You have undoubtedly heard people say that you are statistically more likely to die in a car accident than a plane crash. While this post will not discuss the validity of that argument, we do know that people die in car crashes every single day. Highway deaths are among the most common in America.
It turns out that your likelihood of being in a serious car crash is influenced by where you live and how often you drive. The simplest way to state this is to say that some states are more dangerous for drivers than others. And even within individual states, some cities are more dangerous.
What Are the Most Dangerous States?
By now you might be wondering what the most dangerous states are for car drivers. Well, wonder no more. A recent study released by Stacker used 2017 numbers from the Federal Highway Administration to rank all 50 states. That data showed that the 10 most dangerous states for drivers are as follows:
- South Carolina
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Arizona
- Montana
- Alaska
- Kansas
- Florida
The study accounted for the number of road crash fatalities per billion miles driven. It also accounted for driving conditions, urban versus rural roads, and major events occurring in each state. The numbers were even compared against national averages to account for anomalies.
What Contributes to Driving Risks?
You might be surprised to see that South Carolina is the most dangerous state to drive in. After all, the state is mostly rural with a fairly average population density. What we typically think about dangerous driving would lead us to believe that South Carolina would be somewhere in the middle of the pack.
So what contributes to driving risks? There are a lot of different factors, according to attorneys from The Majors Firm, a Dallas area law firm specializing in personal injury cases. At the top of the list is population density.
The more drivers you have concentrated in a given area, the more likely those drivers will be involved in car accidents. Hand-in-hand with population density are the number and size of metropolitan areas. Metropolitan areas create greater opportunities for crashes to occur.
Other factors include:
- Driver Age – Annual statistics routinely show that drivers between the ages of 16 and 25 are statistically more likely to be involved in car crashes than any other age group. Moreover, they are more likely to cause the crashes they are involved in. So yes, average driver age is a factor.
- Climate – The weather absolutely affects driving and highway safety alike. So in areas where bad weather is routine, there tends to be a higher incidence of traffic accidents.
- Road Systems – More than one poorly designed road has contributed to an unusually high incidence of car crashes. Where road systems have been modernized, car crash incidents tend to be fewer.
- Emergency Response – Believe it or not, how first responders handle an existing accident plays a crucial role in whether or not secondary accidents occur. In states with up to date emergency response procedures, car crash numbers tend to be lower.
Of course, there are other factors that contribute to the risks that drivers take whenever they get behind the wheel. Everything from state laws to mandating car inspections impact driver risk. But know this: you have the biggest impact of all. Practice safe and defensive driving and your risks go way down. Drive recklessly and you increase the chances of causing a serious crash. For help visit Rockford Auto Accident Lawyer.
