According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) October 2014 Vital Signs report, Americans spend more than 1 million days in the hospital each year from car crash injuries. Those injuries caused $18 billion in lifetime medical costs in 2012, with more than 75% of these costs occurring during the first 18 months following the car accident.

Common Causes of Car Accidents

Distracted driving is the number one cause of car accidents. Drivers don’t see a developing situation in time to react because they are distracted by talking or texting on their phones, eating, grooming, or looking for some elusive item in their car. In 2016, a research article concerning the causes of car crashes using driving data gathered from in-car cameras and sensors over a 3-year period was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). This “naturalistic driving data” showed a dramatic shift in the cause of car crashes, with driver-related factors, such as driver error, impairment, fatigue, and distraction, present in almost 90% of car accidents.

Speed and aggressive driving are also common causes of car accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2017 speeding was a contributing factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities.  Unsafe passes, sudden lane changes, taking a corner too fast, or not slowing for water on the road all are causes of car accidents. Car crashes can also result when a motorist can’t react in time to an approaching automobile or other hazard because of driving too fast.

Drunk driving is a perennial cause of car crashes. While the number of deaths from drunk driving is declining, the NHTSA reports that every day almost 30 people die in crashes caused by drunk driving. In additional to alcohol, many types of medications, both legal and illegal, may impair a driver’s ability to operate an automobile. A National Roadside Survey conducted by the NHTSA in 2013-2014 found that over 20% of all drivers tested positive for drugs with the potential to impair driving skills, including over-the-counter, prescription, and illegal drugs.

Typical Injuries in Car Accidents

In a head-on collision, the occupants of the vehicle typically suffer chest and lower limb injuries, such as injuries to the knees from striking the dashboard. T-bone collisions can cause serious injuries at relatively low speeds, because of the side-to-side movement of the occupants. Rollover collisions can cause injuries to the head, arms and chest. The most common injury from a rear-end collision is whiplash, which as described by the Mayo Clinic is a neck injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck, like the cracking of a whip. Symptoms of whiplash include neck pain and stiffness, headache, shoulder pain and stiffness, arm pain, and back pain.