Car Accident Statistics (top causes, excuses, etc.)

Quite obviously, one of the worst nightmares of any car driver is to have any for of road traffic accident. Not only can they cause distress and injury, but they can also have an impact upon working lives and be costly in relation to finance. Despite all car owners dreading having an accident, they quite obviously do occur.
In 2009, there was a total of 222,146 causalities which occurred due to a road traffic accident. This figure is down on the previous year, although is still rather high. Of the total injuries, 12% of these resulted in fatalities, a worrying statistic. Those who were considered to be seriously injured was also down to a number of 24,690. In modern day these figures still appear to be rather high, although the reality is that when compared to figures from the 1990s the figures from 2009 are an extreme improvement. In the majority of cases those who were injured during car accidents were also car users, but there is also a number who were cyclists and pedestrians.
A significant amount of people in car accidents had consumed alcohol, and considered over the limit. Drink driving is down on the figures of 2008, although 18% of accidents caused by drivers are believed to be down to the intoxication of the individual. As this is a large cause of accidents, the Government and the police now take this very seriously. Not only this but drink driving has become strongly socially unacceptable.
According to statistics the reason for 90% of all car accidents is due to human error. This may mean paying little attention on the road or being distracted whilst driving. Distractions are a huge cause and include mobile phones, children, stress, eating and drinking. Another major distraction is the driver being tired. This is something which is very difficult to regulate within car drivers, yet is one of the most serious matters.
There are obviously many reason for car accidents occurring and sometimes it is not the drivers fault. One cause which should also be considered is the poor maintenance of a car. This can mean anything from a broke taillight to a tyre which is considered illegal. To some drivers such factors may seem unimportant, but the reality is that they can have a huge effect and can cause car accidents.
Along with many car accidents happening, there are also many excuses used in order to try to escape being held responsible. In the majority of cases drivers who are in the wrong tend to blame someone else. Although there are many others, such as the old age use of stating there was a spider in the car, this is considered to be a sign of god.