Iowa motorists may be interested to learn that data from the National Safety Council shows that there has been a nationwide increase in car crash fatalities over the past few years. Its preliminary estimate for 2017 is that 40,100 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2017. This is down from the 40,327 deaths recorded in 2016. However, it was the second consecutive year where the number topped 40,000. Such a high number was last seen in 2007.
The NSC President states that aggressive action must be taken to improve road safety. Besides fatalities, there were 4.57 million reported cases of injury following car crashes in 2017. Car accidents and injuries cost society an estimated $413.8 billion last year.
The annual population death rate was calculated to be 12.28 for every 100,000 people in America. There were 1.25 deaths for every 100 million miles traveled. In both cases, the rate is 2 percent lower than it was in 2016. On the other hand, the total number of miles driven increased by about 1 percent.
For its estimates, the NSC consulted the fatality data that it collects every month from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This was combined with data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The number includes fatalities on public and private roads.
Fortunately, innocent victims have certain rights when it comes to personal injury claims. As long as one files their claim before the statute of limitations runs out, they can reasonably strive to be compensated for vehicle repair costs, medical expenses and other losses. A lawyer could assist by hiring third parties to find proof of the defendant’s negligence and by negotiating for an informal settlement on the client’s behalf. The victim can discuss litigation with the lawyer is negotiations fail.
