We live in a culture obsessed with youth. Everyone wants to know what the kids are listening to, what they’re wearing, what they’re watching. People will even spend hard-earned money on surgeries to make themselves look younger. But not everything about youth is so glamorous and enviable. In Canada and around the world, youth aged 15 – 24 make up a disproportionate amount of motor vehicle deaths and injuries. The upside of our passion for youth is that, knowing these facts about car accidents, we’re impelled to study further and make changes to improve the statistics. Couple the systemic changes with a good motor vehicle accident lawyer, and collisions need not be so dire for young drivers.
How Big is the Problem?
Young driving deaths are a serious problem from both a road safety and a public health perspective. The road safety side is straightforward: motor vehicle accidents caused by youth do not only impact youth—they hurt the other drivers on the road as well. Young drivers account for nearly a quarter of all road fatalities and road injuries in Canada, even though they only represent 13% of drivers. In terms of public health, the outsized impact of the problem on young drivers themselves is staggering. Motor vehicle accidents are the second leading cause of death for 15 – 24 year olds, narrowly behind suicide. Further, more than half of all traumatic injuries to 15 – 24 year olds are from collisions.
The Problem over Time
In 2011, 480 people between 15 and 24 died as a result of motor vehicle accidents (including drivers, passengers, and pedestrians). Though this might seem like a high number, it’s significantly lower than even five years previous, when 713 young drivers died. Statistics Canada has shown that this improvement should not be surprising, since young driver death rates have consistently dropped over time. In 1980, 46% of males and 42% of females died in car accidents. By 2004, those numbers had dropped to 32% and 30% respectively. Reducing the rate of death and injury amongst young drivers has been a difficult process though, since it’s only natural that the drivers with the least experience are the ones most likely to get into a collision. But a good motor vehicle accident lawyer knows that inexperienced drivers are not necessarily at fault in an accident, regardless of the statistics.
Fortunately, targeted, multilateral efforts across government organizations, non-profit groups, and concerned individuals have helped to alleviate the issue. It is only within the past four years that motor vehicle accidents lost the dubious honor of causing the most youth deaths. But it will never be perfect. No matter the effort, any driver, young or old, can potentially experience a serious car accident. A good motor vehicle accident lawyer at an established Toronto personal injury law firm can make sure that, if such a tragedy happens, you receive the compensation that you deserve. Call Sokoloff Personal Injury Lawyers after your accident to get advice and a free consultation.
Sources:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/health112a-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/84-215-x/2012001/tbl/t003-eng.htm
http://www.tirf.ca/publications/PDF_publications/YouthandRoadCrashes_MagnitudeCharacteristicsandTrends.pdf