Is the following headline in the Washington Post good news or bad news? “Guns are now killing as many people as cars in the U.S.”

Or could the headline have been written in reverse?:

“Cars are now killing as many people as guns in the U.S.”

We’d like to believe that the headline writer was unbiased and objective.

So what does the story say?

According to data released in December by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle deaths have fallen sharply to a point where the trend line has converged with that of gun-related deaths. (The headline writer made the correct call.) In 2014, the age-adjusted death rate for both firearms (including homicides, suicides and accidental deaths) and motor vehicle events (car crashes, collisions between cars and pedestrians, etc.) stood at 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people.

It’s the first time in 60 years since the collection of data began that both categories intersected at the same point.

Interestingly, gun homicide deaths have also declined — a good thing — but when taken as a whole with suicide and accidental deaths, the death rate increases — a bad thing.

The really bad news, according to the CDC data, is that suicide now accounts for two out of every three gun deaths in America.

Christopher Ingraham’s story offers several other fascinating insights.

First, Americans should be happy that safer cars and roads, new technology and regulations (seat belts, speed limits) have yielded a remarkable decline in vehicle fatalities over the past five decades. In the 1960s, there were 25 car deaths per 100,000 people. Today’s rate, as previously noted, is 10.3.

Second, in 2014 gun deaths were greater than vehicle deaths in 21 states. Nine years ago, only two states had more gun deaths.

Third, if new technology (rearview cameras, lane-detection systems) have helped make cars safer, could smart technology (trigger locks, fingerprint controls) do the same in making guns safer?

The National Rifle Association has repeatedly lobbied against smart-gun technology that prevents people other than the owner from firing a gun. And yet a majority of Americans are clearly in favor of such safety measures. At the very least, it may reduce suicide and accidental deaths.

Maybe this is the year Congress finally listens to what the people want on gun safety.

Finally, there are 330 million people living in America who own 300 million legally registered guns and drive 253 million cars and trucks on the road.