Every year there are nearly 40,000 deaths from auto accidents in the country, according to the statistics kept by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Broken down by state, the agency’s statistics show that Texas led the country in 2015 with 3,516 fatalities. However, given the large population of the state, its proportional contribution to traffic fatalities in car accidents was not that close to the top.
The agency’s statistics are interesting and give some good insights into what drivers and pedestrians may want to look out for in the years ahead. First, most fatal crashes involve alcohol. This statistic confirms that alcohol is still a major contributor to death on the highways. The odds are much greater that a crash will end in death where alcohol has been involved.
Most fatal crashes involve single vehicles. In 2015, 95 percent of fatal crashes involved single vehicles. When it comes to the prospect of having a roll-over accident, this is much more likely to occur if one drives an SUV or a pickup truck. In addition, the agency reports that speed contributes to fatal accidents. 9,557 fatalities were associated with speed-related accidents.
Interestingly, fatalities go up in the summer. Saturday is the deadliest day for fatal car crashes and Sunday is not far behind. This simply indicates that more people are out on the weekend, and that those are the days when people are most likely to be drinking alcohol. Another unexpected fact is that 70 percent of pedestrians who died were men. In addition, men die at more than twice the rate of women in fatal auto accidents.
The statistics also show that elderly men and younger men die most frequently in such accidents. Men who are 85 and older had the highest rate of fatalities for auto accidents. The death rate of men 20 to 24 in auto accidents was not far behind. These statistics may help some persons to take more caution on the highways. When car accidents occur, the experienced personal injury attorney in Texas remains ready to assist the families of decedents or seriously injured victims in a professional and efficient manner.
Source: cheatsheet.com, “Death by Auto: 15 Things Every Driver Should Know About Crash Deaths“, Eric Schaal, Oct. 5, 2017