Peter Panas, P.C. Blog

Do you know what causes traffic accidents in New York?

If you were asked what factor causes the most traffic accidents in New York, what would you say?  How about what factor contributes the most fatalities on New York’s roads and highways?  Most people have their pet dislikes about other drivers, and you might be thinking, “aggressive driving” or perhaps “driving while intoxicated” or “speeding”.

What you might not realize is that the number one contributing factor to New York traffic accidents is driver inattention or distraction, which contributed to 35,546 traffic accidents in 2006 (the last year for which complete data is available).  What about the factor that contributes to the most fatal traffic accidents?  By far that would be excessive speed, which was responsible for 29% (384) of all fatal accidents in New York in 2006.

Failure to yield the right of way came up surprisingly high on the list, and contributes to both the second highest number of traffic accidents and the second highest number of traffic fatalities.  All in all, so-called human factors (as opposed to vehicle or environmental factors) are responsible for 73% of all traffic accidents.

More information about these statistics can be found in our library article, “What Causes Traffic Accidents and Fatalities in New York?”  Additional information about protecting yourself from auto accident injuries can be found in our library, as well as information on keeping babies and children safe.

Happy – and safe – driving!