August is National Road Victim & Traffic Safety Month
August is National Road Victim & Traffic Safety Month
Before any driver hits the road, we all pass a driver’s safety course, learn the rules of the road, and we are told to always stay alert to the road and those around you. These laws and regulations help drivers stay safe and are a standard to help prevent accidents. But after drivers education, how many of those rules and regulations do you no longer pay attention to?
How many times have you been in a car without a seatbelt on because:
· “well I am just going a few miles”
· “I am in the back seat, so I will be fine.”
· “Nothing is going to happen”
Did you know that not wearing your seat belt in a car raises your risk of fatality by over three times? That can be the difference between how your life is now, and how it could be.
What we need to think about more as a society is not necessarily about how getting into an accident can affect you, but to put an equal amount of thought into how an accident could affect those around you.
Studies suggest that 90% of car accidents are deemed as preventable had the driver been using best practices on the road.
The aftermath of a catastrophic accident can look different for each person who is involved, but a common diagnosis after an accident is a Traumatic Brain Injury. This is the rehabilitation discipline that CommuniCare focuses on the most. We help to rehabilitate, provide semi-independent living, outpatient therapies, and day program. Traumatic brain injuries can turn someone’s life upside down and cause you to have an entirely new baseline in life. CommuniCare can help!
CommuniCareMichigan.com
@communicaremichiga
Motor vehicle accidents and TBIs Stats
Speeding is a factor in 25% of motor vehicle crashes resulting in TBI
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes contribute to 28% of TBI-related fatalities
Unrestrained occupants are 3 times more likely to sustain a fatal TBI in a crash
Adults aged 65 and older have the highest TBI fatality rate (27.7 deaths per 100,000 population in motor vehicle crashes)
Males are 1.5 times more likely than females to sustain a TBI in a motor vehicle crash
1 in 5 TBI survivors from motor vehicle crashes are children under 16
30% of injury-related deaths in motor vehicle crashes involve TBI
Approximately 1.7 million TBIs are associated with motor vehicle crashes annually in the U.S.
1 in 6 hospitalizations for injury are due to TBI from motor vehicle crashes
TBI from motor vehicle crashes is the leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S.
In 2020, over 282,000 people were hospitalized for TBI from motor vehicle crashes
Total medical costs for TBI from motor vehicle crashes in 2021 were $60.2 billion
Airbag deployment reduces the risk of fatal TBI by 29% in passenger vehicle crashes
Wearing a motorcycle helmet use reduces the risk of TBI by 67% and fatal TBI by 42%
Seatbelt use is associated with a 50% reduction in fatal TBI risk
