What Vehicles Cause the Most Traffic Deaths?

What Vehicles Cause the Most Traffic Deaths?

The thought of allowing a teenager to get behind the wheel is daunting for any parent. Between drunk driving and distracted driving, the roads are a scary place for drivers of all ages. The good news is that traffic accident deaths have been falling in recent years. In 2009, for example, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System reported 33,800 deaths, a 18 percent decrease from only two years before. Of course, this number needs to continue to come down, and one way to do this is to understand these traffic accidents and implement strong initiatives to avoid them next time around.

To start this process, I looked at traffic accident deaths nationwide by the vehicle type that caused the accident. To a certain extent, the statistics were not surprising. Cars, pickups, and SUVs for example, were responsible for a combined than 71 percent of all traffic accident deaths nationwide. Other statistics were more surprising. Even though there are a relative small number of motorcyclists, for example, motorcycles cause a disproportionate 13.2 percent of traffic accidents with fatalities. And although pedestrians almost never cause fatal car accidents, 12.6 percent of accident victims are pedestrians.

It appears that parents, lawmakers, and enforcement officers are taking an "all hands on deck" approach to reducing car accident deaths. In a recent interview with Consumer Reports Magazine, for example, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood pledged that he would lobby Congress to pass a nationwide law against distracted driving, and vamp up enforcement on the dangerous practice, which is currently only a secondary offense. And this year, a set of Senators have announced that they will support a measure to reduce car accident deaths 50 percent by 2050. "What's needed is a sound, national blueprint for a 21st century system that's safe, efficient, and improves the mobility of people and American-made goods," said Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, one of the bill's sponsors.

So whether you are a driver, cyclists, or pedestrian, it is in everyone's interest to reduce traffic accident deaths on the state and national level. The Senators and cabinet members mentioned above will surely work hard to improve safety on city streets and highways. But it often comes down to individual drivers in individual cars changing their driving habits to adhere to road rules and stay safe. This means that if we do a little, we can still make a major impact in terms of reducing dangerous traffic accidents.

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