While personal injuries don't always lead to a wrongful death, severe injuries can. Wounded patients may live on for a several days or weeks before succumbing to injuries, putting their loved ones in Ohio in a difficult situation. Fatalities due to drunk drivers, fatal crashes, and other events are tracked in the state and around the nation. Here are some statistics about the fatal crash totals in Ohio and what they mean to you.
In 2013, there were 917 fatal crashes in total within Ohio. Those crashes may have been caused by a single-vehicle error or may include pileups. What is interesting to know is that the most people were injured and killed while driving in cars. 460 people were killed while inside cars. Next was pickup trucks and SUVs. 229 people died that way in 2013, while 130 were killed while riding motorcycles.
What this points out is that while motorcycle safety and truck safety is important, those drivers aren't the ones who are being involved in as many accidents. In fact, those in cars are at the highest risk of an accident and being killed in an accident. 55 percent of the deaths in accidents in Ohio were attributed to single-vehicle accidents, but multiple-vehicle accidents accounted for 45 percent, showing that negligence on the roads is still a major problem for drivers and other people on the roads.
Another interesting fact is that 50 percent of people killed in crashes in Ohio were not restrained, while 41 percent were. For the other 9 percent, it was unknown if they had been strapped in. Seat belts are required in most instances in the state, making this a strong point about the importance of buckling up.
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, "Fatality Facts" accessed Feb. 25, 2015