Car fatalities not as high as health issues

 Posted on October 21, 2015 in Car Accidents

Drivers in California and around the country have access to vehicles that contain several technological advances that have helped to reduce the frequency of fatal car accidents. However, such incidents still are one of the significant causes of death to U.S. residents.

Every day the news is filled with stories about people being killed in car accidents, leading readers to believe motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in this country. That just isn't so. Deaths from car accidents have decreased by approximately a third over the past three years, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. According to 2013 data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four people in the United States died from heart attacks that year, while one in 34 people died from alcohol or drug problems. Only one in 77 people died in car accidents, the same rate as those who were killed by firearms. Fire had the lowest death rate, with only one out of 821 people dying in fires.

Statistics are also available to show the jurisdictions that have the highest and lowest traffic death rates on a per capita basis. The three states that have the highest such rates are Montana, Mississippi and Oklahoma, while the District of Columbia has the lowest rate.

Even though the motor vehicle fatality rate is dropping, fatal accidents are still going to happen, and many of them will be caused by drunk drivers. The surviving family members of a person who has been killed in such an accident may want to discuss with an attorney the possibility of filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the at-fault motorist, seeking compensation for the losses that have been incurred.