Maryland - Fatal Car Crash Statistics
In 2015 there were 32,166 fatal vehicle accidents in the United States that resulted in a total of 35,092 deaths. This equals 10.9 fatalities for every 100,000 people and 1.13 fatalities for every 100,000,000 miles driven. In Maryland, there were 472 deadly accidents with 513 deaths. This number equals 8.5 fatalities per 100,000 people and 0.89 fatalities per 100 million miles. While the deaths are below those of some states, there was an increase over the previous year.
Maryland Data
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) provides information in a yearly report that includes data on all the states. This overview makes it possible to better compare information between states and against national averages. The report provides information about deaths based on road user type. The highest percentage of fatalities, 41, occurred to car occupants. 19% were pickup or SUV occupants, 2% large truck, 13% motorcyclists, 18% pedestrians and 2% bicyclists.
Of those killed, 53% were in single-vehicle crashes, and 47% were in accidents that involved multiple vehicles. Just 8% took place on rural roads while 32% were in urban areas. There were 60% classified as unknown, making that statistic less useful.
More Information
The number of highway deaths in 2015 is an increase of more than 17% over 2014. The overall trend of traffic fatalities has generally been going down over the last decade. However, the country has been experiencing a surge in serious injuries and deaths on the nation’s highways over the past several years. This may be due to a variety of contributing factors including distracted driving, speeding, and driving while impaired to name just a few. A national safety initiative is in place with a goal of reducing the number of people killed on our roads.
Strategic Highway Safety Plan
Maryland participates in a nationwide Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The campaign is called “Toward Zero Deaths.” Every year 28,000 people are injured due to distracted driving. Accidents that involve impaired drivers have killed more than 856 people in the past five years, which is 34% of all Maryland vehicle fatalities during that period. Aggressive driving and speeding are contributing factors in approximately a third of all crashes in the state. About 80 people are injured each week in accidents because they did not use a seatbelt. Seatbelts lower the risk of death to front seat occupants by 45%. More than 100 pedestrians are killed every year in the state. More than 60 motorcycle riders die in traffic accidents each year.
Maryland has a number of safety campaigns in place to address some of the major causes or contributing factors to serious injuries or deaths. Some of these include aggressive drivers, impaired driving prevention, distracted driving, young drivers, pedestrian safety, motorcycles, pedestrian safety and child passenger safety. These initiatives are designed to educate drivers and increase awareness to prevent accidents and fatalities.