Understanding Annual Crash Data
The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO) tracks crash data around the state and annually publishes an analysis of how motor vehicle accidents are affected by various factors. It may include characteristics from speed and distraction involvement to which holidays often see the most collisions.
Understanding what contributes most often to crashes can help motorists better analyze their own driving habits and how to adjust accordingly. Read on to learn more about the most recent data published.
Common Causes of Crashes
In a consistent trend over the past several years, the most common crash causes throughout the state were:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Driving under the influence
Although 2020 was an anomaly of a year, specific crash types increased from 2019. In terms of overall crashes, these are the significant changes over the course of the year:
- Speed-involved fatal crashes increased by 67.6%, although the total decreased by 12.1%.
- 16,893 people were involved in distracted driving-related crashes statewide.
- Alcohol-related fatal crashes increased by 20.5%, although the total decreased by 7%.
- Overall, fatal crashes increased by 3% in 2020 despite total collisions decreasing by 15.7%.
Distracted driving cases also surged during the summer months, with August recording the highest number of the year (706).
Who is the Most At-Risk of Crashes?
In terms of which type of vehicle crashes were most prominent, total collisions significantly decreased across all modes of transportation (excluding trains). Here are the statistics on the different vehicles involved:
- Large trucks: 4,784 crashes
- Trains: 38 crashes
- Motorcycles: 977 fatal and injury crashes (total is undefined)
- School bus: 114 crashes
- Bicycles: 250 fatal and injury crashes (total is undefined)
Pedestrians were also involved in 586 fatal and injury crashes throughout the year. Additionally, 69.9% of all fatalities were pickup truck or passenger car occupants.
Seat Belt Usage
Another key point to be examined is the prominence of wearing an appropriate safety restraint while on the roads. Currently, all drivers and passengers younger than eight years old are required to wear a seat belt at all times. However, the Oklahoma Senate passed a bill in March 2021 that would require children 17 and younger to wear one. It is currently pending approval in the House.
Considering this, it is important to understand the impacts that wearing a seat belt has on your safety when involved in a collision. In 2020, 49.7% of fatality victims in passenger cars were not wearing an appropriate safety restraint.
Holiday Crashes per Hour
When heading into the holiday season, it is not uncommon to see traffic begin to pick up around certain areas of big cities or interstates as people travel to visit loved ones. OHSO tracks these holiday periods between 12 and 102 hours, depending on the time of year, as the roadways may be affected by travel. They also account for the number of alcohol and drug-related crashes during this time.
According to the latest holiday travel data, the holidays can be ranked by total crashes per hour in 2020 as such:
- Halloween
- Independence Day
- St. Patrick's Day
- Labor Day
- Memorial Day
- New Year's Day
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
Although the winter holidays are commonly considered the most dangerous for drivers, especially considering the additional weather-related roadway hazards that may come into play, this is not the case when looking at total crashes per hour. However, when narrowing down specifically for alcohol and drug-related crashes, there is an interesting change that occurs:
- Halloween
- New Year's Day
- Labor Day
- Memorial Day
- Christmas
- St. Patrick's Day
- Independence Day
- Thanksgiving
The year-over-year changes from 2019 and 2020 also produced curious results. Halloween, specifically, had a 50% increase in fatal crashes. Additionally, the Labor Day and Memorial Day periods during 2020 had the highest number of alcohol and drug-related fatal accidents in the past five years.
Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Accident Attorneys
Unfortunately, serious accidents resulting in injury occur on Oklahoma roads each day. At Martin Jean & Jackson, we hold negligent drivers accountable for the damages they cause.
If you or a loved one was involved in a motor vehicle accident and sustained an injury, schedule a free consultation with a member of our team today. Call or fill out this short form to get started.
