KSWO Channel Seven News recently reported that 35 people died in car crashes across Oklahoma during the month of February. According to the report, Oklahoma County had the most fatalities for the month. Officials with the Department of Public Safety said that six people died in Oklahoma County alone. Listed below is a short breakdown of the February crash fatalities.
The Breakdown
Three pedestrians were killed.
Alcohol was involved in three of the fatal crashes.
30 of the victims were Oklahoma residents.
Twenty of the victims were males.
Pedestrian Safety in Oklahoma
Three of the February victims were pedestrians. Improving pedestrian safety across Oklahoma and Texas needs to be a top priority for motorists. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) “Everyone is a Pedestrian” campaign is aimed at raising awareness about pedestrian safety. In 2011, 4,432 pedestrians died across the U.S. Pedestrians were actually one of the few groups that experienced an increase in motor-vehicle-crash related fatalities in 2011. The NHTSA offers safe walking tips and a variety of resources for pedestrians, parents of children who walk to bus stops, motorists and kids.
Impaired Driving
Impaired driving was involved in three of the fatal crashes in February too. The NHTSA estimates that alcohol-impaired crashes cost more than $37 billion each year. In 2012, more than 10,000 people died in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver. That means one person was killed every 51 minutes on average. Getting behind-the-wheel impaired is always a mistake, and the NHTSA wants motorists to know that buzzed driving is drunk driving. There is no safe level of alcohol impairment behind the wheel.
What about Distracted Driving?
Although nothing was mentioned about potentially distracted drivers in the breakdown of the February fatalities, one has to wonder how many crashes involved cell phones or texting-while-driving. Since there isn’t a nationwide or even state-wide standard operating procedure for investigating whether or not a driver was distracted at the time of the crash, it’s a good idea to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney after a wreck. With the prevalence of distracted driving across the U.S., we can only guess at how many of these fatal crashes could have been prevented if only drivers had put down their phones. If you have lost a loved one in a car accident, contact the experienced wrongful death attorneys at the Altman Legal Group at 800-772-0828 for a free consultation today.