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Some states have very low rates of motor vehicle deaths relative to population, while some other states have far greater numbers. The U.S. Department of Transportation uses the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to collect data on roadway fatalities and analyze the information.
We will compare the data for Virginia to the nation as a whole and a few other states. If you got injured or lost a loved one due to a collision, a Virginia personal injury attorney could help you seek compensation for your loss. Let’s talk about the car accident report: How does Virginia compare to the rest of the U.S?
Motor Vehicle Fatalities in Virginia and the U.S.
In 2019, 36,096 people died in the United States in 33,244 fatal motor vehicle collisions, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). These fatalities amounted to a fatality rate of 11.0 deaths per 100,000 people and a rate of 1.11 deaths per 100 million miles traveled.
The District of Columbia had the lowest fatality by population rate at 3.3 deaths per 100,000 people. Wyoming had the highest rate at 25.4 deaths per 100,000 people. Virginia’s fatality rate that year was 9.7 deaths per 100,000 population.
The number of miles traveled has an impact on fatality rates as well. Massachusetts had the lowest miles traveled rate at 0.51 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. South Carolina’s rate of 1.73 deaths per 100 million miles traveled was the highest of any state. Virginia’s rate was 0.97 deaths per 100 million miles traveled.
Crash Fatalities by Vehicle Type
Of the 36,096 total road fatalities in the United States in 2019, a little more than a third of them were car occupants. Twenty-seven percent were occupants of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUV). Seventeen percent were pedestrians. Fourteen percent of the fatalities were motorcyclists. Occupants of large trucks and bicyclists each accounted for only two percent of the total fatalities.
Let’s compare that to Virginia’s numbers. Eight hundred thirty-one people lost their lives on Virginia roads in 2019. Forty-one percent of them were occupants of cars. Twenty-six percent were occupants of pickup trucks and SUVs. Fifteen percent of the fatalities were pedestrians. Twelve percent of the people who lost their lives were riding motorcycles. Large truck occupants and bicyclists each made up two percent of the total road fatalities in our state that year.
Single-Vehicle vs. Multi-Vehicle Fatalities
Of the 36,096 total crashes involving fatalities in the United States in 2019, 19,257 were single-vehicle crashes. These single-vehicle crashes equaled 53 percent of the total fatal collisions. Forty-seven percent of the total crashes, at 16,839 collisions, involved multiple vehicles.
Virginia’s numbers varied from the national average. There were 501 single-vehicle fatal crashes, meaning sixty percent of the 831 total fatalities happened in single-vehicle collisions. Three hundred thirty of the collisions with fatalities were multiple-vehicle collisions crashes, comprising 40 percent of the total road fatalities in our state.
A Virginia personal injury attorney can deal directly with the liability insurance company on your behalf so that you can focus on resting and getting better. Get in touch with our office today, we offer a free consultation.