Whether taking the highway to work, on a weekend road trip with your family or just heading to the grocery store, driving is the most dangerous daily activity for most people in Greensboro because of Greensboro Car Accidents.

Car crashes have decreased nationwide in recent years, yet car accident statistics show the number of crashes per year is actually rising in Greensboro and across our state. North Carolina has seen small annual drops in car-related injuries and fatalities, but motor vehicle wrecks still account for a massive chunk of our state’s total injuries and deaths. Fatal crashes alone cost our state well over $1 billion each year, and leave thousands of innocent people devastated.

At Garrett, Walker, Aycoth, & Olson, our attorneys don’t want you or a loved one to become a statistic. We’ve compiled car accident data and car accident facts to shed light on the dangers of the road. We hope it makes you take greater notice of the risks.

Greensboro Car Accident Statistics

 Greensboro is far from immune to car accidents. In fact, with 7,664 crashes in 2013, Greensboro had the fourth-most car accidents in NC, behind only Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham. There were 25 auto-related fatalities here in 2013. Only Charlotte, Raleigh and Fayetteville had more.

But there’s something to be happy about: at 9.4 car crash fatalities per 100,000 people, Greensboro is under the North Carolina average of 12.2 per 100,000. Car accidents stats show about 9 people are hurt in a Greensboro car accident every day.

North Carolina Car Accident Statistics

According to car accident stats from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, two out of every three drivers will be injured in a car crash at some point in their lives. This holds true in NC, where 2013 car accident statistics the most crashes our state has seen since 2009.

NC Accident Deaths in 2013

• 220,271 auto crashes
• 108,436 auto accident injuries
• 1,158 fatal crashes
• 1,260 car accident deaths

Sadly, North Carolina’s rate of 12.78 people killed for every 100,000 residents is higher than the national average. The deaths in 2013 break down as follows:

• 866 drivers
• 203 passengers
• 172 pedestrians
• 147 motorcyclists

We can’t urge you strongly enough to always wear a seat belt. Car crash data backs this up: almost 30 percent of all people killed in car accidents in North Carolina in 2013 were not wearing seat belts.

North Carolina Crash Data by Source

Statistics on car accidents show the majority of crashes on North Carolina roads involve speeding, distracted or drunk driving, a car leaving its lane or a combination of these.

NC Drunk Driving Statistics

Drunk driving statistics underscore how lethal drinking and driving can be. While drunk drivers were responsible just five percent of all accidents (10,769), drinking and driving statistics show the crashes they caused accounted for 32 percent of all car-related fatalities (353).

Examining car accident facts, our attorneys found the only factor more deadly than alcohol was when cars left their lanes.

NC Lane Change Statistics

In a staggering 60 percent of all fatal crashes, lane departure was a cause. Alcohol and lane departure are common combining factors in crashes, as drunk drivers are more likely to swerve out of their lanes.

 NC Texting While Driving Statistics

Texting and driving statistics show that our cell phone culture is causing distracted driving to become more of a factor in crashes. Distracted drivers were responsible for 22 percent of all North Carolina crashes in 2013 and 11 percent of fatalities.

Statistics for car accidents suggest about one-third of all crashes involved a speeding driver. Speeding was a factor in 31 percent of fatal wrecks. Drivers don’t seem to be slowing down in North Carolina: There were 72,160 speed-related crashes in 2013, an increase of 4,000 – or about 6 percent – from 2012.

North Carolina Teen Crash Data 

As our sons and daughters have cell phones attached at their hips 24/7, teen driving statistics, along with texting and driving statistics, tell us it’s critical we teach our children about the dangers of distracted driving. Almost one in four accidents involve a cell phone.

Though texting while driving statistics are alarming, teenage motorists as a whole are safer on Greensboro roads and across NC. According to teenage car crash statistics, accidents involving teens dropped 15 percent between 2011 and 2013 compared to 2008 and 2009. Teenage drivers now account for about 18 percent of North Carolina crashes. That number for teenage car accident statistics used to be regularly more than 20 percent.Fewer crashes means fewer teens are killed on our roads. As our attorneys looked at car accident death statistics, we saw that fatalities among teenage motorists dropped sharply in recent years, from 152 and 125 in 2008 and 2009, respectively, to 60 last year.

Statistics on drunk driving prove alcohol and getting behind the wheel is deadly mix for teenagers. Drunk driving accounts for just 3 percent of teenage accidents, but 23 percent of teen deaths on the road.

More than half of teenagers killed on North Carolina roads in 2013 were not wearing seat belts, were speeding or both. Car accident statistics by age show nearly three-quarters of all fatal teenage crashes in NC involved a car leaving its lane.

National and Global Car Crash Statistics 

How do Greensboro and North Carolina stand up to the rest of the country when it comes to statistics about car accidents? Our lawyers found that wrecks cost our country $230.6 billion every year, or about $820 per person. More staggering facts about car crashes for the U.S.:

• 37,000 Americans die every year on the road, or about 100 per day
• 35 million are hurt each year
• Accidents kill 1,600 children under 15 years old and 8,000 people between 16 to 20 every year
• Since 1973, car accidents have killed more than twice as many men than women.

How does the rest of the world fare? Look at some of these facts about car accidents we’ve compiled for the globe:

• 3 million people die worldwide in car crashes each year, or 3,287 per day.
• 20 to 50 million are injured.
• More than half of all deaths on the road are people 15 to 44 years old.
• Crashes are the leading cause of death worldwide for people ages 15 to 29, and number two for ages 5 to 14.
• Crashes cost low- and middle-income families $65 billion per year, which is more than they receive in developmental assistance.

Hire a Greensboro Car Accident Attorney

No matter where you live in North Carolina, the attorneys at Garrett, Walker, Aycoth & Olson is here to help guide you through the painful aftermath of a crash.

If you or a loved one is suffering from a car accident, contact our attorneys today at (336) 379-0539 or contact us online. Our dedicated and compassionate lawyers are waiting to talk to you about your case free of charge.

Contact our Greensboro Personal Injury Lawyers today if you or someone you know has lost a loved one as a result of someone else’s negligence.