Car accidents are an unfortunate fact of life. There is some risk every time a person gets behind the wheel of their car or truck. It doesn’t matter how good a driver someone is, and a moment of inattention or a miscalculation on the part of another driver can lead to disaster. While surviving crashes has become much easier with the addition of safety features like airbags, anti-lock brakes, three-point rear seat belts, and reinforced crumple zones, manufacturers have yet to devise a way to prevent crashes. Accidents completely happen. Until they do, the safest course of action is to drive defensively and with a clear head.
According to statistics in the state of Florida in 2007, there were 256,206 accidents. That translates to about 702 traffic problems every day. Law enforcement officers are required by the state to file a report each time they are called to investigate an accident involving personal injury or death, as well as what types of contributing factors were involved. This makes it possible for regulators to provide a reliable report on how many incidents involve someone leaving the scene and whether or not alcohol or narcotics were involved.
During 2007 there were 366,917 drivers involved in traffic incidents. These resulted in 3,221 deaths. Those deaths occurred in 2,947 different fatal crashes. While fatalities are quite rare, injuries are not. 212,149 injuries resulted from 135,601 accidents. Of the more than a quarter million incidents that occurred in 2007, 117,658 resulted in property damage alone. Alcohol was at least partially to blame for 22,823 of them, and drugs were involved in 1,252. It’s not just cars that suffer accidents, as motorcycle crashes accounted for 9,205 in 2007. Pedestrians and bicycles were also involved in these traffic crashes, with 8,129 and 4,847 respectively.
The same state agency that came up with those sobering numbers also reported that drivers between the ages of 15 and 19 were involved in more car accidents than any other age group and also had more fatalities. Not surprisingly, drivers between the ages of 20 and 24 were involved in the most alcohol related driving of any age group. Most were within the state of Florida during that year and occurred on Friday and Saturday nights. Being aware of your surroundings and never driving under the influence of alcohol are two of the most important things any driver can do to avoid being involved in a car accident.