Car accidents continue to be one of the leading causes of injury and death in the US. Every day we hear of accidents that result in fatalities, disabilities, serious injuries and property damage. A large number of car accident victims suffer injuries that have a long-term impact on their life. In addition, they also have to deal with the emotional consequences of such an event.
While some accidents are the result of unavoidable circumstances, there are many that occur mainly due to the reckless behavior of drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 35,092 people were killed in 2015 and approximately 2,443,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes. 96 people died each day on average and one person was killed every 15 minutes. Many of these accidents could have been prevented if the drivers had demonstrated responsible behavior.
Here are some behaviors that are responsible for a large majority of fatal and serious accidents in South Carolina:
Driving under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol: Alcohol-impaired driving is one of the primary reasons for car accidents in South Carolina despite a straightforward and specific Code of Laws in South Carolina that clearly states that it is illegal to get behind the wheel of a car while the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. DUI penalties in South Carolina are very strict and heavy penalties can be imposed on those caught and convicted. Despite this, many drivers continue to drive while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Speeding and Aggressive Driving: Another major contributor in car accidents is speeding and other aggressive driving behaviors such as racing, tailgating, reckless and careless lane changing etc. This type of reckless behavior has been observed in young driver. Speed-related accidents continue to cause injury and damage to victims.
Distracted Driving: This form of driving behavior is rapidly becoming a major problem for road safety. More and more people today have smartphones and despite repeated warnings about the consequences of distracted driving, drivers continue to text, talk, and email through their mobile devices. South Carolina safety officials have made a significant effort to
As much as 33000 fatalities happen each year in the United States by the cause of car crashes. People don’t realize the number of crashes occurring because of people that don’t know how to drive. El Paso is the number 8 city in Texas with fatal crashes. And it all goes back to how they got the privileges for driving in the first place.
How many people die every year from car accidents? How many of those people qualify as careless teenagers? Nearly 1.3 million people die each year in car accidents, which is on average 3,287 deaths per day. Young drivers between the ages of fifteen and twenty account for sixty percent of these accidents. For almost a century, the age for teenagers to be allowed to drive on public roads without supervision has been sixteen, resulting in a higher death rate due to the carelessness of young drivers in the United States. For example, as stated by the Free Personal Injury Help Center, one in every three teens says they text or email while driving: the number one cause of deaths among all drivers. The amount of young and old drivers on the road
Death among U.S. teens is led by vehicle crashes. In the year of 2013, around 2,163 teens were killed between the ages of 16-10 in the United States. Around 243,243 were treated in emergency departments for injuries that they suffered in motor vehicle accidents. Around 75% of teen drivers suffer in these accidents due to 3 major mistakes. Those major mistakes include a lack of scanning the road, distractions in the vehicle, and also going to fast for the conditions of the road.
All 50 states prohibit 16-year-olds from drinking alcohol, buying cigarettes, and purchasing handguns. Yet somehow, most states are willing to put them in charge of a car. Teens don’t realize how dangerous driving can be; they believe nothing could ever happen to them. In reality, facts show that driving is the number one killer of teens. At 16 or 17, you may feel invincible, but with a lack of driving experience and distractions such as cell phones, music, food, and even friends, driving can be a dangerous activity. The problem is that teens don’t see certain actions as a life threatening risk. In a recent study, only 28 percent said using a cell phone is a risk while driving, ten percent said the same about having other teens in the car,
Inexperience: Inexperience can cause accidents because people don’t know what they are doing and therefore can panic and cause collisions or can drive too fast for their skill level and cause collisions in that way. The worst thing people can do is drive to slow for example if someone is driving to slow they could merge into a roadway driving to slow and be rear ended. There have been many occurrences of people driving with inexperience and causing collision due to it. The easiest way to reduce collisions caused by inexperienced drivers is to have them start on a private road and a parking lot until they are comfortable in the vehicle then having them start driving in different conditions until they are
Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen deaths. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2011 statistical analysis, there was 1,237 fatalities involving young drivers between the ages of 17-19. On average, 30% of those vehicle fatalities were
My best friend will likely be the death of me, but I still love her. I have known her for three years and would trust her with anything, or so I thought. Everything changed the moment she got her license. Suddenly the need for coffee was completely eliminated, and all I had to do was ride to school with her. Through many close encounters and two accidents so far, I have learned the definition of a terrible driver. Every ride with her is an adventure involving skipped stop signs, speeding, and near collisions. She is the reason why many adults believe that teenagers should not their license because of poor driving.
Background and Audience Relevance: According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2015, about thirty-five hundred people were killed, and four hundred thousand were injured in car crashes.
Driving under the influence and Distracted driving are the biggest ones, however reporting distracted driving is difficult in fatal crashes is difficult to determine since “information pointing to distraction is gathered through self-reporting, witness testimony, and evidence indicating distraction” (GHOS). Those two make up roughly 400 of the fatalities in 2015. Speeding is another huge cause for many crashes whether it’s from being reckless to just being distracted and not noticing. Speed plays a part in both of the other causes, and it played a part in 19% of crashes in 2015. A huge amount of these fatalities not only come between drivers, but also with a singular driver hitting and killing a pedestrian. Many things have been tried to reduce these major causes of the crashes such as stricter enforcement of speed and driving under the influence. Campaigns have been launched to reduce distracted driving, targeting those heavy phone users and even car manufacturers joining in.
Shari Roan in “Should the driving age be raised” talks about the controversial issue all American families face when it comes to teens driving and the safety of others. She states that in a nationwide analysis the number of fatal crashes between the ages 16 and 17 year old drivers have fallen and the number of fatal crashes between the ages of 18 and 19 year old drivers have risen by almost the same amount. She states that the combination of immaturity and inexperience makes teen drivers particularly vulnerable to motor vehicle accidents. She also explains that car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens resulting in 4,054 fatalities in 2008 according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington Va.
Driving under the influence of alcohol not only presents a danger to the driver, but also to every other motorist or pedestrian near the roadway. Being intoxicated impairs ones judgment, vision and reaction time, all of which is critical when operating any motor vehicle. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans aged 6–27 and alcohol is a big factor to those numbers (jstor).
1.6 million crashes per year; nearly 333,000 injuries caused by these crashes (Snyder & Associates, 2015). The NTSB reported that, in 2008, driver distraction caused 16 percent of all fatal crashes, and 21 percent of crashes resulting in an injury (Genachowski, 2009). This totals 5,800 deaths and 515,000 injuries in the year 2008 (McLaughlin, 2013). What causes these horrific events? Texting and driving. Texting and driving has become a major issue in society today. Teens, as well as adults have become hazardous behind the wheel because of the distractions produced by using a cell phone while driving. Texting and driving can be catastrophic in causing yourself and others to become injured, harming oneself because
Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the functions of the central nervous system. This delays the brain’s normal functions. Consuming alcohol while driving greatly increases the risk of car accidents. While DUI, a lot of the functions that are required for safe driving become impaired. For example: concentration, coordination, reaction time, comprehension, and visual activity. The more alcohol that is consumed while driving, the greater the risk a person has of getting in an accident.
In summary, it cannot be said that exact cause of most severe traffic accidents are known with certainty but it is believed that speeding and drinking, jointly or separately, play some role in the events that lead up to those accidents. Also to blame, in many instances, are the design of the highway, the condition of the weather, the maintenance of the vehicle, the time of the day (many severe accidents occur at dusk, with poor lighting and tired drivers), and the presence of radar detectors. A study by the Ohio State Police found that radar detectors were present in at least one of the vehicles involved in 69% of all severe traffic accidents on the highways of that state in 2005. Studies in other states have confirmed that finding, with some estimates of the relationship running as high as 75%.
In conclusion, many people do not realize that being intoxicated while driving, using cellular phones and teenage drivers may bring serious injuries to everybody. Some people may enjoy drinking without care until they get into car accident, which can even result in