The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently did a study looking into car crash deaths and found the cost associated with these accidents tops $41 billion year.
The costs mount up in medical procedures, and a majority of the costs rack up in ten states. The following ten states are racking up the most costly procedures:
California $4.16 billion
Texas $3.5 billion
Florida $3.16 billion
Georgia $1.55 billion
Pennsylvania $1.52 billion
North Carolina $1.50 billion
New York $1.33 billion
Illinois $1.32 billion
Ohio $1.23 billion
Tennessee $1.15 billion
“Deaths from motor vehicle crashes are preventable,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Seat belts, graduated driver’s license programs, child safety seats, and helmet use save lives and reduce health care costs.”
The report suggests states take the following measures to prevent crashes:
*Primary seat belt laws, which allow motorists to be stopped and cited for not wearing seat belts. Seat belts reduce the risk of death to those riding in the front seat by about half.
*Strong child passenger safety policies, which require children to be placed in age- and size-appropriate child safety and booster seats while riding in vehicles.
*Comprehensive graduated driver licensing systems can reduce teen crashes. These systems help new drivers get experience and have been associated with up to 40 percent decreases in crashes among 16-year-old drivers.
*Universal motorcycle helmet laws, which require riders of all ages to wear helmets. Helmets can cut the risk of death in a motorcycle crash by more than one-third.
“These preventable costs are a reflection of the terrible suffering of American families whose loved ones are killed or injured on the roads,” said Norman Mineta, chairm
an of Make Roads Safe North America and the longest serving Secretary of Transportation in U.S. history. “Today, on the launch of the first-ever Decade of Action for Road Safety, occurring in 30 cities across our nation and 50 countries worldwide, it is time for all of us to take action to save lives at home and around the globe.”
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