Planes, Trains and Automobiles
August/September 2007

“Last year, Americans traveled almost 50 million miles by rail, by air on over 10 million scheduled flights, and over 3 trillion miles by car. By 2020, these numbers are expected to grow exponentially with the number of airline passengers doubling to over 7 billion worldwide.”

Plane Accidents

• 80 percent of all aviation accidents occur shortly before, after, or during takeoff or landing
• Of 2,147 aircraft accidents from 1950 through 2004, causes were due to:
  • 45%: Pilot error
  • 33%: Undetermined or missing information
  • 13%: Mechanical failure
  • 7%: Weather
  • 5%: Sabotage (bombs, hijackings, shoot-downs)
  • 4%: Other human error (air traffic controller error, improper loading of aircraft, improper maintenance, fuel contamination, language miscommunication etc.)
  • 1%: Other causes
    

For more information, click here.

Train Accidents (Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis)

• Approximately every 2 hours, a railroad train in the US strikes a motor vehicle or a pedestrian.
• In 2005, there were 14,175 railroad related accidents resulting in 887 deaths and more than 9,000 injuries
• 358 deaths and 1,020 injuries occurred at highway-rail crossings
• 463 deaths and 414 injuries from accidents resulting from trespassing on railroad rights of way
• Of these accidents, causes were due to:
• 28% Derailments
• 22% Yard accidents
• 15% Human Factors
• 13% Track causes
• 4% Equipment causes
• 3% Collisions
• 1% Signal causes
• 14% All other causes
  

Automobile Accidents (NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis)

• More than 6.1 million police-reported motor vehicle crashes occurred in the United States in 2005. Almost one-third of these crashes resulted in an injury (2.7 million); 1% in death (43,443). Of the fatalities:
• 64% were drivers
• 28% passengers
• 3% motorcycle riders
• 3% pedestrians
• 2% pedalcyclists
• 55% of the time a restraint (lap belt, shoulder belt, safety seat) was not utilized by the rash victim
• Midnight to 3 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays proved to be the deadliest 3-hour time periods
• More than half of fatal crashes occurred on roads with posted speed limits of 55 mph or more
• 39% of fatal crashes involved alcohol. For fatal crashes occurring from midnight to 3 a.m. 75 % involved alcohol
  
  

Snapshot: June 7, 2005: 102 car crashes, 119 fatalities (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

• 43 of 90 occupants who died were unbelted
• 16 of 63 drivers who died were teenagers
• 19 drivers who died were speeding
• 22 drivers who died had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit
  
  

Fatality statistics remind us that while there is always some small degree of uncertainty when you get behind the wheel of a car, many of the most significant causes of car crashes and fatalities are preventable: wear your seat belt, don’t drive drunk, and teach your kids safe driving habits. For more information on accident statistics visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety at (www.Iihs.org)