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If you have never been in a car crash, consider yourself lucky. According to Statista, there are over 225 million licensed drivers in the United States with an average of 10 million car accidents every year. Texas alone, has more than 13 million licensed drivers and over 313,000 miles of public roads, the most of any state. If you crash your car, Thompson Law may be able to help.
The car insurance industry estimates that the average driver will file a claim for a collision about once every 17.9 years. This suggests that if you got your license at the age of 16, that odds are that you crash your car by the time you reach 34. Over the course of your lifetime, the average person has a total of 3-4 accidents.
Not all accidents, however, are deadly. Of the 10 million accidents that occur every year, from parking lot scrapes to accidents involving police reports and multi-car pileups, just 3 out of every 1,000 accidents involved fatalities, according to the National Safety Council.
While the odds of dying from a motor vehicle crash are 1 in 103, the chances of sustaining an injury when you crash your car are far more likely. More than 2 million people are injured in car crashes every year. In Texas, there were 12,161 crashes resulting in serious injuries in 2018. The average claim for injuries to cover both the insured driver and others involved in the crash has risen to $23,450, due to the soaring cost for medical treatment, according to the Insurance Research Council (IRC), a nonprofit research group.
While TV advertisements suggest that insurance companies sell protection, there is no doubt that their ultimate goal is to make a profit. How do insurance companies pay for these accidents? In short, they do so by getting you to pay for the accident – in advance.
Insurance companies attempt to price your rates low enough to attract you from a competitor, but high enough to still profit in light of future accidents. This process involves elaborate risk assessments that make up the basis of the insurance business.
Computer data can create thousands of driver-profile combinations in order to determine:
1) How many accidents will occur? Or how likely is each to the driver in each car to have an accident?
2) How much will each accident cost?
Companies that insure a lot of young drivers – who are more likely to have accidents – will budget for shorter gaps between crashes. State Farm, the country’s largest auto insurance company, typically has customers with lower-than-average accident rates.
In order to change your lifetime-accident rate and lower your insurance premium, you can incorporate behaviors that may lower your accident risk, and in turn, your insurance rates.
No other factor is more likely to cause an accident than a driver being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 1/3 of all fatal accidents in the United States are attributed to drunk drivers. In Texas, there were 940 people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes where a driver was under the influence of alcohol. This is 26% of the total number of people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2018.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA), the deadliest 3-hour periods on US roadways are between midnight (12 AM) and 3 A.M. on Saturdays and Sundays. Of those fatal accidents, 66% involved alcohol.
NHTSA data showed that in 2017, there were 34,247 fatal crashes in the United States. Of those, 2,935 involved distracted driving (9% of all fatal crashes) resulting in 3,166 total fatalities.
In Texas, 398 people were killed in 2018 due to crashes involving distracted driving.
1/3 of all fatal accidents involved speeding or driving too fast during certain road conditions (weather, work-zone, etc.) Speeding is the single greatest contributor to auto accidents other than driving while impaired. Anyone who has noticed their premium increase after getting a speeding ticket may understand.
Less than ¼ of crashes occurred on roadways with a posted speed limit of 55mph or higher. Fewer intersections result in fewer crashes. When accidents happen on highways with speeds higher than 55mph, they are more likely to be deadly, accounting for nearly half of all traffic fatalities.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation’s 2021 crash report, there were no deathless days on Texas Roadways. Based on crashes reported:
No matter the circumstances of your auto accident, of you crash your car get in touch with the experienced team at 1-800-LION-LAW as soon as the incident happens. We offer obligation-free consultations during which time we will go through your claim details and explain all your legal options. Should you let us represent you after you crash your car, you will pay no fees unless we win your case. Call Thompson Law if you need help after an injury accident. Our car accident lawyers may be able to help.
Thompson Law receives an attorney fee and you pay no legal fees as our client unless we pay you. Thompson Law has 350 years of combined experience in legal representation and has won over $1.8 billion dollars in cash settlements for our clients. We master the art of managing client cases with empathy, compassion, respect and, of course, prodigious skill. Contact us today for a free, risk-free consultation to discuss your accident and your options.
State law limits the time you have to file a claim after an auto accident. If you have been injured in an accident, call now to get the help you need.
