Personal Injury Law

Crunching the Numbers on Highway Safety - 2009 traffic Stats

By LaBovick Law

The National Highway Safety Traffic report had some surprising statistical findings this year, particularly regarding fatalities. The organization's summary of statistical findings stated that fatalities from highway traffic accidents were down to levels not seen since 1950. This is the fourth consecutive year of decline for fatalities, and motorcycle fatalities alone declined almost 25%. The largest percentage reduction in fatalities was for big truck drivers, whose fatality rate dropped 26%.

The Relationship Between Restraints and Fatalities:

As you might expect, people using restraints such as safety belts experienced the lowest number of fatalities. More than half of those killed were not using any kind of restraint, and among fatalities that happened at night, almost two-thirds were unrestrained. However, overall rates of restraint use actually went down slightly.

Alcohol and Crashes:

There were nearly ten thousand alcohol-related fatal crashes in the US in 2009, a slight decrease from 2008, following a worldwide trend of fewer drinking and driving accidents. Those driving passenger cars had the highest incidence of alcohol-related crashes, while those in large trucks had the lowest incidence. In fact, the number of passenger cars in alcohol-related crashes was more than double that of pickup trucks, and almost eighty times that of large trucks.

Florida 2009 Traffic Statistics vs. 2008 Traffic Statistics

Florida in particular experienced a significant drop in drunk driving fatalities, with almost 500 fewer fatalities in 2009 than 2008. However, in both instances, around 30% of traffic fatalities were from alcohol-related crashes. Many other states experienced drops as well; Nevada had the biggest drop in alcohol-related driving fatalities at 36%, closely followed by New Hampshire and Wyoming.

Surprisingly, many states had a large percentage increase in the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Hawaii and Montana both experienced around a 25% increase in these kinds of fatalities, while Rhode Island experienced around a 50% increase. The state with the largest increase in alcohol-related traffic fatalities was Vermont, where drunk driving fatalities increased 92%.

Despite an overall trend towards road safety, and levels of accidents that have not been seen since 1950, some disturbing trends still come to light. The reduction in restraint usage is particularly serious, especially as lack of restraint in car accidents is very often fatal to children, making car accidents the leading cause of death in those 10 and under. Likewise, though alcohol-related traffic fatalities did drop nationwide, some states showed alarmingly large percentage increases.
 

Full post as published by LaBovick Injury Law Blog on September 17, 2010 (boomark / email).