There is always a chance of being in a car accident anywhere you go. While it is impossible to forecast every collision due to many factors at play, we can analyze the data to identify areas where reckless driving and busy traffic patterns increase the risk of accidents. A Philadelphia, PA car accident attorney can help you if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation.
What You Should Know About Road Safety in Pennsylvania:
Every year, the state compiles information on all collisions reported to municipal and state authorities and updates its crash statistics. What is known based on 2019 statistics is as follows:
- More people die in some months than others. The worst months overall for crashes were October and December, presumably due to changing weather patterns. The months with the fewest car collisions were March and April.
- There are more accidents on some days of each week than on others. Most accidents happen on Fridays or Wednesdays. However, fatal collisions increase on Saturdays and Sundays, which may be related to drinking alcohol once the workweek is done.
- Your likelihood of having an accident depends on where you drive. The majority of traffic accidents occurred in Allegheny County.
- In the state, Philadelphia County typically has the second-highest rate of collisions. In 2019, there were over 11,000 traffic collisions in Philadelphia County, and over 7,000 of those were severe injury collisions.
- Accidents that have a lasting impact do not observe holidays. Thanksgiving has the most holiday accidents, but Labor Day has the most holiday fatalities.
- Driving at night may not always keep you safe. Although you might anticipate more collisions at night because of reduced vision and drunk driving, 63.2% of collisions in Pennsylvania happen during the day.
- There is a bigger issue with alcohol than you may think. Even a few beers can make it challenging to drive, and the state averages 26 accidents involving alcohol each day.
- It is not always safer to walk than to drive. Despite making up a minor part of all collisions, pedestrians struck directly by cars cause 14.5% of all fatal traffic accidents.
- Injury to pedestrians often has age as a contributing factor. The majority of fatalities involved pedestrians aged 75 and older who were hit by cars while crossing streets or using sidewalks, whereas the majority of non-fatal injuries involved children aged 15 to 19.
- Car accidents frequently do more financial harm than you might anticipate. The average cost of a severe injury from a car accident was even more than $700,000. Based on the extent of their wounds and the necessity for continued treatment, some victims may wind up with medical costs that are far more expensive.