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Buzzell, Welsh & Hill
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10 Shocking Car Accident Facts

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At Buzzell, Welsh & Hill, every case is different and every client gets individual treatment. But when you’re thinking about road safety and defensive driving, it also helps to take a broader view. Sometimes by stepping back, looking at the statistics and learning about the risks, we can better prepare for the dangers we’ll all encounter on the road.

We hope these numbers help you consider how you can become a safer driver or encourage those around you, whether that’s by making sure friends leave your party safely or putting in extra weekend mornings practicing driving with your teen.

  1. One thousand five hundred fifty people died on Georgia’s roads in 2017, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. That means Georgia didn’t reach its goal to reduce fatalities by 41 or more for the year.

  2. The United States has the highest rate of road deaths among other high-income countries. About 90 people die each day on U.S. roads, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

  3. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for healthy Americans traveling abroad. While car crash numbers stateside are disturbing enough, globally, they’re even worse. Each year, 1.25 million people are killed in car crashes around the world, according to the CDC. If you’re traveling, ride only in marked taxis with seatbelts and be aware of local traffic rules.

  4. Drunk driving costs $44 billion in damages each year. According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it also leads to more than 10,000 deaths annually. Remember, even buzzed driving can create impairments. If you’re drinking, have a plan to get home safely, whether that’s with a designated driver or a ride service.

  5. Distracted driving led to 391,000 injuries in 2015, according to the NHTSA. This is one we come back to time and time again at Buzzell, Welsh & Hill. Your text, call, email or social media post is never worth a life—yours or another driver’s.

  6. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S., according to the CDC. So what can parents do? Educate young people about the dangers of distracted or impaired driving and give them the training and road hours they need to drive safely.

  7. Twenty-seven and a half million American don’t wear seatbelts. Seatbelts are a game-changing safety feature, turning many would-be deadly accidents into accidents with injuries. But about 10 percent of people still don’t buckle up, and about half of those killed in crashes were unrestrained, according to the NHTSA. Georgia, however, has one of the highest rates of seat belt use in the country, according to the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

  8. Crash deaths of kids 12 and under are down 43 percent in the past decade, according to the CDC. Car seats and booster seats save lives, helping protect kids in a crash and reduce injuries. Make sure you and all of your child’s caregivers know how to use appropriate safety restraints and use them every time.

  9. When speed limits go up, so do fatalities. Additionally, 27 percent of motor vehicle fatalities came from crashes where speed was a factor, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

  10. After two years of increases, national traffic fatalities are down in 2017 and trending down in 2018, according to the NHTSA. With more awareness of the seriousness of drug or alcohol impairment, distracted driving, and other preventable factors, let’s hope this number continues to fall.

If you’ve been injured in a car crash, you need a personal injury attorney. The Macon car accident lawyers at Buzzell, Welsh & Hill are here to help. Contact us for a free consultation today.

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