Near the end of last year, researchers began looking at fatal car accident statistics. What they found is that the rate of these deadly crashes has been consistently increasing. They had a 15-year high in 2021, and initial stats from 2022 showed that they were already up by another 7%.
Naturally, one of the biggest questions this raised was just why the rate was increasing. After all, the historical trend is for the fatal accident rate to go down. Plus, some of these years experienced much lower traffic levels for a variety of reasons, but there were still more deadly accidents.
Risky driving behaviors
What quickly became clear is that the reason for the increase in fatal accidents is simply the drivers were causing them more often. They were engaging in driving behaviors that were excessively dangerous and risky, and that led to more car crashes – and more serious injuries.
For example, people recently have been less likely to wear their seatbelts, which increases the odds that an accident will be fatal. They have also been speeding more, perhaps because the traffic levels were a bit lower. Accidents at higher speeds are also more likely to lead to severe or deadly injuries.
Of course, there were also traditional issues like driver distraction or drunk driving. These things still occurred, even if there were fewer drivers on the road. One could even argue that things like distraction just seem to be getting worse.
What steps can you take?
Have you been injured in a car accident that another driver caused, or have you lost a loved one? You need to know what steps to take to seek financial compensation.