The State of Arkansas consistently has higher car accident rates than the rest of the country. Fortunately, this means that there are not too many accidents every year compared to more populous states, but there are still thousands of accidents every week. We’ve put together the following statistics using Arkansas State Police’s annual crash reports to assemble some interesting facts about the frequency of car accidents in Arkansas.
Fayetteville AR personal injury lawyer Ken Kieklak represents car accident victims throughout the Fayetteville area. If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident in Arkansas, be sure to take your case to an experienced Arkansas car accident injury attorney.
Arkansas Car Accident Statistics
2014 is the most recent year with complete car accident data, so most of these numbers come from the 2005 through 2014 reports, so we can get a good look at trends over a ten-year period. 2005 and 2006 were unfortunately high years for car accidents in Arkansas, so these numbers are a bit higher than they will be looking at 2007 through 2016 stats. Still, they give a good picture of how frequent car accidents are in Arkansas.
In 2014, there were 60,947 car accidents in the State of Arkansas. This is higher than the previous three years, but is a noticeable drop from past years. It seems that Arkansans are making a real effort to improve safety on the roads, as shown by the 8,568 accident drop in the number of accidents from 2005 to 2014. In the average year, this means there are 62,729 accidents.
Transforming this into a rate helps us see how common car accidents are. For every 100 million vehicle-miles driven in Arkansas, there are an average of 1.9 crashes. This means that someone is likely to get into an accident in Arkansas for every 1.9 million miles they drive. Comparing accident rates to population, there are an average 2,169.5 crashes for every 100,000 residents. This means that there is a 2.17% chance of getting into a car accident in the average year.
Broken down by timeframes, there are an average of 62,729 accidents in the average year. This reduces down to 5,227 crashes per month, 1,206 crashes per week, and nearly 172 crashes per day. This means there is a car accident in Arkansas every 8 minutes and 20 seconds.
Unfortunately, many accidents are fatal. As a percentage of the total, these don’t seem like much. In the average year, less than 1% of car accidents are fatal. In raw numbers, though, there are an average of 528 deaths from car accidents in a year. This is a tragic number that needs to be reduced, as approximately 10 people die each week from car accidents in Arkansas.
Arkansas DUI/DWUI and Injury Statistics for Car Accidents
Among the statistics that the Arkansas State Police collects are the number of accidents that involve fatalities. In the average year, there are 528 fatal car accidents producing approximately 580 deaths. This means that more than one person dies in many of these accidents. On average, 173 of those fatalities were drug or alcohol related.
Approximately 29.8% of all car accident fatalities between 2005 and 2014 were drug or alcohol related. This is about 14 drug or alcohol related deaths each month. These numbers are very disconcerting for responsible drivers who do not drive after drinking.
These statistics generally show a serious risk of being involved in a car accident. There are fortunately thousands of Arkansas every year that leave car accidents without any injuries. Just over 75% of people involved in accidents face no injuries. The other 24% are not so lucky. Approximately 8% of these injuries are “incapacitating,” meaning severe enough to put victims in the hospital for a prolonged period. These may include spinal cord injuries and serious brain injuries 1.47% of these injuries are fatal. 24% of car accident injuries are “non-incapacitating,” but they could still be sufficiently serious to deserve compensation in a car accident lawsuit. Overall, you have approximately an 8.38% chance of facing moderate to fatal injuries in an Arkansas car accident.
Arkansas Car Accident Attorney
If you or a loved one was hurt in a car crash, take your case to an attorney. You might be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Fayetteville personal injury attorney Ken Kieklak represents injured car accident victims to get them the compensation they need.
For a free consultation on your car accident case and to understand what your injuries may be worth, call today. Never accept a settlement from insurance companies or the other driver without first talking to an attorney. You might also face strict deadlines, so talk to an attorney and file your case as soon as possible. Ken Kieklak offers free consultations on new cases. Call (479) 316-0438 today to schedule your free, confidential consultation.