Traffic accidents are a major concern to people in New Jersey and around the world. Indeed, World Health Organization statistics indicate that motor vehicle accidents are the eighth most common cause of death on a global level. In 2016, deaths related to traffic reached 1.35 million in 2016, moving ahead of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS as a major public health and safety risk. The figures were released as part of the WHO’s 2018 Global Status Report on Road Safety. The report’s foreword noted that roadway safety often does not receive sufficient attention as a global issue.
The United Nations set a goal to cut traffic deaths in half between 2016 and 2020, but despite some progress, the world is not on track to achieve that milestone, according to the report. Indeed, for children and youth between the ages of 5 and 29, traffic accidents are now the number one cause of global deaths. The report did note that while the number of fatalities due to motor vehicle accidents has continued to rise, the rate of death has stabilized in relation to the world population. The rate of traffic deaths has remained at around 18 per 100,000 people for 15 years.
Like other public health issues, traffic accidents are often more deadly in low-income and developing countries. While only 1 percent of motor vehicles are in the world’s low-income countries, those countries are also the site of 13 percent of traffic-related fatalities. People in low-income countries in general had three times the risk of a car crash fatality.
Car crashes can also lead to catastrophic injuries and lifelong disabilities. In many cases, these collisions are caused by negligent or distracted driving. A personal injury lawyer might help accident victims injured in a crash to seek compensation for their damages, including medical bills and pain and suffering.