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Driving a vehicle in the United States isn’t always the safest of activities. Drivers might be hit by a drunk driver, suffer a fatal car crash or become the victim of a carjacking.
Fortunately, the vast majority of drivers won’t experience any of these tragic events. In fact, most measures of driver safety show that it’s actually becoming safer to drive the highways, main streets and side streets of the United States.
Take fatal motor vehicle accidents, for instance. Since 1998, the number of fatal crashes has experienced a steady decline. Many highway safety officials point to better technology as the reason: Cars themselves are simply safer today. They are better able to withstand even high-speed collisions than they were in the past.
In 1998, drivers suffered 37,107 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States. That number eventually rose to a high of 39,252 in 2005 before falling to 34,017 in 2008. From 1998 through 2008, though, the number rarely fluctuated greatly from year to year. It has been falling consistently since 2005, though, dropping to 38,648 in 2006, 37,435 in 2007 and to the previously mentioned 34,017 in 2008.
There are other things for drivers to worry about in addition to fatal motor vehicle crashes, of course. A mounting fear? Violent carjackings. These crimes often make the news because they are so sensationalistic. In reality, though, drivers are extremely unlikely to become the victim of a carjacking.
In general, the United States sees about 34,000 carjackings every year. That may seem like a large number. But in relation to the total number of drivers in the United States, it’s actually rather miniscule.
This doesn’t mean, though, that carjackings are not serious matters. According to the numbers, 15 murders a year in the United States involved a car theft. Not all of these were carjackings, though. A total of 74 percent of carjackings involve a perpetrator, or multiple perpetrators, using a weapon of some sort. Of this number, 45 percent of carjackings involved guns, while 11 percent involved knives. A total of 18 percent involved some other type of weapon.
The number of murder victims that result from vehicle theft stood at 25 in 2000. In 2006, that number had fallen to 16. In 2007, though, it ticked upward slightly to 20.
A total of 32 percent of carjacking victims were injured during the crime, while 17 percent of these victims suffered serious injuries. These serious injuries included gunshot and knife wounds.
There’s also a different sort of crime that car owners suffer too frequently, car theft. How likely motorists are to have their car stolen depends largely upon where they live. For instance, vehicle owners in California have a greater chance of having their vehicles stolen. That’s because California, which saw 242,693 car thefts in 2008, leads the nation in this crime.
Drivers in Texas are also more likely to experience car theft. The Lone Star State ranks second in the number of car thefts, though it’s far behind California, with 95,429 in 2008. Next comes Florida, with 76,437 car thefts, and Arizona, with 54,849. Rounding out the top five is Michigan, which saw 50,017 car thefts in 2008.
The remaining states in the top 10 of this dubious category are Washington, with 45,899 car thefts in 2008; Georgia, 43,163; Illinois, 37,641; Ohio, 37,425; and finally New York, with 32,134 car thefts.
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