As vehicle technology geared toward improved safety continues to be advanced, it is easy for you and other motorists to believe that you will actually be safer when they take to the roads in these new vehicles. However, a look at statistics showing the number of accident fatalities across Maryland in recent years indicates that despite improving safety features and even tougher legislation, too many people continue to die on area roads.
Records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that between 2012 and 2016, a total of 2,443 lives were lost in motor vehicle accidents throughout the state. Of those deaths, 443 occurred in Prince George’s County. Just thinking about 443 funerals and memorial services and the number of people who grieve and must move on without their loved ones makes it easy to see how this number is far too high.
The factors that contributed to these deaths are nothing new. Driving at excessive speeds and operating vehicles while under the influence of alcohol are just two reasons for fatal crashes that refuse to go away no matter what changes are made to laws or vehicles. Pedestrians accounted for 507 statewide deaths and 106 county deaths in those five years. Motorcyclists accounted for 359 deaths across the state and 74 deaths in Prince George’s County.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give residents in Maryland an overview of the number of fatalities recorded on the state’s roads and highways in recent years and the various factors involved in those deaths.
