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In 2005 there were 3,822 fatalities on the California roadways,
and 198,708 reported injuries in motor
vehicle accidents. Both California and the nation have
shown modest decreases in the past few years in fatalities,
but the numbers are not as dramatic as one would hope. In any
five year period, more than 25% of all car drivers were involved
in an accident.
As a nation, we average more than six million car accidents
each year and over three million injuries. In all but a million
of those cases, the injuries are permanent.
Here are some numbers for selected California cities:
| City |
Fatalities
|
Injuries
|
Driver
|
Passenger
|
Other*
|
 |
| Los Angeles |
277
|
42,831
|
128
|
48
|
101
|
| Beverly Hills |
4
|
573
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
| Riverside |
36
|
3,417
|
12
|
17
|
7
|
| Victorville |
18
|
452
|
11
|
3
|
4
|
| R. Cucamonga |
16
|
958
|
9
|
3
|
4
|
| Palm Springs |
14
|
643
|
7
|
3
|
4
|
| Modesto |
23
|
2,147
|
10
|
5
|
8
|
| Barstow |
9
|
152
|
3
|
4
|
2
|
| Bakersfield |
33
|
1,857
|
18
|
5
|
10
|
* Includes pedestrian and bicyclists.
Alcohol was involved in 1,387 of the statewide 3,822 fatalities
and in 20,581 of the injury cases. It is by far the largest
contributor to accidents of all kinds, averaging about forty
percent of all accidents. The next largest cause, speeding,
accounts for thirty percent. Both of these are avoidable,
if only drivers were more responsible.
In over half of the fatal accidents the deceased was not
wearing a seat belt. For those under thirty, car accidents
are the leading cause of death. Taken as a whole, someone
dies from injuries sustained in an accident once every twelve
minutes, and once every fourteen seconds someone is injured.
About half of all fatalities result from roadway departures,
where the vehicle leaves the street or highway, although such
accidents account for only one-third of all accidents. Approximately
one-fifth of the accidents occurred at an intersection, with
close to another ten percent involving large
trucks.
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