Car Crashes have been on the top of the list as a leading cause of death for a long time. However, the number of people killed in car accidents fluctuates year to year. 2015 was not a good year for drivers.
A recent article noted that fatalities increased by 7.7% in 2015. What that means is 35,200 people died in car crashes that year. That is a astounding number of deaths. That number of crash caused deaths is basically equivalent to killing off the entire populations of Milwaukie, Oregon (population 20,512), Sandy, Oregon (population 10,014), Vernonia, Oregon (population 2,158) and Rainer, Oregon (population 1,915). That still wouldn't be enough.
More troubling is that here in Oregon we were part of a region that saw the nation's biggest increase in car crash fatalities. The number of people that died in car crashes in the northwest region jumped 20% from 2014. That is a tragic statistic.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and an insurance organization attributes the increased number of deaths to the fact that people are driving more and more. Gas is cheap, so people are putting in more miles on the road. More miles driven means more opportunities for car crashes. More car crashes mean there are more deaths caused by car crashes. The article also noted that 10% more motorcyclists were killed on motorcycles than in 2014.
As a personal injury attorney, I look at my job as attempting to make the world a safer place. The only way to do that is to hold people accountable for their negligent acts. Holding people responsible for causing a crash will serve as a deterrent for others who drive negligently. These statistics are troubling to me, because Oregon's deaths increased. That means that as an Oregon Trial Lawyer I should be doing more to hold negligent driver's accountable for causing crashes. The law is a powerful tool that can force people to change. Hopefully this trend will continue.
If you, or someone you know, has been injured or killed in a car crash then please call Jeremiah Ross at 503.224.1658. Jeremiah represents persons involved in car crashes all over the state of Oregon. He is happy to give you a free personal injury consultation. He is also happy to assist you with dealing with the wrongful death of a relative and holding the negligent parties accountable. Please call Ross Law today.