Beaware of the risks…

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SMART Car Crash

Below is the video of a “smart car” crash test.  At first it looks bad but once you take a closer look at the damage done you’ll probably be impressed with how well a car of this size took the hit.

Welcome to the Crash Site. If you were in a crash and would like to share your story contact us.

Fatal Car Crash Statistics

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatal Analysis Reporting System 43,443 people died in motor vehicle car crashes in 2005, up 1.4 percent from 42,836 in 2004. The 2005 total was the highest since 1990.  It was mentioned that the 2005 increase resulted mainly from a 13.0 percent increase in the number of motorcyclist deaths, which have risen for eight years running.

In 2005 there were 6,159,189 police-reported motor vehicle traffic car crashes.  1,816,000 caused injuries and 4,304,000 caused property damage only. There are also estimates of 10 million or more car crashes go unreported every year.  Car crashes involving vehicles on public roadways were the leading cause of work-related fatalities, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, accounting for almost a quarter of all fatal work injuries.  Older people, 65 and older, made up 15% of all auto crash fatalities, 14 percent of vehicle occupant fatalities and 20 percent of pedestrian fatalities, in large part because they are frailer and more likely to die from their injuries than younger people. In 2004 there were 28 million older licensed drivers, up from 17 percent in 1994. The total number of drivers rose only 13 percent from 1994 to 2004.  In 2005 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 accounted for 12.6 percent of all drivers in fatal car crashes and for 16 percent of all drivers in police-reported car crashes. In 2004, drivers in this age group accounted for 6.3 percent of all licensed drivers. To reduce high accident rates among young drivers, states are increasingly adopting graduated driver license programs.  These programs are a good idea anyways since it can possible knock off upto 20% on your auto insurance policy.

Speeding Car Crashes

In 2005, over 13,000 lives were lost due to speed-related accidents. Speeding was a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal auto accidents. In 2005, 38 percent of 16 to 20 year old male drivers who were involved in fatal car crashes were speeding at the time of the crash. NHTSA says that speed-related car crashes cost Americans over $40 billion every year. An accident is considered speed related when the driver is charged with a speed-related offense or a law enforcement officer indicates that exceeding the posted speed limit, driving too fast for conditions or street racing was a factor.

Crashes Due to Drunk Driving

Every 2 minutes there is an alcohol related traffic injury and every 31 minutes the is a fatality. 16,885 people died in alcohol-related car crashes in 2005. Alcohol was involved in 39 percent of all crash fatalities in 2005.
In 2005, 40 percent of intoxicated drivers involved in fatal car crashes were speeding, compared with 14 percent of sober drivers involved in fatal car crashes.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that more than 900 people a year die and nearly 2,000 are injured as a result of vehicles running red lights. About half of those deaths are pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles who are hit by red light runners.
Heres an example of that:    http://car-crashes.org/media/redlight.wmv

Over 100,000 car crashes and 1,500 deaths each year are the result of drivers falling asleep at the wheel.  I’ve almost done this before.  It’s amazing how dumb the brain thinks when your exhausted.  You will actually convince yourself to think it will be ok to close your eyes for a quick moment.  Best thing to do is pull over and sleep for 30 minutes or more if you need it.  New Jersey passed a law in 2003 that equates falling asleep at the wheel with reckless driving, and, if a driver falls asleep and kills someone in a crash, he or she can be charged with vehicular homicide and serve up to ten years in jail and pay fines.

A study sponsored by Nationwide Insurance, which surveyed 1,200 drivers between the ages of 18 and 60, found that 81 percent of drivers “multitasked” at least sometimes. One in eight said he or she changed radio stations or CDs. The same proportion acknowledged drinking a beverage. Almost three-quarters talked on a cell phone, and 68 percent ate a snack. 23% acknowledged they experienced road rage and 4 percent admit they have driven while intoxicated.

The January 2007 study also found that the youngest drivers, age 18 to 27, were the most likely to always multitask while driving — 35 percent. Thirty percent of drivers age 28 to 44 always multitasked and 21 percent of the 45 to 60 year-olds always multitasked.

Some form of driver inattention was involved in almost 80 percent of car crashes and 65 percent of near-car crashes within three seconds of the event, according to an April 2006 study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study broke new ground—earlier research found that driver inattention was responsible for 25 to 30 percent of car crashes. The 2006 study found that the most common distraction was the use of cell phones, followed by drowsiness. However, cell-phone use was far less likely to be the cause of a crash or near-miss than other distractions. For example, while reaching for a moving object such as a falling cup increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times, talking or listening on a hand-held cell phone only increased the risk by 1.3 times. The study tracked the behavior of the 241 drivers of 100 vehicles for more than one year. The drivers were involved in 82 car crashes, 761 near-car crashes and 8,295 critical incidents. (See also Phones and Driving.)

Car Crashes and Cell Phones

In December 2005 the NHTSA and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis released the results of their National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which found that in 2005, 6 percent of drivers used handheld cell phones, up from 5 percent in 2004. The survey also found that the jump was most noticeable among women (up to 8 percent from 6 percent in 2004) and young drivers ages 16 to 24 (up to 10 percent from 8 percent in 2004). The percentage of men using cell phones rose from 4 to 5 percent over the same period. Finally, the survey found that the number of drivers using headsets rose from 0.4 percent in 2004 to 0.8 percent in 2005. The NOPUS is a probability-based observational survey. Data on driver cell phone use were collected at random stop signs or stoplights only while vehicles were stopped and only during daylight hours. See also Cell Phones and Driving.

SUV Car Crashes

The number of people killed in SUV rollover car crashes fell 1.8 percent from 2,929 in 2004 to 2,877 in 2005, according to NHTSA, the first decline since 1992. In 2005 SUVs had the highest occupant fatality rate of any vehicle type in rollover car crashes at 8.28 per 100,000 registered vehicles. This compares with 6.97 for pickup trucks, 6.80 for vans and 3.22 for passenger cars.

Motorcycle Crashes

In 2005, 4,553 motorcyclists died in crashes, marking the eighth consecutive year of increasing motorcycle deaths and a 13.0 percent increase from 4,028 in 2004. 2005 fatalities were the highest since 1986. In addition, motorcycle rider fatalities increased to 10.5 percent of all motor vehicle crash fatalities, compared with 5.0 percent in 1997. Between 1997 and 2005, motorcycle fatalities rose 115 percent. In 2004 (latest data available for registration statistics) motorcycles accounted for 2.4 percent of all registered motor vehicles and 0.3 percent of vehicle miles traveled. However, per vehicle mile traveled in 2004, motorcyclists were about 34 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash and about eight times more likely to be injured.

Truck Crashes

According to NHTSA, 5,212 people died in car crashes involving large trucks in 2005, compared with 5,235 in 2004, a decline of 0.4 percent. Although large trucks amounted to 3 percent of all registered vehicles in 2004 (latest year available for registration statistics), they accounted for 8 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal car crashes in 2005. One out of eight traffic fatalities in 2005 resulted from a collision involving a large truck.