What are the odds of dying in a car crash? If you are in a car crash, your odds of dying in it are statistically low. This does not mean cars are any less likely to be involved in fatal accidents, however.
Cars are still the second-most common vehicle to be involved in fatal crashes. These concerns and more are great things for a North Charleston fatal car accident lawyer to answer for you.
Your Odds of Dying in a Car Crash Depend on Several Factors
Since not every crash is fatal, we must examine the trends observed in fatal crashes that differ from those in non-fatal crashes.
These factors can help us paint a better picture of how certain circumstances and acts of negligence set up situations to more likely result in death.
Impaired Drivers
Drivers are not always fully attentive while behind the wheel, whether they are on their phone, intoxicated, or distracted by something else. We see this time and time again in fatal car crashes, like when texting plays a role in a fatal car accident, where a driver’s blatant negligence takes the odds of dying in a car crash much higher than they should have been.
Types of Vehicles
The sheer number of cars versus other types of vehicles on the road means there is an inherently higher likelihood of more fatalities involving cars than if the number of all types of vehicles were equal. This means that while cars are statistically the second-most common vehicle type in fatal car wrecks nationally and in South Carolina, light trucks account for the most despite there being fewer on the road.
Location, Speed, and Other Factors
Car accidents, fatal or not, can happen almost anywhere. When we look into your case, seeing where the accident occurred can be telling, as if it was likely to be fatal from the get-go. Also, the speeds involved can point to a higher likelihood of death, as well as the type of road and environmental conditions.
The Statistics of The Odds of Dying in a Car Crash
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collects and publishes crash data in its traffic safety facts annual report tables. This information quantifies various factors that contribute to fatal motor vehicle accidents.
To figure out what the odds are of dying in a car crash, we will have to analyze this data from 2022 to see what things look like nationally versus in South Carolina.
- There was 1 fatality for approximately every 56 people who were injured in a motor vehicle accident nationally, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ motor vehicle safety data
- Cars are involved in 33.5% of fatal car wrecks in South Carolina, versus 33.1% nationally
- Cars are the second-most common type of vehicle in deadly motor vehicle accidents, with light trucks being the most common
- Nearly 20% of South Carolina’s fatalities happen on Saturdays, slightly more than the national rate of 17.8%
- Nighttime sees more fatal accidents involving alcohol impairment than daytime by large margins statewide and nationally
- People between 25-34 years old account for about 20% of South Carolina’s traffic fatalities, the most of any age bracket
- Out of anyone who survived a crash with at least one fatality involved, 81.5% of those survivors wore a seatbelt, as reported by police
- South Carolina accounted for about 2.6% of the U.S.’s fatal car crashes
- South Carolina tied for first place with Rhode Island for the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities per 100,000 people at 43%
- Estimates have South Carolina with the nation’s second-highest fatality rate for motor vehicle accidents in the first nine months of 2023, following only Mississippi
While this data is from the most recent FARS encyclopedia reporting year as of this article, 2022, trends show most numbers hovering within the same relative range since the mid-2010s. Barring big changes in laws, law enforcement practices, safety regulations, and driver behavior, these numbers are likely to remain similar moving forward.
Filing a Claim in the Event of A Fatal Accident
If someone dies in a car accident, the liable party can be sued for those damages. Unlike other personal injury cases, the primary victim is not eligible to sue, leaving the right to sue to a specific list of individuals who qualify to benefit from the lawsuit. These people also have a limited time to file the suit.
Qualified Beneficiaries
To file and receive compensation for a loved one’s wrongful death from a car accident, you must be related to the deceased by being their child, spouse, parent, or legal heir, according to South Carolina Code of Laws § 15-51-20.
Statute of Limitations
Grieving a lost loved one may take a lot of time before you feel up to taking any bigger action to recover damages. Unfortunately, the time window to take action is limited to three years under South Carolina Code of Laws § 15-3-530. With all the work that comes before submitting the claim to court, you are much better off not waiting at all to call a
Alcohol Makes a Difference in The Odds of Dying in a Car Crash
According to a study about the relationship between alcohol consumption and fatal motor vehicle injury, the likelihood of an accident involving a legally impaired driver goes up the higher the blood-alcohol content (BAC) increases in that impaired driver.
This means that even though fatal accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers only made up a little more than 30% of deadly accidents, the odds of dying in a car crash that involved an alcohol-impaired driver rose along with that driver’s BAC.
The point here is that by being in a car with, or being on the same road as, someone who is legally impaired (BAC 0.08 %+), your odds of dying in a car crash go up for every additional bit of alcohol consumed. A South Carolina drunk driving accident lawyer can assist with filing a claim.
A Lawyer Can Help With Cases Involving a Car Crash Death
If someone you know died in a car accident, get in touch with a South Carolina car accident lawyer at Shelly Leeke Law Firm to recover your damages. The odds of dying in a car crash are tragically high, but the odds of reaching a settlement you want to see are even higher.
