10 Worst States That Have The Highest Car and Truck Accidents in the US

February 6, 2015June 29, 2016 myattorneyfinderadmin 0 Comments

As millions of people plan to travel each month, even more on the holidays, motorists face many dangers on the road. There were 32,999 people killed, 3.9 million were injured, and 24 million vehicles were damaged in motor vehicle crashes in the United States. The cost of these losses included lost productivity, medical costs, legal and court costs, and property damage which totaled $242 billion.

FACING THE DANGERS

Alcohol-Related Crashes: In 2014, 9,967 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. That’s 31% of the total traffic deaths for the year! Alcohol-impaired motor vehicle crashes cost more than an estimated $37 billion annually.

Speeding: Speeding-related deaths nationwide account for nearly a third of all traffic fatalities each year, taking close to 10,000 lives according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes and at a tremendous cost. NHTSA estimates that the annual cost of speeding-related crashes is $40.4 billion.

Red Light Running: The IIHS says that more than 900 people a year die and nearly 2,000 are injured as a result of vehicles running red lights. About half of those deaths are pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles who are hit by red light runners.

Fatigue: A study by the AAA Traffic Safety Foundation found that 37 percent of drivers report having fallen asleep behind the wheel at some point in their lives. An estimated 21 percent of fatal crashes, 13 percent of crashes resulting in severe injury and 6 percent of all crashes, involve a drowsy driver, according to a 2014 study by the AAA. Results of a November 2013 AAA survey showed that 28.3 percent of licensed drivers age 16 or older said that in the past 30 days they had driven when they were so tired that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open.

Distracted Driving: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gauges distracted driving by collecting data on “distraction-affected crashes,” which focuses on distractions that are most likely to affect crash involvement such as dialing a cellphone or texting and being distracted by another person or an outside event. In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. As of December 2014, 169.3 billion text messages were sent in the US every month.

WHERE YOU LIVE INCREASES YOUR RISK

Along with the dangers you face while driving your risk increases for these accidents based on where you live. You may think that the drives in your area are the worst and you may be suprised your state is not on the list. For 10 years the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute has compiled a list of motor vehicle crashes and deaths by state and crash types. Take a look and see and maybe you might consider driving a little more cautiously.

Here is a list of the 10 worst states that have the highest fatal crash totals for 2014.

1. Texas