Motor vehicle accidents aren’t just a problem in the United States. They are a global issue, and vehicle accidents claim the lives of thousands every single day throughout the world.
Perhaps the saddest part of these statistics is the fact that the majority of car crashes could be avoided if (1) police tightened their enforcement of traffic laws, (2) if governments did a better job of city planning and (3) if motorists paid closer attention to the road, followed the law and practiced defensive driving techniques.
Here’s what we can learn from global accident statistics
The main thing that we learn from global car accident statistics is that the United States is not alone in its need to counteract and prevent such accidents, and the fatalities and injuries associated with them. Let’s look at just how bad the situation is globally:
- Almost 1.3 million individuals die from vehicle accidents annually. This amounts to approximately 3,287 fatalities a day. In the United States, we see 37,000 vehicle accident fatalities a year.
- Approximately 20 to 50 million people suffer disabilities or injuries as a result of crashes.
- Over half of the people who die in car accidents are between the ages of 15 and 44.
- Globally, vehicle crashes are the ninth most common cause of death. They account for 2.2 percent of global deaths.
- Among individuals aged between 15 and 29, vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death. For people aged between 5 and 14, they’re the second leading cause of death.
- Almost 400,000 people under the age of 25 die in vehicle accidents a year.
- Ninety percent of vehicle fatalities happen in developing nations (countries classified as low- or middle-income). Nevertheless, these countries have only half of the cars in the world.
- Analysts predict that vehicle crashes will be the fifth most common cause of death in the world by 2030.
These statistics are enough to make one wonder: Is the luxury of getting from A to B without public transportation worth the loss of 1.3 million human lives a year? Or, at the very least, one has to wonder what can be done to prevent the majority of these vehicle accidents from happening.
Were you or a loved one hurt in a car accident?Most vehicle accidents could have and should have been prevented if it weren’t for the negligence of one of the drivers or if it weren’t for the negligence of an auto manufacturer, municipality or some other party. If your car accident injuries were the result of another party’s negligence or unlawful activity, you might want to learn about your legal rights and options under New Jersey motor vehicle accident law.
