In 2005 there were 3,822 fatalities on the
California roadways, and 198,708 reported
injuries in motor
vehicle accidents. Both California
and the nation have shown modest decreases
in the past few years in fatalities, but the
numbers are not as dramatic as one would hope.
In any five year period, more than 25% of
all car drivers were involved in an accident.
As a nation, we average more than six million
car accidents each year and over three million
injuries. In all but a million of those cases,
the injuries are permanent.
Here are some numbers for selected California
cities:
| City |
Fatalities
|
Injuries
|
Driver
|
Passenger
|
Other*
|
 |
| Los Angeles |
277
|
42,831
|
128
|
48
|
101
|
| Beverly Hills |
4
|
573
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
| Riverside |
36
|
3,417
|
12
|
17
|
7
|
| Victorville |
18
|
452
|
11
|
3
|
4
|
| R. Cucamonga |
16
|
958
|
9
|
3
|
4
|
| Palm Springs |
14
|
643
|
7
|
3
|
4
|
| Modesto |
23
|
2,147
|
10
|
5
|
8
|
| Barstow |
9
|
152
|
3
|
4
|
2
|
| Bakersfield |
33
|
1,857
|
18
|
5
|
10
|
* Includes pedestrian and bicyclists.
Alcohol was involved in 1,387 of the statewide
3,822 fatalities and in 20,581 of the injury
cases. It is by far the largest contributor
to accidents of all kinds, averaging about
forty percent of all accidents. The next largest
cause, speeding, accounts for thirty percent.
Both of these are avoidable, if only drivers
were more responsible.
In over half of the fatal accidents the deceased
was not wearing a seat belt. For those under
thirty, car accidents are the leading cause
of death. Taken as a whole, someone dies from
injuries sustained in an accident once every
twelve minutes, and once every fourteen seconds
someone is injured.
About half of all fatalities result from roadway
departures, where the vehicle leaves the street
or highway, although such accidents account
for only one-third of all accidents. Approximately
one-fifth of the accidents occurred at an
intersection, with close to another ten percent
involving large
trucks.
|