Who is Most Likely to Be Injured in a Car Crash?

Travel is considered an essential part of life, and in a city with a lot of tourist traffic like San Francisco, there is a never ending amount of cars on the roads. Unfortunately, these busy streets often come with the price of an increased chance of getting into a motor vehicle accident. However, the question of who is most likely to be injured in a crash still remains.

Car Crash Injury Statistics

California Highway Patrol (CHP) releases annual car crash statistics reports using data collected on the scene. In these, various attributes of the year’s accidents are reported, including injuries, fatalities, and other more specific circumstances. The 2017 report, which is the most recently published on the official website, highlighted that 277,160 people were injured in 193,564 injury crashes. They were further broken down like this:

Driver or Passenger?

One standout statistic that may be less discussed is the impact on where you are sitting in the vehicle. While the driver’s seat has often been considered the safest because of the availability of airbags, more recent studies indicate that the middle back seat is safer. In looking at the CHP reports, this holds up.

• Regardless of age, drivers are nearly 2.4 times more likely to be injured than passengers.
• However, 16-17-year-old passengers are more likely to be injured than 16-17-year-old drivers.
• More 18-year-old passengers were injured in 2017 accidents than any other age demographic.

Considering this, it might be likely that age has a greater impact on likelihood of injury than expected.

Is Age a Factor?

When comparing the number of licensed drivers to the number of injured people in a crash broken down by age, the results might not be so surprising.

• The 25-29 age demographic has the largest number of licensed drivers with 2.7 million but ranks second in injury crashes.
• 20-24 year-olds account for 13.6% of the 2017 injury crashes, ranking them the highest out of any age group, despite having the eighth highest number of licensed drivers.
• 22 year-old male drivers have the highest number of injuries with 5,837.
• Statistically, the likelihood of being involved in an injury crash declines with increased age.

While it does appear that age is a correlating factor, it does not account for the amount of time spent on the road. It could very well be that older drivers are less likely to be out and about than college-age or young professionals. This specific report also did not include the accidents’ circumstances like alcohol involvement, distractions, speed, etc.

What Else to Consider

Other factors that may make one more susceptible to being injured in an accident aside from driving or age may include:

• Driving at unsafe speeds – over 61,000 people were injured in accidents involving speeding.
• Improper turning – this accounted for more than 28,000 injuries.
• Not paying attention – more than 30,000 injuries occurred because of not knowing which car had the right of way.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your accident, all drivers should be committed to helping each other get where they’re going safer.

Car Crash Injury? Trust Delfino Green & Green With Your Case

The attorneys at Delfino Green & Green have been committed to helping people receive adequate compensation for injuries sustained in car accidents for over 30 years. Whether these injuries resulted in lost wages, altered quality of life, or inability to work, trust the team that has recovered millions for their clients.

Call 415-442-4646 to schedule a free consultation today.