Motor Vehicle Accident Statistics

At present, road traffic accidents rank among the top ten leading causes of disease as measured in DALYs (disability-adjusted life years). According to a World Health Organization/World Bank report "The Global Burden of Disease", deaths from non-communicable diseases are expected to climb from 28.1 million a year in 1990 to 49.7 million by 2020 - an increase in absolute numbers of 77%. Traffic accidents are the main cause of this rise. Road traffic injuries are expected to take third place in the ranking order of disease burdens by the year 2020, ahead of fatalities caused by war and violence.

• Motor vehicle accidents account for more deaths than all natural disasters combined. In the United States the probability of being injured in a motor vehicle accident is greater than one in one thousand in any one year.
• A male is twice as likely to die in a motor vehicle accident as a female.
• The ages of 16 and 24 are the most dangerous for both sexes.
• Between the ages of 16 and 64 alcohol intoxication is responsible for over 20% of all fatal accidents, and between the ages of 21 and 44 almost 50% of all fatalities.
• Between the ages of 16 and 44 the fatality rate has declined since 1975. The most significant decline being in the 16 - 20 year old age group.
• About half of all motor vehicle accidents result in injuries or fatalities.
• Over two thirds of all of the people who die in vehicles are not wearing safety restraints properly.
• You are ten times more likely to die driving a motor cycle than if you are driving any other motor vehicle.