USA car accident deaths decline, yet driving errors persist
Fatal traffic accidents involving a car, auto, truck, bus, motorcycle or other vehicles are declining in America. That’s the good news. The bad news is that at least 37,000 Americans still die on the USA’s roads and highways each year, and almost all of them die due to persistent and, in some ways, increasing driver errors.
Indeed, drivers are the most vital variable in car wrecks and other traffic accidents — not weather, defective parts or road conditions. Though such reasons and many others do arise in wrecks, most collisions continue to be due to drivers who — quite simply — make a momentary but lasting mistake.
Which cities and states have the best drivers? According to the 2009 Allstate America’s Best Driving Report, Sioux Falls, SD, is the nation’s safest-driving city, followed by Fort Collins, CO, and Chattanooga, TN.
Cedar Rapids, IA, Knoxville, TN and Fort Wayne, IN also get high marks.
Among cities with a million or more residents, the safest in terms of drivers are Phoenix, AZ, San Diego, CA, New York, NY, Houston, TX and San Antonio, TX. They’re followed by Chicago, IL, Dallas, TX, Los Angeles, CA and Philadelphia, PA.
The cities with the most improved drivers begin with Alexandria, VA, followed by Lexington-Fayette, KY, Arlington, TX, Hampton, VA, Virginia Beach, VA and Aurora, CO. Reno, NV and Shreveport, LA also fared well.
Of course, as a man might say about his in-laws, everything is relative. Having more safe drivers doesn’t mean these cities don’t suffer many agonizing traffic mishaps. It just means they have fewer car fatalities and auto accidents than in even worse places.
Yet Americans do have some reason for hope. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the 37,261 Americans killed in car accidents and other collisions in 2008 marked the lowest number since 1961, and the first months of 2009 have sustained such improvement.
Still, think about it: 37,261 killed. That sounds like the final tally after a horrendous war — and it’s only one year’s worth of car carnage on America’s roads. It also doesn’t count the millions of people who suffer severe injuries, perhaps involving paralysis or amputation, and the billions of dollars in medical bills, lost productivity and property damages.
Beyond that, some stats are alarmingly rising. America’s motorcycle deaths have increased for 11 straight years. Motorcyclists now represent 14 per cent of America’s traffic fatalities, though they’re just 2 per cent of all drivers.
Also, the recent decline in fatalities is being partly offset by new safety problems. Even though states are increasing their vigilance against drunk driving, even though many cars have more safety features, even though more people than ever wear seat belts, and even though roads are built and designed for greater safety, more than 37,000 Americans still perish in traffic accidents. And why?
Driver error. Drivers ignore road signs, fail to yield and disregard oncoming vehicles. They tailgate, suddenly change lanes and fail to stop for obstructions ahead. And they do such things in large part because drivers, quite simply, are distracted.
Perhaps when they first learned to drive, people were taught to pay rapt attention to the road at all times. They carefully checked their rear-view mirrors, signaled before changing lanes and yielded to other vehicles. And perhaps, for a time, such lessons stayed with them.
But with repeated driving for thousands of miles and a number of years comes an illusory comfort zone. After all, it’s just driving, and it’s done every day. This prompts drivers to believe they’ll be fine on the road, even if they are juggling a fast-foods drink in one hand and a cell phone in the other while they try sending a text message which has no immediate need.
Such multi-tasking is killing many Americans, and preventing the USA’s accident deaths, damages and injuries from dropping even further. Thousands aren’t dying and millions aren’t being maimed due to “accidents,” but rather due to avoidable mistakes. And that’s not to mention those who drive drunk, an avoidable error in itself.
Correcting Americans’ many driving errors can be hard to legislate, though states are trying, taking measures such as passing laws to curtail calling and texting behind the wheel. But beyond laws against such flaws, if knowledge is power, then raising awareness of these mistakes can help, too.
Thus, in the face of those 37,261 deaths last year, all drivers should rededicate themselves to the old adage of “safety first.” They should recognize and obey the rules of the road and realize that impatience, indulgence and selfishness can be the worst excuses for cutting across three lanes of traffic to make a freeway exit that they almost passed because they weren’t paying enough attention. After all, a friend had to hear their “LOL” joke via a text.
Yet not everyone will get this wakeup call, and harmful if not fatal accidents will persist. But when they do, at least there’s help.
If you or a loved one in your state has been harmed in an auto accident or car wreck due to another driver’s mistakes or negligence, you have a legal right to refresh or extend the education of the driver who caused the crash. Contact a qualified car accident lawyer or auto accident personal injury attorney in your state and let him or her press your case for full and fair financial compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
USA-LegalHelpCenter.com offers such support in all 50 states of America. Fill out the free case evaluation form on this web page, and a legal representative will get back to you shortly about your car accident or traffic collision case.
Once a driving error has caused hardship to you or a loved one, don’t make your own error by failing to pursue all legal means for recovering your full and just financial compensation. In time, that, too, may help curb the driver negligence that’s costing so many Americans — too many Americans — their lives.
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