California Car Accident Statistics
With the high volume of cars on the road in California, there is always the possibility of a car accident. Each year, thousands of motor vehicles get into accidents, both minor (fender benders) and more serious (resulting in vehicles being totaled or fatalities). If you’ve been in an accident, consider hiring a California car accident attorney to help with your case. In order to understand a little more of how these car accidents happen, let’s take a look at some statistics.
In 2013 (the most recent year that data is available for) there were over 150,000 car accidents with injuries reported in the state of California (totaling 286,000 drivers), with a little over 2,800 of those being fatal (totaling 4,200 drivers). Over 223,000 total persons were injured while around 3,100 persons were killed in car accidents.
One of the highest reported causes of these traffic accidents is impaired driving. This includes driving under the influence, drowsy driving, and distracted driving. As a driver, you should be completely alert to the road around you, and driving drunk, tired, or while texting impairs your ability to drive safely. In fact, impaired driving resulted in about 28% of all traffic fatalities in California. Reckless and negligent driving, as well as speeding, are also big factors in California car accidents.
Drivers aged 20-24 have been in the most injury collisions (over 40,000) with drivers 25-29 coming in second (33,000) and drivers 30-34 coming in third (28,000). The most injury collisions occur from 2 pm to 6 pm while the least happen from 3 am to 6 am. Fridays see the highest number of accidents while Sunday sees the lowest.
10,000 total accidents were caused by inattention to the road (impaired driving). 404 drivers had their cell phones in their hands, 366 were fiddling with their radio/CD player, and 207 were playing with some other electronic equipment.
138,000 injury collisions occurred without any weather issues. Nearly 15,000 occurred while it was cloudy and 2,400 occurred while it was raining. Most drivers were driving straight at the time of impact (143,000). 42,000 drivers were stopped, and the third most-common movement involved in injury collisions was making a left turn (28,000).
The best way to avoid an accident is by knowing how and when they are most likely to happen. You also must be sure to always pay attention to the road, avoiding any distractions, and staying safe. If you do get into a car accident, The May Firm is a reputable California car accident attorney, and we’d be happy to help you win your case.
