The numbers are in and New Jersey drivers may be surprised to learn that there are more motor vehicle deaths in the United States than in other first-world countries. A study was conducted over a 13-year period and while deaths per capita have been reduced in the U.S. by more than 30 percent, that is far behind other countries with a lot of wealth reports CNN. In fact, during that same period, Spain reduced its road deaths by 75.1 percent.
Since that study was concluded, the rate of deaths in this country is actually starting to rise. In 2014, there were 35,200 motor vehicle deaths throughout the nation. The U.S. also did not rank highly compared to its peers when it comes to seat belt use and fatalities involving alcohol use. Increased seat belt use alone could reduce the annual number of fatalities by approximately 3,000.
Within the U.S., certain states see more traffic deaths than others each year. According to 24/7 Wall St., Wyoming leads the country with the highest number of deaths per capita. Coming in second is Mississippi, followed by Montana. New Jersey is actually the fourth safest state in the country. The only states to rank higher for safety were New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The difference between the safest and most dangerous states is in part due to the types of roads found across the country. More than half of crash fatalities occur on rural roads as opposed to urban streets or major highways. This is because the chance of hitting a wild animal is increased on back roads and people tend to drive less safely in areas that are not well populated.
