As readers of this legal blog know, we commonly post on personal injury topics. Indeed, in a recent blog post, we wrote about how Alabama state troopers released the 2022 auto accident numbers for the state. Now, the national crash statistics have been released for the entire country.
The national numbers are pretty stark
Every year, there are 5 million car accidents caused by the negligence of others on our roads. That is 14,385 lives impacted a day, 599 days ruined an hour and almost 10 potentially fatal collisions every minute of every day. These are stark numbers, but they represent a country that has a vast urban sprawl, an obsession with cars and a love affair with both alcohol and speed. However, only about 1% of these accidents actually result in a fatality.
Alcohol and speed?
The two most common contributing factors of fatal collisions are alcohol (regardless of amount) and speeding. Together, these two factors account for nearly 25,000 of the over 35,000 fatal car crashes the United States experiences every year. Indeed, there is a fatality about every 15 minutes in America, and usually, it could have been prevented had the negligent driver just slowed down or decided to abstained from drinking.
When do these happen?
The most dangerous night to drive is Independence Day. And, most holidays are dangerous too. Though, any night between 6 and midnight, especially on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, can be similarly dangerous.
What we can learn
As our Mobile, Alabama, readers know from our prior article and now, from this article, driving simply is not a safe activity. Though, that does not mean we want you to lock yourself away, especially on Independence Day. No, maybe, exercise some extra caution at these especially dangerous times.
