Car crashes are, as they are commonly referred, accidents. Rarely is a car crash victim’s vehicle purposefully plowed into by another driver. Multiple reasons lead to these accidents, from slippery roads to taking a wrong turn to accidentally running a red light or stop sign. But more often than not, the overarching actions that lead to a driver’s vehicle drifting into the other lane or the intersection are not as diverse.
Distracted driving, drowsy driving, speeding or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are commonly present in vehicle crash reports. When you look at some statistics regarding these four reckless or sometimes aggressive driving behaviors, it’s not difficult to understand why.
General car crash statistics
- On average, 3,287 people worldwide lose their lives due to car crashes every day, equating to 1.3 million per year.
- Have you heard the phrase, “nothing good happens after midnight?” Well, that extends to driving, and especially on Saturdays, as 12:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. is the most dangerous time to be on the road, and resulted in 1,015 fatal crashes in 2016.
Speeding statistics
- 50% of the individuals who died in fatal crashes involving speeding were not wearing their seat belts.
- In 2016, 27% of all fatal crashes involved at least one speeding driver, and 37% of those drivers were driving while drunk.
Distracted driving statistics
- On average, 481,000 people are using their phones as they drive at any given time.
- In 2015, the actions of a distracted driver led to 391,000 injured motorists.
- The average distracted driver takes their eyes off the road for up to 5 seconds to send a text message or email. If the driver’s vehicle is traveling at 55 mph, the vehicle will have traveled the length of a football in those 5 seconds.
- Drivers age 20 or younger have the highest probability of being involved in a fatal car crash involving distracted driving.
- Parents with children will take their eyes off the road for an average of three and a half minutes during a typical 16-minute ride.
Drowsy driving statistics
- Drowsy driving crashes most often occur late in the afternoon (rush hour timeframe) or between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
- One in 25 drivers age 18 and older reported that they fell asleep at the wheel in the month.
- Drivers are more likely to be involved in a drowsy driving car crash if they snore or get less than six hours of sleep per night.
Under the influence statistics
- Driving under the influence is far more common at night, as 30% of nighttime fatal crashes involved an impaired driver, compared to 9% during the day.
- In 2018, 10,511 people lost their lives in a drunk driving crash in the United States. That equates to a lost life every 50 minutes.
- Over 33% of teen drivers believe they are better drivers after smoking marijuana.
Driving while operating your phone is dangerous and illegal in most states. Drowsy driving and speeding are reckless. Driving under the influence is illegal in all 50 states. Lives and livelihoods depend on safe driving.