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When you are involved in an auto accident, it's easy to feel like you are the only person in the history of time who has ever been rear-ended or T-boned or sideswiped by a careless motorist. While you're waiting for the insurance adjuster to call you back, though, take a second to remember that you could have been killed and you weren't. That said, there are definite geographical patterns to the kinds of fatal accidents that occur in the United States.
A study by the Auto Insurance Center investigating every fatal crash that occurred in the U.S. between 2009 and 2013 reveals a lot about what driving habits are most likely to yield deadly results in certain regions of the U.S. For example, according to the Center's data, the single driver behavior that caused the highest number of fatal crashes in every state was failure to stay in the proper lane. "At high speeds," the Center found, "even the slightest contact across lane lines can translate to deadly impact." The states with the dubious honor of having the most careless lane-chargers were Wyoming, Mississippi, Tennessee, Vermont and Idaho.
Mississippi, however, also found itself in the top five in another big category: drivers who failed to yield the right of way. It was joined by South Carolina, Kansas, North Dakota and Oklahoma as being the location of the most fatal accidents resulting from drivers who failed to yield the right of way.
How about road rage? The Center concluded that fatal crashes resulting from road rage dominated the statistics in Indiana, South Carolina, Delaware, Colorado and Montana. Other major causes included failure to obey a sign, driving on the wrong side of the road, and police pursuit. The Center's interpretation of this data is interesting. It said:
"The common thread for these category leaders? Large, relatively rural territories where thinly distributed law enforcement struggles to encourage safe driving.... What might explain South Dakota’s unsurpassed number of deaths resulting from police pursuits? It’s hard to say, but maybe the open roads of the Mount Rushmore State tempt drivers to race to escape."
What about drunken driving? Given the high profile that accidents involving a drunk driver historically have had in the public consciousness, one might reasonably guess that the highest percentage of deaths from drunk driving likely would be in areas with large, dense populations like New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. The data, though, says exactly the opposite: fatalities resulting from auto accident caused by drunken driving were highest in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and South Carolina.
Business Insider looked at the Center's data on drunk driving and reasoned: "A potential drunken driver in North Dakota or Montana might not have the luxury of calling a cab or taking the subway compared with somebody in Washington, D.C., or New York." The Center elaborated on this theory in its report, saying:
"In comparing per-capita rates of drunk driving fatalities, we see the most trouble in states where driving is a necessary part of going out on the town. Drinkers are hard-pressed to catch a cab in North Dakota, let alone use public transportation."
So watch out for these common behaviors like weaving in and out of a driving lane and failing to yield. If you are guilty of them, improve. If another motorist is the guilty party, stay clear. Either way, with any luck, you may avoid becoming just another statistic.
