Personal Injury Law

NHTSA Says More Traffic Deaths Occur on Rural Roads

By Jack Lebowitz, Esq. and Vadim Mzhen, Esq.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports even though more car accidents happened in urban areas, 56% of the 37,261 traffic deaths that occurred in 2008 took place on rural roads. There were 20,905 rural traffic deaths last year.

One reason for the number of deaths that occur in rural areas is that people tend to drive faster on roads that are not as designed and engineered as well as they are in urban areas. Two of the other reasons that rural auto accident deaths happen is people failing to use seat belts or driving drunk. It can also take longer for medical help to arrive at a rural car accident site. 222 of the 591 Maryland traffic fatalities in 2008 occurred in rural areas.

Findings from another traffic accident study, recently discussed in ScienceDaily.com, affirmed the NHTSA?s findings that driving in rural areas is not safer than driving in urban areas. The study, conducted by researchers abroad, reports that:

? Fatality crash risk in surrounding districts is 40% more than for city dwellers.
? Country inhabitants have a crash risk that is up to three times higher.
? The chance of sustaining serious injuries during a rural car crash is 70-100% greater than in cities.

Many people may harbor the misconception that driving in a metropolitan area is more dangerous. This may cause them to drive more cautiously than they would when driving on a rural road where there is less traffic. Obviously, this is not the case.

A driver whose negligence causes a catastrophic Maryland car crash can be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death?not to mention that he or she could end up serving time in jail while having to cope with the guilt of knowing that his or her careless or reckless acts contributed to someone getting seriously hurt or dying.

Our Maryland injury lawyers represent traffic crash victims who were injured in motorcycle accidents, truck crashes, bus collisions, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle collisions in both rural and metropolitan areas throughout the state. Contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today.

More Motorists Die on Rural Roads, USA Today, October 7, 2009

Cities Less Dangerous Than Rural Regions, Traffic Accident Study Shows, Science Daily, September 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Maryland State Highway Administration

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on October 07, 2009 (boomark / email).