It’s a fact. Car crash statistics are particularly dismal, with an estimated over 6 million collisions a year in America. Close to 3 million people sustain personal injuries as a result of these accidents.
Searching for car crash statistics on the Internet is depressing when you realize just how many Americans are hurt or killed annually. It’s almost enough to make a person stop driving, but realistically this isn’t going to happen any time soon. The estimated number of fatalities as a result of the 6 million crashes ranks somewhere near 40,000.
There seems to be a wide variety of reasons why the crash totals are so high across the nation, ranging from running a red light to speeding. Throw in a few other creative causes such as trying to program the GPS on the dashboard, sending an email from the driver’s seat and checking the scores of the hottest football match on your cell phone. The consequences of this behavior are law enforcement having their hands full picking up the pieces from some very nasty accidents.
Most of the situations we just listed have one thing in common; lack of attention to road conditions. In large part, inattention plays a significant role in fatal crashes. There are a few other reasons for losing control of a vehicle that do not involve lack of attention, but inability to focus instead, even including driving while under the influence of a drug or alcohol.
One of the most frequently cited causes of collisions these days is talking on a cell phone while attempting to pilot a 3,500-pound machine through traffic. It just can’t be done with any great degree of success and the consequences for that split second of inattention range from a fender bender to a fatality.
Political response to this issue has been to ban the use of cell phones while driving. This doesn’t help solve some of the other problems such as peeking at a dashboard computer for the latest news update. While driver education remains a large part of reaching out to motorists, they have to ultimately be willing to accept responsibility for their driving.
A closer look at traffic accidents statistics shows that they are slotted into categories that refer to the part that hits another vehicle. E.g. head on collisions, being rear ended, side collisions and rollovers, etc. No matter how it happened, or what section of the vehicle sustained an impact, the fact is that someone will be badly hurt or killed.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a collision, speak to a highly qualified personal injury attorney who will advise you on your potential case. Ensure that any attorney you meet with has extensive expertise dealing with car crashes and knows how to obtain justice for injured clients.
Jack Zinda is an Austin personal injury lawyer. To learn more about Austin injury lawyer Jack Zinda visit Hzfirm.com.
