Maryland Injury Attorney Blog
That old saying “Accidents can happen to anyone” unfortunately applies to motor vehicle accidents in Maryland. Baltimore County car accident injury attorneys like us know this from working with injured clients and grieving families. Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents can happen in an instant, without warning, and lives are changed forever.
You can drive defensively, obey the speed limit, wear your seat belt, keep your cell phone off, not drink and drive – do all the right things to stay safe on Maryland’s highways, streets, and back roads. But all it takes is one aggressive or reckless driver to cause a serious Maryland auto accident with injuries or fatalities.
In August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released motor vehicle fatality statistics for 2010. NHTSA reports that in Maryland, 493 traffic accident fatalities occurred in 2010. While this represents a 10 percent decrease compared to motor vehicle crash deaths in 2009, that number still means too many people left home and didn’t return again.
What kinds of motor vehicles are involved in most Maryland traffic accidents? These are some of the motor vehicle accident statistics and characteristics recently released by NHTSA.
Maryland Traffic Accident Fatality Rates for 2010
NHTSA reports that in Maryland, 493 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in the year 2010 (the most recent year for which data is available). Of those 493 people killed…
43.2 % were drivers 17.8 % were passengers 16.6 % were motorcyclists 20.5 % were pedestrians
1.6 % were pedalcyclists (bicyclists)
…and the remaining fraction of a percentage were categorized as Other/Unknown.
These 493 Maryland traffic fatalities involved a total of 687 vehicles. Of those…
47.9 % were passenger cars 31.4 % were light trucks 5.5 % were large trucks (a/k/a commercial trucks)
12.2 % were motorcycles
…and the remaining 2.9% were classified as Other/Unknown.
These statistics show that drivers of passenger cars comprise a large percentage of all Maryland auto accident deaths. What may come as a surprise is that pedestrian accident deaths account for fully one-fifth of all Maryland traffic crash fatalities – occurring at a higher rate than motor vehicle passenger deaths.
As Baltimore personal injury lawyers, we know that behind every auto accident death statistic is a personal story of loss. We are here to assist clients who have been injured, or whose family members have been killed, in Maryland auto accidents. While Maryland has made strides in reducing traffic accident fatalities, any accident death on our highways, roads, or city streets is one too many.
Related Maryland Injury Attorney Articles:
Baltimore, Maryland Auto Accident Liability : Civil Lawsuits vs. Criminal Cases
Maryland Teen Driver Safety : Fatal Auto Accident Rate Increases When Young Passengers Ride with Novice Drivers (June 15, 2012)
Source:
NHTSA TRAFFIC SAFETY FACTS : 2010 Data (PDF doc)
State Traffic Data, August 2012 U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
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