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Safe
Driving Statistics and Information
- Traffic
crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds
(NHTSA, 2003).
- Young drivers
ages 16-19 have a crash rate per mile driven 4 times higher
than older drivers (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
2003).
- In 2005,
10,321 16-24 year-olds died on the road in the US (Joint OECD/ECMT
Transport Research Centre, 2006).
- Research
shows that the cause of young drivers' increased risk comes
from inappropriate behavior which stems from inexperience and
immaturity including driving at high speeds and driving while
impaired (Williams & Ferguson, 2002).
- Factors
such as immaturity and inexperience make it difficult for young
drivers to recognize and respond to potential hazards (Brown & Groeger,
1988).
- According
to the World Health Organization (Peden et al., 2004), “Worldwide,
the number of people killed in road traffic crashes each year
is estimated at almost 1.2 million, while the number injured
could be as high as 50 million—the combined population
of five of the world’s largest cities” (p. 3).
- Since the
advent of the automobile in the early days of the twentieth
century, more than three million Americans have been killed
in traffic crashes.
- On average,
more than 41,000 people are killed on the roads of the United
States each year and crash injuries result in about 500,000
hospitalizations and over four million emergency department
visits annually.
- Injuries
due to traffic crashes vastly outnumber fatalities, with over
five million occurring per year in the U. S. (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2004). By converting all losses
to monetary value, it is estimated that US traffic crashes
in 2000 cost $231 billion, an amount greater than the Gross
National Product of all but a few countries (Blincoe at el,
2002).
- Over 6.3
million police-reported motor vehicle crashes still occurred
on our highways in 2002 - one every 5 seconds. On average,
a person was injured in these crashes every 11 seconds, and
someone was killed every 12 minutes. (NHTSA, Traffic Safety
Facts, 2002).
- The leading
cause of teenage death is in motor vehicle accidents. (rmiia.org)
- 40% of
all fatalities are single vehicle crashes operated by young
drivers. (aaa.com)
- 65% of
teen passenger deaths occur with a teen behind the wheel. (teendrivingfoundation.org)
- 53% of
teen driver deaths occur on the weekend.(teendrivingfoundation.org)
- $40.8 billion
is the estimated economic impact of auto accidents involving
drivers 15-20 year old. (NHTSA.dot.gov)
- Annual
economic cost of traffic crashes
$61 billion in lost workplace productivity
$59 billion in property damage
$32.6 billion in medical costs
$25.6 billion in travel delay costs
$20.2 billion in lost household productivity
(Source: NHTSA, 2002)
- Annual
cost of on-the-job traffic crashes
$17.5 billion for wage premiums
$8.5 billion in disability and life insurance costs
$4.9 billion for workplace disruption
$3.5 billion in property damage
$7.9 million in medical care and emergency service taxes
(Source: ASSE, 2001)
- Annual
cost to automotive manufacturers
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA)
continues to issue as many as 30 million vehicle recalls per
year for safety and reliability issues.
(Source: McDonald, 2006, Shifting Out of Park: Moving Auto
Safety from Recalls to Reason)
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