Approximately 1.3 million people die each year in car crashes globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the US, over 30,000 have died yearly since 1975, except in 2011, which saw 29,867 deaths.
A multifaceted effort from governmental agencies saw a consistent reduction in deaths on American roads from 2016 to 2019. At the height of the pandemic, when fewer cars were on the road, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 39,007, the highest figure recorded since 2008.
In 2021, the figure shot to 42,939, the highest it has ever been since 2002. In 2022, the numbers fell slightly to 42,795, which is still quite high compared to the recent past.
Who Are Most at Risk?
According to the WHO’s 2022 Fact Sheet, different groups of people are impacted differently by car accidents, with the most vulnerable groups being pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. There is very little protection against impact for this group of road users, meaning a collision with a larger vehicle significantly increases the chances of death or severe injuries.
People from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are at a higher risk of getting into an accident than those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. According to The Who report, 90 percent of traffic fatalities occur in Africa in low-income and middle-income countries, even when the countries have only 54 percent of the global vehicle population. Even in developed countries, poor neighborhoods are more vulnerable to car accidents than those in high socioeconomic neighborhoods.
Gender and age are also significant factors in traffic accidents. Statistics show that male drivers have a higher per capita death rate than their female counterparts. The difference in impact per capita becomes increasingly significant with age. All drivers aged between 16 and 21 are three times more likely to get in an accident than drivers over 21, but young male drivers are the most vulnerable.
Causes of Road Accidents
The causes of road accidents barely changed over the years. The year that exhibited a slight difference is 2020, where the uptick in traffic fatalities was blamed on the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic and the open roads occasioned by lockdowns.
Driving under the influence (Dui) has always been a leading cause of accidents on American roads, resulting in approximately 30 deaths daily. In the US, the blood alcohol (BAC) limit for drivers is at 0.08 percent in all states except Utah, which has a 0.05 percent limit. However, no level of alcohol in the body is safe while driving because alcohol starts interfering with a driver’s ability to control a vehicle before they reach the legal limit.
Speeding is also a major cause of accidents. According to the NHTSA, Speeding was a factor in 29 percent of all fatal accidents in 2020, which explains high fatalities when fewer cars were on the road.
Other causes of accidents include distracted driving, which is a factor in 8 percent of crashes, and Drowsy driving, which accounts for 1.6 percent of traffic fatalities. Distracted driving refers to operating a vehicle with divided attention and can be manual visual cognitive. Drowsy driving is usually caused by fatigue or sleep deprivation and can be as dangerous as intoxicated driving.
Legal Recourse in an Accident
Besides, injuries and death accidents result in substantial economic losses to the persons involved and their countries. According to WHO, some countries spend over 3% of the GDP on accident-related costs.
“If another person is to blame for an accident, the affected parties have a right to sue them for compensation, which calls for working with a lawyer to get the best possible outcomes,” says attorney Michael McCready of McCreadyLaw Injury Attorneys.
