What Are the Odds of Dying in a Car Crash?

James D. Payer | May 30, 2024 | Car Accidents

Every day, individuals across the country die in motor vehicle accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that over 42,000 people died in crashes in 2022 alone. This means every day in the United States, over 115 people lost their lives in traffic collisions. In Florida that year, 3,553 people were killed in wrecks.

Have you ever wondered what the odds of dying in a car accident are? If you are like many Floridians, you need to drive and cannot stop driving, no matter the odds of being killed. However, it is helpful to know just how dangerous driving in Florida can be and your chances of dying in a car crash.

Determining Your Odds of Being Killed in a Florida Car Wreck

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) maintains statistics on crashes that happen within the state. 

During 2022, the FLHSMV recorded:

• 397,620 reportable and codable accidents
• 678,783 drivers involved in these accidents
• 3,320 wrecks that involved at least one fatality
• 3,553 fatalities

These numbers reveal that approximately 10 people died every day in Florida in traffic wrecks. However, more analysis is needed to uncover your odds of being one of these statistics.

You Are More Likely To Be Hurt Than Killed in a Collision

According to the FLHSMV, there were over 160,000 crashes that resulted in injury, and more than 230,000 people suffered some sort of injury in wrecks. These raw numbers reveal that whatever the odds of dying in a Florida crash might be, your chance of getting in a car accident and suffering some injury is significantly greater.

Calculating Your Risk of Dying in a Car Accident

There are approximately 18 million licensed drivers in Florida. Assuming this number is relatively constant year to year, only about 3.7% of Florida drivers were involved in any sort of accident during 2022. In other words, for every 100 licensed drivers in Florida in 2022, only four of them were involved in a crash that year.

Only a small fraction of traffic collisions resulted in death. In fact, less than 1% of all Florida traffic accidents were fatal crashes. If you considered slightly more than 100 traffic crashes of all types, only one of them would be a fatal accident. 

When looking at the percentage of Floridians who are killed in traffic crashes, the odds of you dying in one is even smaller. For simplicity’s sake, assuming only Florida drivers were killed in accidents, only approximately 0.02% were killed in 2022. Your actual risk would be lower than this since it is not just Florida drivers who are at risk of dying in a motor vehicle crash.

The Final Word On Your Odds of Dying in a Florida Crash

Regardless of the statistics you use, these numbers paint the same story: the risk of being involved in any crash is small, and your risk of being killed in a traffic collision is even smaller. While this should not cause you to abandon safe driving practices or “play the odds” and drive recklessly, neither should you fear that death is lurking around every turn in the road. 

Instead, take to Florida’s roads knowing that while an accident can happen at any time, the chances of one actually occurring are statistically small.

Contact Our Orlando Car Accident Law Firm For Help Today

If you’ve been injured in an accident in Orlando, Florida, and need legal help, contact our experienced car accident lawyers at Payer Law Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation today.

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