Our car accident lawyers explain what drivers need to know
What are the latest trends in car accidents? Are there more accidents each year? Who’s causing them? How old are the drivers? Who are the victims? These are just some of the questions road safety researchers recently analyzed as part of a comprehensive analysis conducted by News Trail. The results might come as a surprise to you.
Are roadway crashes increasing?
First, let’s review the numbers. According to News Trail, car accidents happen at an alarming rate around the world, as illustrated by the following crash data:
- 20 to 50 million injuries are sustained in car crashes each year worldwide
- 3 million car accident fatalities happen annually worldwide
- That equates to 3,287 deaths per day
What about the United States? The numbers just seem to keep getting worse each year. Even with fewer drivers on the road, car accident fatalities nationwide increased in 2020 by 7.2 percent, 36,096 motor vehicle deaths in 2019 to 38,680 road deaths in 2020, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). The 2020 figure was the most car accident fatalities in the United State since 2007.
Then came 2021. And the numbers were just as bad. Nationwide, car accident fatalities increased by 20 percent during the first half of 2021 compared to the first half of 2020, according to NHTSA statistics.
Who causes car accidents?
The recent News Trail article about car accidents identified several people by category who often cause collisions:
- Gender – Men cause more car accidents than women. According to the latest statistics, 25,841 male drivers caused fatal car accidents versus 10,676 female drivers nationwide. In addition, male drivers 16 to 19 years old die at twice the rate compared to female drivers the same age.
- Age – Younger drivers cause more crashes than older drivers. Younger drivers make up only 3.9 percent of all drivers, but cause 6 percent of all fatal car accidents.
What factors contribute the most to crashes?
Along with a driver’s age and gender, many car accidents have certain things in common. These include common contributing factors, according to News Trail. These factors include:
- Speeding – Speeding drivers consistently cause more crashes. Overall, 26 percent of fatal crashes involve speeding drivers.
- Distracted driving – Whether it’s texting while driving or engaging in other distracting behavior, drivers who don’t focus on the road cause many crashes. On average, 9 percent of fatal crashes involve distracted drivers.
These are just some of the common contributing factors in car accidents. According to News Trail, other factors include bad road infrastructure, lack of police enforcement of traffic laws, and poorly maintained vehicles.
Who’s getting hurt in car wrecks?
While car accidents can affect anyone, certain people sustain more injuries than others. According to statistics compiled by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and cited by News Trial:
- 62 percent of people killed in car accidents were vehicle passengers.
- 17 percent were pedestrians
- 14 percent were motorcyclists
- 2 percent were bicyclists
Car accident attorneys serving Wichita Falls, TX & Lawton, OK
You might think you don’t need an attorney if you were injured in an accident and you’re not at fault. A local police officer or state trooper likely responded to your accident. They will investigate it. But what you need to understand is their investigation will only focus on determining why your accident happened. It’s not their job to ensure you are fairly compensated for all your losses.
That’s our job. That’s why we want to meet with you right away. At Hoover Rogers Law, LLP, our goal is simple – to fight for the justice and financial compensation you deserve. When you have an experienced car accident lawyer from our law firm on your side, you can focus on healing while we handle everything else.
Discover what our law firm can do for you. Contact us today to schedule a free case evaluation. We have two offices conveniently located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and Lawton, Oklahoma, and we handle cases in both states.