In 2007, around 40,000 people were killed due to vehicle crashes according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Even the “good” drivers suffered from these lethal mistakes at times.
Swerving or not staying on their own lane has been identified as the most lethal driving mistake made by American drivers. More than 15,000 people died in crashes by simply drifting off to the next lane or completely running off the road, according to NHTSA’s statistics report for 2007.
Speeding or driving above the maximum speed limit, racing or fast driving where the road conditions does not warrant its safety are the second most lethal mistake made by drivers. About 30 percent lethal accidents have been recorded occurring at 55 miles per hour or more.
The third most lethal mistake is the failure to yield right of way in merging traffic. Surprisingly a higher incidents were committed by drivers age 70 and over.
Drowsiness or fatigued driving claimed more than 1,000 deaths in 2007 according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Most of these accidents occurred between the hours of 3 am to 6 am at any day of the week. This has been identified as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Drunk driving is the next most lethal accident that kills someone every 45 minutes in somewhere in America. Drivers between the ages of 21 and 34 or teenage drivers topped the statistics in making this lethal mistake where alcohol played the primary factor. Most often, these accidents happened at night and on weekends. NHTSA identified that 60 percents are killed after dark in 2007 were legally drunk.
Not wearing any seatbelts during driving in spite of the buckling law still accounts for one-third of car accident fatalities. By not wearing any seatbelts, any passenger is putting himself at a risk of being ejected in an event of car crash where 70 percent of all these ejections would end up dead.
Eating, putting makeup, sending text message on mobile phones, attending to the children or pets and simply talking to a cell phone or also known as inattentive driving claimed more lives in 2007. More than 4,000 people were killed and more are added each year as cell phone usage continues to rise. While hands-free driving proliferates in the market today, it was proven to be as lethal as not using at all.
