Articles
Car Accidents
Hopefully you are only reading this column as a precautionary step in the remote event you have an automobile accident whilst in Mexico. This being said, in order to create better awareness and hence prevent automobile accidents, it is important to first take a look at global information and statistics on the issue:
- April, 2006: Crashes Are Top Cause of Deaths in U.S. for Ages 5-33
- In 2002 alone, more than 6.3 million car crashes occurred on highways in the U.S. The USA Legal Help Website registered almost 43,000 deaths. A cost of US $150 billion per year was estimated in material losses. Sadly, impaired driving and failure to use safety belts were the major contributors to fatalities. Furthermore 17,429 persons were killed in alcohol-related crashes in that same year.
- In 2005 a total of 51,000 deaths were estimated by the National Highway Safety Administration in a document titled Reducing Highway Deaths.
- Worldwide, automobile accidents kill an estimated 1.2 million people each year and injure about forty times this number (WHO, 2004).
Statistical information is not as accurate in Mexico as in the US or other countries, however, the INEGI (National Statistics & Geography Bureau) reported for the year 2004: 8,999 deaths on federal highways plus another 4,603 in state, municipal and other highways. The total being: 13,602.
