Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
North Carolina Car Accident Statistics
Car accidents happen quite often. When you are involved in a car crash, it can be a scary and traumatic experience. If the accident is serious, you could suffer severe or life-threatening injuries. There are many cars on our roadways. Most families have at least two vehicles. We also share the roads with motorcycles, recreational vehicles, and commercial trucks. With more than 3 million registered vehicles in North Carolina, you are likely to be involved in an accident at some time in your life. Luckily, most accidents are minor. However, some are more severe and cause extreme injuries and damages.
Negligent Accidents
In North Carolina, the law allows you to collect compensation for accident injuries only when you were not negligent. The insurance company generally reviews the details of the accident and ascribes a portion of negligence to each driver. You may only get damages when the other driver or drivers were 100% negligent in causing the accident. In North Carolina, 10% of drivers have an accident on their record for which they were at fault. This puts NC in the top 10 states in the country.
Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “What happens if the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance?”
Traffic Fatalities
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gathers accident data from all states and combines it into annual reports. They measure traffic fatalities as a percentage of the number of miles that vehicles travel. North Carolina has a traffic fatality rate of 1.45. This means that there are almost one and a half deaths for every 100 million miles traveled. This is 6% higher than the national average. It is more likely for a driver in North Carolina to be involved in a fatal crash than in the majority of other states in the country.
Traffic Accidents in North Carolina
The North Carolina Department of Transportation, along with the governor and others, publishes yearly crash data reports. The most recent report provides 2021 statistics. The report shows that, in general, the number of traffic accidents has been rising for more than five years. In 2021 more than 276,000 accidents were reported, which is an increase of almost 12% over the previous year. 1,783 people died in traffic accidents, an increase of 7.5% over the prior year. More than 114,000 people were injured in car accidents, which is an increase of 8.9%. About 70% of accidents happened during daylight hours.
What Causes Traffic Accidents?
There are many causes of traffic accidents. Generally, there are three main factor categories that include driver error, mechanical failure, and outside conditions. Some of the most common causes of car crashes are speeding, distracted driving, and driver impairment. Speeding was related to 23.9% of traffic fatalities. Distracted driving occurs when a driver takes their hands off the wheel, their eyes off the road, or their mind off driving. Texting while behind the wheel is illegal, yet it is likely one of the reasons for distracted driving. 17.9% of accidents were attributed to driver distraction.
If you or someone you love was seriously hurt in a traffic accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and damages. Call us at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at 704-370-2828 for a consultation or fill out our contact form. Now taking cases throughout South Carolina and North Carolina with offices in Uptown Charlotte, Mooresville and in Monroe.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
U.S.: total number of automobiles by state | Statista
NHTSA | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Image Credit:
https://www.freeimages.com/photo/accident-1450930
See Our Related Video from our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ArnoldSmithPLLC/videos
See Our Related Blog Posts:
Deadly Tractor-Trailer Accident Leaves Young Woman Dead