The automobile became the mode of transport of choice in the 20th century, offering affordable freedom of travel to the masses for the first time. As hundreds of different manufacturers sprung up, the price of new cars dropped, and even more people were able to get on the road. This proliferation of new drivers meant that road safety regulations were introduced in order to bring down the number of accidents, and the wearing of seatbelts and having personal insurance became mandatory.
Despite these safety measures being put in place, there are still a shocking number of accidents on US roads. Some are caused by driver error, some because of the condition of the vehicles, and others due to the inclement weather conditions. It is important to study the car crash statistics in your state so that you can see where the accident hotspots are and can avoid them in order to keep you and your loved ones safe. Here we are going look at what you can learn from US car crash statistics, so read on to find out more.
What are the facts?
In order to learn from statistics, it is important to establish the facts and to understand what really happens on US roads. You will probably be surprised to learn that there are, on average 6 million car accidents a year in the US, and there are over 90 daily fatalities, which is a huge daily number and shows just how dangerous the roads have become. On the lesser side, there are still 3 million people injured in road accidents, and two-thirds of those result in a permanent injury of one sort or another.
A further staggering statistic is that 1 in 7 of these injuries is caused by not wearing a seatbelt, so by doing one little thing, i.e., wearing a belt, you can drastically reduce your chances of being involved in a crash that will result in injury or death by over 50%. The statistics also show that you are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle if you are not wearing a seatbelt when involved in a crash, so learn from these statistics and make sure you put on your belt the next time you get in a car.
Where the crash hotspots are
There is so much information in the public domain regarding car crash accidents in the US that it is possible to study this data in order to find out where the dangerous roads are so that you can avoid them at all costs. For instance, if you are driving in Florida, expert lawyers from https://www.brookslawgroup.com/most-dangerous-highways/ recommend that you study in detail maps that show where accidents take place and what type of vehicle is involved in the crashes. Some roads are mainly used by HGVs, and if you are traveling in a small personal vehicle you want to try and avoid them as they could put you in peril. Learning from the available statistics means that you can keep yourself and your family safe by avoiding the hotspots and by keeping to roads that are more driver-friendly.
What causes these accidents?
The statistics overwhelmingly show that driver error is the cause of the majority of crashes and indeed that driver impairment is the real issue. There is a reason that we see commercials imploring us not to drink-drive, and that is because alcohol is the root cause of 40% of fatalities on US roads. Why would you want to put yourself and others at risk by having a drink before you drive? Drinking is not the only reason behind fatal accidents as a further 30% are caused by speeding, and 33% are caused by reckless driving. So, what we can really glean from these statistics is that if you are going to drive a car, you need to be of sound mind and not under the influence and that you should drive in a calm manner, always having respect for the speed restrictions on the roads that you are traveling on.
As we have learned, most car crashes in the US are caused by driver impairment due to drinking driving and the associated consequences of reckless driving and speeding. Statistics show that there are over 5 million accidents per year, and some 3 million of these will result in an injury, especially if you are not wearing a seatbelt. You can use the statistics to discover which roads should be avoided, and then you can ensure that you learn from the mistakes of others and can avoid roads that have a higher chance of an accident taking place.
