Causes of Injuries in California Car Accidents

In 2009 more than 3,000 people in California died as a result of auto accidents, one person killed every two and a half hours and about one person injured every two minutes. Each year more than 241,873 people are injured in crashes and collisions; about 4.9% of these are serious, life-altering injuries. In any year, a person’s chances of being injured in a car accident is greater than one in a thousand and automobile accidents are the number one cause of death and injury for children and youth ages 5 to 27.

The chief factors contributing to car accidents are

• Use of alcohol and other drug
• Excessive speed
• Failure to use safety equipment such as seat belts
• Driver distraction
• Driver fatigue
• Unsafe roadway conditions

Drugs and Alcohol, lethal ingredients

Use of alcohol is the single greatest factor in motor vehicle deaths and injuries. Every 525 minutes in California, a person dies in an alcohol-related crash, many as innocent victims. Every year about 31 percent of crashes resulting in a fatality in California involve the use of alcohol; in 2009 950 people died in alcohol related crashes. In fatal crashes where the driver had been drinking 30% of drivers had blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of .08 or higher. Other drugs were found in 23% of all drivers killed in road accidents tested after death.

A driver arrested for the first time for drunk driving will have driven drunk an average of 87 times before that arrest. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, MADD, advocates for well-publicized police checkpoints, which are highly effective both in deterring drivers from excessive drinking, and in identifying drunk drivers and having them taken off the road. In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that alcohol-related crashes and fatalities dropped by 20 percent when sobriety checkpoints were used and publicized.

Speed kills

In 2008, speeding was a contributing factor in 28.4% percent of all fatal and injury crashes in California. The severity of an automobile crash roughly doubles for every 10 miles per hour increase in speed at impact. A pedestrian struck by a car traveling 20 mph has a 5 percent chance of dying. If the car is traveling at 40mph, that pedestrian’s odds of dying are 95 percent.

Although freeway speeds are higher, freeway travel, accounts for only 14 percent of speeding related fatalities. Local roads with lower speed limits are where more than half of all speed-related fatalities occur. The economic cost of speeding-related crashes in the U.S. is estimated to be $40.4 billion per year in loss of lives, medical care, property damage, and lost productivity.

Buckle up

Among drivers and passengers who died in motor vehicle collisions, fifty-five percent were not using a seat belt. Failure to use belts is particularly high among teenagers and young adults. Unbelted drivers harm not only themselves, but all of us. The cost of hospital care for an unbelted occupant of a vehicle involved in a crash averages $5,000 more that the cost of care for a belted occupant. Eighty-five percent of those costs are passed on to the general public in the form of higher insurance premiums and higher taxes.

Pay Attention to the Road

Distracted driving is also a significant danger in California, and despite bans and legislation, the number one source of driver inattention are cell phones. The distraction caused by hand held devices and texting is a danger equivalent of operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher.

Stay Alert

Each year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports falling asleep while driving causes at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 40,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities. Since drivers feel they cannot or should not report the fact of driving drowsy to responding officers, the statistics underreport the actual number of victims. The drowsy driver is most frequently a young man (age 16 to 29), often a hard-working teen who’s working at night as well as going to school. People with undiagnosed sleep-linked conditions such as apnea or narcolepsy are also vulnerable to drowsiness. These crashes tend to occur in early afternoon.

Dangerous roads

The largest single category of highway deaths is the single vehicle run-off-road crash. Roadway improvements such as skid-resistant pavements, the removal of roadside hazards such as poles and trees, rumble strips and more reflective signs could greatly reduce the number of run-off-road deaths.