Car Accident Injury Statistics

Each year the federal government and the Federal Highway Administration compiles statistics on car crash injuries and fatalities. Summarized below is a result of the recent national statistics on car accident injuries, which include herniated discs. Unsurprisingly, neck and back pain remain perennial injuries stemming from car accidents. Neck and back disc herniation injuries from car accidents are so prevalent because of the mechanism of injury in motor vehicle accidents. 

National Car Accident Injury & Fatality Statistics

In 2015, motor vehicle crash injuries have increased for the first time after eight years of steadily declining. Why are car crash injury statistics on the rise? Experts are unsure, but speculate that it may be due to lower oil prices and a boost in the American economy. This causes more cars to be on the road which increases the odds of a car crash injury or death. 2015 also marked an increase in the number of car accidents in the United States, which has steadily gone down since 2011. The number of car accidents associated with young, inexperienced drivers has declined, which has been a trend since 2005. Independent of the fact that young drivers are being more cautious, there has been an increase in the amount of accidents caused by older senior citizen drivers in the United States.

Car Accident Fatality Statistics

The nation saw an increase of about 2000 fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2015 when compared to 2014. This represents a 3% increase in the number of car accident deaths per year in America. Overall, about 34,000 people died in car accident crashes in America in 2015. The statistics reveal that passenger vehicles such as everyday cars are the most frequent offenders in traffic accident fatalities in traffic crash injuries. Unsurprisingly, due to their vulnerability, motorcycle fatalities are disproportionately large when compared to those of regular car crashes. States that do not require mandatory motorcycle helmet wearing experienced about 15 times more motorcycle crash fatalities when compared to states that do require a helmet. A majority of the people that were killed in car accidents occurred in a rural setting over an urban or suburban setting. Statisticians believe this is due to the poor lighting on rural roads along with the increased speed limit. Most fatal car accidents occurred at night.

Car Crash Injury Stats

An estimated 2.4 million people were injured in car accidents across the country. The most common injury statistic stemming from a car accident is neck pain and back pain. This kind of spinal pain, which is also known as whiplash injury, can be indicative of a more serious injury such as a herniated disc. Unfortunately, doctors can only determine if their patient has a herniated disc by diagnosing the injury through an MRI. 

The number and frequency of car accident injuries has also increased almost proportionally to the amount of car accident fatalities.The most common vehicle involved in car accident injury cases are normal passenger cars. Next on the list are motorcycles and mopeds, which saw a 15% increase in motorcycle injury related events. The motorcycle injury statistics are largely the same regardless of whether the state has a required helmet law. Large trucks, such as 18 wheeler tractor trailers, also saw an increase of about 6% in truck related injury accidents. Even though the amount of car accident injury statistics are on the increase, fatalities from car accidents that involve inexperienced drivers and alcohol related accidents have decreased by about 11%. 

Male drivers consistently account for about two thirds of all car accident death and injury incidents. Most car accident that resulted in injuries occurred in the suburban or urban environment. Of all the states in the United States that experienced an increase in injury related car accidents, Connecticut, Tennessee, Louisiana and the territory of Puerto Rico lead the pack. These areas each experienced about 7 to 10% increase in car accident injury statistics.

Suffering from a Car Accident Related Injury? 

If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a car crash, get answers by speaking with a car accident injury lawyer today. Your case is subject to a short statute of limitations period. This means if you delay in filing your claim, you can be barred from bringing it altogether. For a free case consultation, call our herniated disc car accident lawyer now at 888.375.9998, or fill out the free case evaluator form below.

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