According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, roughly 37,000 people die in car accidents on the roads in the United States each year. In addition to that, another 2.35 million people are either injured or seriously disabled. Of those 37,000 deaths, 1,600 of them are children under the age of 15. These stats are collected over a long period of time and are simply averages, but a recent study reported on by Forbes shows that as far as automobile accidents are concerned, things may be getting worse before they get better.
Today’s Dangerous Roads: Breaking It Down
According to a study that was recently completed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 27,875 people died in car crashes in the first six months of 2016 alone. If that sounds high, that’s because it is – this represented a stunning 8% increase over the first six months of 2015. It’s also important to note that 2015’s statistics represented a 7.2% increase over those from 2014, which itself was the single largest increase in 50 years.
In San Bernardino County and other areas in California, the news isn’t much better. The entire state of California falls into Region 9 of the study (along with Arizona and Hawaii) and it experienced a 5% increase in fatalities during the same period of time.
In the end, statistics like these underline just how important it is to practice the safest possible driving techniques that you can at all times. When you live in an area like San Bernardino County, remember that even if you’re intimately familiar with the roads as you’ve been driving them all your life, the same is not necessarily true of those around you. San Bernardino and California in particular usually see an increase in out of town drivers, particularly around the holiday season. These people may not be familiar with the driving habits of locals, creating an incredibly dangerous situation for everyone involved.
If you find yourself in any type of personal injury situation in San Bernardino or in any other area, it’s always important to call 911 for emergency services as soon as possible. If someone is injured, every second counts and your top priority should always be getting them the medical treatment they need as fast as you can. Afterwards, you can call a personal injury attorney to help make sure that you’re protected from a legal perspective. An attorney can help not only make sure that damages to your car are taken care of (along with your medical bills), but they can help protect you in the event that a lawsuit is filed.
Harshbarger Law
From the moment Harshbarger Law opened its doors up until the present day, our focus has always remained the same: we want to provide unparalleled service to our clients above all else. If you’ve been the unfortunate victim of a car accident in San Bernardino County or the surrounding areas, or if you find yourself in a similar type of personal injury situation, please don’t delay – contact your San Bernardino car accident attorneys at Harshbarger Law today.