Car Accident Statistics

The following car accident statistics are offered just to give a context of the scope of the problem and to highlight some of the points we have been making: (1) smaller cars that come with better gas mileage cause more serious injuries in accidents, (2) we still need to get stronger on our laws regarding drunk driving, and (3) we need to continue to explore the risk of car accidents associated with cell phone usage. With that in mind, we offer the following car accident statistics, some of which are dated but the numbers have not changed dramatically:

  • Plus or minus from year to year, there are approximately 6,000,000 auto accidents in the United States every year. In the majority of these accidents, no one is injured. There are three million people injured every year in accidents (remember, there at least two people involved in most car accidents, which is why I say no one is injured in most car accidents). Car accidents' toll on the economy is about $250 billion. (Putting that number in context, it would pay for a quarter of President Obama's health care plan over the next 10 years. Most of the cost is property damage to vehicles.)
  • There are 342,000 auto accident injuries and $43 billion each year in property damage, lost wages, medical bills and fatalities that government statistics attribute to cell phone usage while driving.
  • Approximately 115 people die every day in car, truck and motorcycle accident in the United States. Gunshot wounds and car accidents pose the leading threats to children's survival in this country. Car accidents account for 37% and firearms 27% of the 20,000 fatal injuries each year to children ages 1 through 19, according to the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Injury Prevention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Pedestrians jaywalking, or crossing midblock, is the leading accident cause 39 percent of the time in Maryland suburbs, 21 percent of the time in the District and 18 percent of the time in Northern Virginia.
  • 8% of Maryland jury awards in motor vehicle accident cases are for more than $250,000.
  • In 2007, teenage drivers in Maryland were involved in 98 fatal crashes, 7,357 crashes with injuries and nearly 11,538 other reported crashes, according to the Maryland Highway Safety Office.
  • According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - and this is hard to believe - motor vehicle accidents were the leading cause of workplace fatalities.
  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that in 2006, 651 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in Maryland, up six percent from 2005. Sixty percent of motor vehicle injuries and 44% of fatalities occurred between the workday hours of 5 a.m. - 7 p.m.
  • In Maryland, 560 people were killed in traffic accidents from January to October 2008, compared with 615 people who died during the same period of 2007. In Anne Arundel County, police reported 8,850 car accidents in 2007, but about half as many - 4,463 - in 2008. (Gas prices are reportedly the difference.) Police also reported 48 people were killed in Anne Arundel County car, truck, and motorcycle accidents in 2007 and 45 fatal deaths in 2008.  

Tips on Each Insurance Company

What to Do If You Need a Lawyer

    An experienced car accident lawyer can help you to get the compensation you deserve for your injuries. We believe our attorneys are the best accident lawyers in Maryland. Our auto accident lawyers have the experience to sort through these complicated issues and stand up to the insurance companies to fight for fair compensation for the victims of car accidents, truck accident and motorcycle accidents. If you or someone you know has been injured in an auto accident, select here for a free consultation or call 1-800-553-8082 to speak to a Maryland accident lawyer experienced in handling auto accident claims.

Dealing with the Insurance Company