Car Accidents: Some Facts And Statistics You Really Need To Know

A car accident, also referred to as a “traffic collision,” or a “motor vehicle accident,” occurs when a motor vehicle strikes or collides another vehicle, a stationary object, a pedestrian, or an animal. While some car accidents result only in property damage, others result in severe injuries or death.

A number of factors contribute to the risk of collision, including vehicle design, speed of operation, road design, road environment, and driver skill, impairment due to alcohol or drugs, and behavior, notably speeding and street racing. Worldwide, motor vehicle collisions lead to death and disability as well as financial costs to both society and the individuals involved.

Car accidents are such common place in our society today that many just write them off as a fact of life. It is true that accidents can happen, but more times than not it was someone’s carelessness that led to the crash. Most motor vehicle accidents could have been avoided if it were not for the other driver’s negligence.

Below are some of the facts and statistics of car accidents

1. Texting While Driving

The average text message takes about 4.6 seconds to compose and send. While on the steering, that would take your eyes off the road long enough to drive the length of a football field blind if you are travelling at 55 miles per hour. Same applies to when you talk on a cell phone while driving, you are increasing your chance of being in an accident by a large margin.

2. Vehicle Rollovers

These are easily the most deadly type of car accidents. It refers to the moment when a vehicle tips over onto its side or roof. Rollovers have a higher fatality rate than other types of vehicle collisions.

3. High Mortality Record

It is true that more than 3 million people across the world die every year due to Car Accidents.

4. Men Actually Cause Twice As Many Accidents As Women

Men have been known to show reckless bravery even when it is clearly too dangerous. They cover more miles and engage in riskier driving practices, hence, they die more frequently.

5. Seat belts Save Lives

Simply wearing a seatbelt reduces your risk of a crash related death by 70 percent. Men are 30%  less likely to use their seat belts than women.

6. Airbags

 Air bags work when an electronic sensor in the car senses a sudden, sharp deceleration (such as a crash) and detonates a small charge which inflates the bags. The presence of airbags in vehicles account for the reduced mortality rate in some accidents.

The air bag is inflated at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. This is faster than the blink of an eye.

7. Infants

Children under the age of 13 should ride buckled up in the back seat. Small children should ride in the back seat in a car seat that is approved for their age and size. Never put infants, seated in rear facing car seats, in the front seat of a car with a passenger side air bag. If an infant must ride in the front seat of a car that has a passenger side air bag, put the infant in a front facing car seat. Children that must ride in the front seat should use a booster seat, or a correct fitting lap and shoulder belt, and then the seat should be moved back as far as possible.

8. Car Accidents Have Been In Occurrence Since The Invention Of Vehicles

These  photographs are taken in Boston in the 1930s. They show us that there were just as many reckless drivers back then as there are on the roads now.

9. Road Signs

In some countries, especially in the third world countries, many drivers and road users cannnot interpret road signs.

10. Potholes 

Potholes are very frustrating for drivers, because sometimes they can’t be avoided. Swerving into another lane when cars are coming trying to avoid the potholes has caused thousands of collisions. Potholes are rampant in most developing countries.