Every year, new stats come out about traffic deaths throughout the country and in California specifically. Those stats are usually not good news. As more and more people have started driving while distracted – i.e. driving while on their phone – wrongful death cases have gone up, pedestrian accidents have gone up, and it would seem to hold true that fatalities in car accidents would be on the rise. But are they? Read on to learn more and then reach out to Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 if you’ve been injured in a car accident.
Learn the latest statistics
The stats we’re sharing today come from the National Traffic Safety Administration. They offered information on the country as a whole and on each state. Today we’re going to look at California. Here’s the stat that people are being surprised by: from 2006 – 2015 traffic fatalities declined across the entire state.
That doesn’t even cover it. In fact, the number of traffic fatalities didn’t just decline – they declined dramatically. Consider that in 2006, 4,240 people died in car accidents in California. Then compare the numbers just four years later: 2,720. That is a much larger drop than anyone was expecting. The bad news is that it has gone back up a bit – the latest numbers are 3,176 deaths in 2015 – but over the decade as a whole, we’re glad to see lower numbers.
The news isn’t all good: Alcohol-related fatal car accidents are on the rise
Unfortunately, we can’t just stop there and say that it’s good news. In that same period, the number of fatalities related to accidents involving alcohol significantly increased. For the year of 2011, there are 774 people who died on the roads as a result of alcohol-related accidents. Compare that 2015 when that number was 914.
What do these numbers tell us about the roads in California?
We can learn a few things from these stats. First, we can learn that even when the overall picture looks positive, it’s wise to look deeper and find the underlying trends that may tell a different story. Next, we have learned that accidents related to alcohol are still on the rise. These are unacceptable accidents that hopefully are handled in a criminal court. If not, you can always call Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas for help with a civil case.
If you’ve been involved in an accident then you should call us today
If you’ve been involved in a car accident – or any other type of accident – and someone else was at least partially at fault then we encourage you to call us at 909-982-0707 right away. We are here to offer a free case evaluation. If we decide to take your case, and you decide to work with us, then we will take your case on a contingency basis. This means that you don’t pay us a cent until and unless we recover damages for you.
There is a statute of limitations for personal injury cases. The available timeframe for you may be as short as six months. Call us today to find out what your options are.
