AUTO ACCIDENTS
What Should
I Know About Auto Accidents?
If you have been injured in an automobile accident it is important that you
contact a qualified attorney immediately to help you get the justice you seek
and the compensation you deserve. The laws are complex and the right attorney
can help you understand your rights under the law. Call Large and Associates for
a free consultation. We want to help.
Get the facts now:
What should I know if I am in an automobile accident?
What should I know about automobile insurance?
1998 Traffic safety facts:
- There were an estimated 6,334,000 police-reported traffic crashes.
- 41,471 people were killed and 3,192,000 people were injured.
- 4,269,000 crashes exclusively involved property damage
- An average of 114 individuals died each day -one every 13 minutes
- Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children from
5-14 years old.
- In 1998, 20% of the children under 15 years old killed in crashes were
killed in alcohol-related crashes.
- In 1998, 5,220 pedestrians were killed; 10% of those fatalities were 0-14
years of age and 62% of this age group was male.
- On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 101 minutes
and injured in a traffic crashes every 8 minutes.
- Most pedestrian fatalities in 1998 occurred in urban areas (69%), at
nonintersecting locations (78%, in normal weather conditions (88%), and at
night (64%).
- Speeding was a major contributing factor in 30% of all fatal crashes.
12,477 lives were lost in speeding related crashes in 1998. 37% were male
drivers ages 15-20 years of age.
- The economic cost of speeding-related crashes is estimated to be $27.7
Billion each year
- In 1998, 599,000 people received minor injuries in speeding-related
crashes, 72,000 received moderate injuries and over 40,00 received serious
to critical injuries.
- In 1998, 85% of speeding-related fatalities occurred on roads that were
not Interstate highways.
- Safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat
passenger car occupants by 45%.
- Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71% for infants (less than 1year
old) and 54% for toddlers (1-4 years old) in passenger cars. For infants and
toddlers in light trucks, the corresponding reductions are 58% and 59%,
respectively.
- Between 1987 and 1998, 3,706 lives were saved by air bags.
- Air bags, combined with lap/shoulder safety belts, offer the most
effective safety protection available today for passenger vehicle occupants.
- Air bags are supplemental protection and are not designed to deploy in all
crashes. Most are designed to inflate in a moderate-to-severe frontal crash.
- Children in rear-facing child seats should not be placed in the front seat
of vehicles equipped with passenger-side air bags. The impact of a deploying
air bag striking a rear-facing child seat could result in injury to the
child.
- In 1998, older people made up 9% of the resident population but accounted
for 14% of all traffic fatalities and 18% of all pedestrian fatalities.
- In 1998, 161,000 older individuals were injured in traffic crashes. 82%
occurred during the day, 72% on weekdays and 75% involved another vehicle.
- In two-vehicle fatal crashes involving an older driver and a younger
driver, the vehicle driven by the older person was more than 3x (times) as
likely to be the one that was struck. In 42% of these crashes, both vehicles
were proceeding straight at the time of collision.
- Older drivers involved in fatal crashes had the lowest proportion of
intoxication than all adult drivers. Fatally injured older pedestrians also
had the lowest intoxication rate of all pedestrian fatalities.
- On the basis of estimated annual travel, the fatality rate for drivers 85
and over is 9x (times) as high as the rate fro drivers 25 through 69 years
old.
- In 1998, 38% of the pedal cyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes were
under 15 years of age.
- During 1998, 9,9095 motor vehicle occupants under 15 years old were
involved in fatal crashes. For those children, where restraint was known,
43% were unrestrained; among those who were fatally injured, 61% were
unrestrained.
- During 1998, a young person died in a traffic crash an average of once an
hour during the weekend and once every two hours on weekdays.
Notice:
Each case is different and
different facts may yield a result you would never expect from reading this
brief Web page. The information on this Web site cannot replace the careful
consideration of personal factors and changes in the law, which may apply to
your legal problem. While this information may help you, do not rely on it as
the final answer to a legal question.
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