The Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation Safety at Louisiana State University gathers and analyzes state traffic data from various government agencies. CARTS recently released a report about Louisiana auto accidents in 2019, showing decreases in injuries and deaths in most categories.
Reviewing these numbers can help us understand how to prevent collisions that cause serious injuries and fatalities.
Pedestrian accidents
Serious non-fatal auto accident injuries involving pedestrians decreased by 6.2% in 2019 compared to 2018. The overall decrease since 2014 is 2.8%.
Fatalities among pedestrians decreased by more than 32% between 2018 and 2019. Pedestrian deaths have gone down by 11.5% since 2014.
Motorcycle incidents
Serious injuries and fatalities involving motorcycle riders decreased by 5.9% since 2018, with an overall decrease of 21.7% since 2014. At least one vehicle operator was under the influence of drugs or alcohol in 33.8% of fatal crashes, down from 35.4% in 2018.
Alcohol-related incidents
Motor vehicle accidents involving alcohol are down 18.5% since 2018, with a decrease of 23.5% since 2014. The number of fatal crashes associated with alcohol has also decreased over both the one-year and five-year periods.
Seat belt use
In more than half of fatal crashes in all age groups, the deceased individual was not wearing a proper seat belt or safety restraint. 57% of auto accident fatalities among children younger than six occurred when the child was not in a legally required safety seat.
This represents an increase of nearly 20% since 2018. Drivers who died in an auto accident were not wearing a seat belt in 53.4% of cases, less than a 1% increase since 2018.
As you can see, although auto accident trends in Louisiana are generally positive, safety measures remain necessary. Using proper safety seats and belts and avoiding dangerous practices like substance use behind the wheel and distracted driving can help reduce your chance of a serious auto accident injury.
