People who have been involved in serious auto accidents in Knoxville and across the state know that these collisions can cause significant physical and emotional injuries. The number of people who are killed and injured in catastrophic motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. continues to climb, according to an article published in Newsweek.
Approximately 4.4 million people across the nation were injured in car accidents and an estimated 38,300 people died from these collisions in 2015, according to the National Safety Council. Researchers from the NSC analyzed auto-injury and fatality data collected throughout the years and compared it to car accident injuries and deaths recorded in 2015. These statistics show a substantial increase from prior years.
More than half of those injuries were labeled as serious, meaning that they required medical attention. After comparing a period of six months from 2014 to the same period in 2015, researchers found that the rate of serious injuries increased by 30 percent.
Some people correlate this rise in injuries and deaths to an increase in the number of people driving to and from work. The healthier economy, and lower gas prices in 2015, also means that people may have more money to spend on traveling long distances for vacation. With more people on the road, the risk of catastrophic car accidents grows as well. Distraction.gov also indicates that more people are using their cellphones while driving, which can also increase the likelihood of being involved in a deadly collision. In 2014, 431,000 people were injured in distracted driving accidents alone.