DoT fatal car accident data shows risk of speeding

Traffic accident statistics are hardly pleasant reading for South Carolina motorists, but education may help prevent some of the injuries and deaths that occur with auto collisions. Parents may opt for increased surveillance and classes after learning the statistics of young drivers involved in fatal car accidents. South Carolina authorities reported 863 traffic fatalities in 2012, according to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of those, 316 were deaths that occurred in wrecks where speeding was a factor. The age of drivers and their alcohol consumption were significant co-factors in the incidence of fatal collisions.

Most parents understand the greater chance of a teen or young adult being the negligent driver in a given car accident. The NHTSA data quantifies this tendency. Speeding was a factor in 30 percent of the fatal wrecks in 2012. Male drivers under the age of 24 were significantly more likely than average to be speeding before a fatal accident. By contrast, females were less likely to be speeding than the average. Rates for females consistently fell across age groups, and for males only began falling after age 24.

Speeding and intoxication were closely related in the data. Time of day also proved intuitively predictive. The worst time to be on the road in terms of having a fatal accident with a speeding intoxicated driver was between midnight and 3 a.m.

Even the safest motorist can run the risk of being in an accident caused by a negligent driver. A car accident can result in any combination of serious injuries and medical expenses, loss of wages and other consequences requiring compensation beyond what an insurance company will initially offer. Many injured victims turn to a personal injury attorney to seek damages through the filing of a civil lawsuit against the responsible driver.