Final answer:
This situation exemplifies the availability heuristic, where people make judgments based on the ease of recalling information. Zale's perception of car accidents as more dangerous is influenced by the frequent coverage of car accident fatalities in the news.
Step-by-step explanation:
This situation exemplifies the availability heuristic. The availability heuristic is when people make judgments based on the ease with which they can bring information to mind. In this case, Zale sees car accidents as more dangerous because he frequently hears about them in the news, making car accident fatalities more easily recalled than deaths caused by diseases like diabetes and cancer. Despite the statistical evidence showing that diabetes and cancer kill more Americans than car accidents or murder, Zale's perception is influenced by the availability of vivid car accident stories.