According to the most recent findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor-vehicle related fatalities in the United Stated resulted in roughly $41 billion in medical and work loss costs. Half of the total costs were from only ten states and New York car accidents ranked near the top.
“Deaths from motor vehicle crashes are preventable,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Seat belts, graduated driver’s license programs, child safety seats, and helmet use save lives and reduce health care costs.”
New York City injury lawyers understand that areas that are densely populated, like New York, create a higher risk for being involved in a car accident. It is with heightened awareness and focused, safe driving habits that we can attempt to reverse these crash statistics and produce safer New York roadways.
In 2008, roughly 1,000 passenger-vehicles were involved in fatal accidents in New York, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The top ten states, according to CDC data, with the most expensive medical and work loss costs:
-California ($4.16 billion)
-Texas ($3.50 billion)
-Florida ($3.16 billion)
-Georgia ($1.55 billion)
-Pennsylvania ($1.52 billion)
-North Carolina ($1.50 billion)
-New York ($1.33 billion)
-Illinois ($1.32 billion)
-Ohio ($1.23 billion)
-Tennessee ($1.15 billion)
The CDC released new fact sheets involving these statistics to highlight state-based costs of crash deaths to coincide with the kickoff of the Decade of Action for Road Safety campaign. This campaign, created by the United Nations General Assembly, aims to raise awareness about the number of motor-vehicle accidents worldwide and make an attempt to reduce those statistics by 2020.
According to the info provided by the CDC, motor-vehicle accident deaths among children under the age of 16 had the highest percentage of costs than any other age group — nearly $900 million.
“It’s tragic to hear that anyone dies on our nation’s roads. But it’s especially so when the person who loses his or her life is a child or teenager,” said Linda Degutis, Dr. P.H., M.S.N., director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. “Child passenger safety laws and comprehensive graduated driver licensing laws are proven to protect young lives. We encourage states to strengthen and enforce these laws to help keep more of our young people safe.”
The CDC’s Injury Center offers these suggestions to states nationwide to help reduce the risks of accident-related deaths in their area:
-Create comprehensive graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems, as these regulations have been proven to reduce teen crashes. These GDL systems help new, teen drivers to gain driving experience under lower-risk conditions by allowing driving privileges in a number of stages. GDL systems have been shown to reduce accidents among 16-year-old drivers by about 40 percent.
-Create and enforce primary seat belt laws; a law would allow motorists to be stopped and given citations for not wearing a seat belt. Seat belts have been proven to reduce the risk of death to front seat occupants by about 50 percent.
-Enlist universal motorcycle helmet laws. A law that would require all riders to wear helmets. The use of a helmet can reduce the risk of death in a motorcycle accident by nearly 40 percent and can reduce the risk of brain injury nearly 70 percent.
-Enforce strong child passenger safety policies. Children should be required to ride in age- and size-appropriate child safety seats and booster seats while riding in motor vehicles.
“These preventable costs are a reflection of the terrible suffering of American families whose loved ones are killed or injured on the roads,” said Norman Mineta, chairman of Make Roads Safe North America and the longest serving Secretary of Transportation in U.S. history. “Today, on the launch of the first-ever Decade of Action for Road Safety, occurring in 30 cities across our nation and 50 countries worldwide, it is time for all of us to take action to save lives at home and around the globe.”
If you or a loved one has been seriously or fatally injured in a New York City car accident, contact personal injury lawyer Nicholas Rose for consultation about your rights. To make a free and confidential appointment call 1-877-313-ROSE (7673).
