Motor Vehicle Facts

    • Motor vehicle accidents were the 3rd leading cause of injury related emergency department visits in 2010.1
    • In 2011, there were 78,579emergency room visits, 5,106 hospitalizations, and 513 deaths as a result of motor vehicle accidents.1
    • In 2011, motor vehicle accidents were the number one leading cause of death for the 5-14 year old age group, and the second leading cause of death for the 15-24 year old age group.1

 Seatbelts

  • Maryland adopted a primary seat belt law in 1997, since then seat belt use has risen from 80 percent in 1997 to 94.01 percent in 2009.2
  • Every child under 8 years old must be secured in a U.S. DOT approved child safety seat unless the child is 4 feet, 9 inches or taller, or weighs more than 65 pounds.3
  • Children and young people up to 16 years of age must be secured in seat belts or child safety seats, regardless of their seating positions.3
  • It is strongly recommended that all children ride secured in the rear seat. Drivers and front seat passengers, regardless of their ages, are required to wear seat belts. It is strongly recommended that all occupants wear seat belts.3

 

Airbags

  • Frontal air bags have saved 25,782 lives between 1987 and 2008.4
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    DO NOT DRIVE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL

    • In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. Source: Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2010: Alcohol-Impaired Driving. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2012 [cited 2012 Sep 28]. Available at URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811606.PDF
    • Of the 1,210 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2010, 211 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.5

     

    References:

    1- Injuries in Maryland-2011 Statistics on Injury Related, Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Death. Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, October 2013.
     
    2-Maryland Deparrtment of Transportation-Motor Vehicle Administration. Occupant Safety in Maryland. Retrieved from http://mhso.mva.maryland.gov/SafetyPrograms/program_occupant_safety.htm.
     
    3-Maryland Department of Transportation-State Highway Administration. Traffic Safety Laws retrieved from http://www.sha.maryland.gov/Index.aspx?PageId=92
     
    4-U.S Department of Transportaion. Air Bag Safety. Retrieved from http://www.safercar.gov/Air+Bags
     
    5- Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2010: Alcohol-Impaired Driving.    Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2012 [cited 2012 Sep 28]. Available at URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811606.PDF