California Traffic Accident Statistics

Here are some interesting statistics provided by the CA Department of Transportation regarding accidents in the year of 2008. According to the Department of Transportation, there were 452,595 vehicle accidents reported in the state of California. The police and California Highway Patrol are responsible for much of the information the Department of Transportation uses for these statistics reports. There were 170,496 injuries caused as a direct result of these accidents, which is actually the lowest recorded number of injuries since 1975 when there was 167,758 injuries.

Of the over 450,000 reported accidents, 3,113 of these accidents resulted in the death of an occupant inside of the vehicle. This is the lowest fatality rate recorded in California since 1998.

There were 278,986 accidents where only property damage was reported.

According to the Department of Transportation’s report, 1,963 people were killed in California vehicle accidents. This is excluding motorcyclists, emergency vehicles, buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Of the 1,963 people that died, it was determined that 574 of them were not wearing safety belts.

Here are a few more California vehicle accident statistics:

• A collision is reported in California every 1 minute and 10 seconds.
• One injury is reported every 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
• One death is reported every 2 hours and 35 minutes.
• There is one fatality for every 71 people that are injured.
• It was determined that speed is the primary cause of fatal injury in 28.4% of accidents.

On a more positive note, the number of occupants killed in vehicle accidents is down 19.7% from 2007 and the occupants injured in accidents is down 9.7% from the same year.

Accident statistics remind us of the importance of driving safe. Every driver has the important responsibility of following traffic laws. If you or someone you care about has been injured in an auto accident caused by another person’s negligence, please contact the Santa Clarita car accident lawyers at The Mandell Law Firm. Call 818-886-6600 today for a free consultation.