Pennsylvania single vehicle accidents: 2013 PennDOT report
The 2013 results are in and there were nearly 40,000 single vehicle accident in the State of Pennsylvania! With a total number crashes of only 124,149, this means that single vehicle accidents accounted for 31.8 percent of all car crashes in Pennsylvania. These single vehicle accidents occurred across a wide variety of types of vehicles. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation summarized the data as follows:
- Passenger Cars – 23,954 crashes – 60.7%
- Light Truck/Van/SUV – 13,913 crashes – 35.2%
- Heavy Truck – 859 crashes – 2.2%
- Motorcycle – 617 crashes – 1.6%
- School Bus – 25 crashes – 0.1%
- Commercial Bus – 17 crashes – 0.0%
- Other – 94 crashes – 0.2%
As can be seen, most often, single vehicle accidents occur while a person is operating a passenger car. While the data itself does not break down the cause or the severity of the accident, one must assume that distracted driving plays a role in at least some of the Pennsylvania single vehicle accidents. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers distracted driving to be a major problem.
In its analysis, the CDC found that every day more than 9 people are killed and 1,153 injured as the result of crashes involving distracted driving. Some of the major distracted driving activities include using a cell phone, texting, and eating while driving. The problems of talking on a cell phone and texting while driving have reached epidemic levels in the last few years. In 2013, 69 percent of United States drivers 18-64 reported talking on their cell phone while driving. 31% of the same age group reported sending text messages or emails while driving. While some states have enacted laws preventing the use of cell phones while driving, people continue to ignore the laws.
The CDC found that in 2011, nearly one in five crashes were cause by or involved distracted driving in some way. This was 17 percent of the total crashes.
Distracted driving is major problem which needs to be stopped. All too often, as Philadelphia personal injury attorneys, we see peoples lives drastically changed or prematurely ended as the result of distracted driving. These injuries and senseless killings could have easily been avoided had the person simply put down their phone while driving. Until the government can find a way to prevent people from using their phones while driving, it is likely that the number of distracted driving incidents will continue to increase.
This information was derived from the 2013 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics which can be found at “2013 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics” and for information regarding Distracted Driving see the CDC: Center for Disease Control and Prevention at “Distracted Driving“.