While recent statistics show a drop in vehicular accident fatalities over the past ten years, the most common cause of road accidents needs to be given some attention. The combination of speeding and aggressive drivers is the main factor involved in motor accidents and state authorities need to implement more effective measures to help prevent these accidents. For now, individuals may turn to their personal injury lawyer in seeking compensation for pain and injury resulting from these accidents.
Figures for vehicular accident fatalities can be something of an illusion. There were over 30,000 people killed on U.S. roads last year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics. This might seem alarmingly high until the total number of miles driven on U.S. roads is taken into consideration. In fact, the fatality rate has dropped significantly over the last decade and is almost the same as it was in the 1950s, when the population was lower and the number of vehicles in circulation was much lower as well.
For every 100 million vehicle miles there was only one recorded fatality last year, which is one of the lowest on record. If that is the case, one might wonder what is killing Americans on the roads. The figures show that fatalities caused by people not wearing seat belts, something that can be readily identified when the deceased are removed from a wrecked vehicle, have actually dropped by nearly 25% in the last ten years. The number of people who die because of alcohol related driving accidents is also lower - now only about 3% of the total.
It seems that one of the worst causes of vehicle accidents is speeding and it appears that the attitude of many people towards restrictions on speeding is not a very encouraging one overall.
Speeding drivers are often aggressive drivers and the combination is not a good one. About a third of all fatalities on the roads are due to speeding and aggressive drivers.
There seems to be little or nothing being done by state authorities to curb speeding drivers, despite the public perception that police departments spend an inordinate amount of time handing out speed tickets. In fact, only two states have increased fines for speeding in the last five years, while only 20% of U.S. states have legislation aimed at aggressive drivers.
Whatever the numbers of accidents and the related injuries and deaths, if you have lost a loved one in an accident or somebody in your family has been injured, it is still a shockingly personal experience. If the accident was caused by a negligent driver or some other factor was involved which was not the fault of the injured person, then you have the right to pursue a claim for damages against the person at fault using the services of an experienced New York car accident attorney.
