning, etc.

But really, what do people die from in stable rich countries? It's really the diseases of aging that we need to cure (see SENS.org). After that, your chances of dying from an accident are already very low as things stand, and there are still lots of low-hanging fruit ways to make things safer...

I don't think making us very safe in the near-term requires a Big Brother state keeping us in plastic bubbles.

And if we take care of aging, most people will probably live long enough without dying in an accident to either see Friendly AI or some form of brain backup technology further reduce risk, or they'll all die from an existential risk that we've failed to prevent.