Motor Vehicle-Related Injuries – Press Room
Universal Motorcycle Helmet Laws Increase Helmet Use and Save Money
(Posted 06/15/2012)
Preventing serious injuries and deaths from motorcycle crashes is a major and growing public health concern.
Consider that:
- Motorcycle crashes killed 4,502 people in 2010.
- Motorcycle-related deaths have increased by 55% since 2000.
- Motorcycle crash-related injuries and deaths totaled $12 billion in one year, in medical care costs and productivity losses.
The good news is that riders’—and their passengers’—can protect themselves by wearing helmets. Helmets are estimated to prevent 37 percent of crash deaths among motorcycle riders and 41 percent of crash deaths for motorcycle passengers.
Learn More
Members of the News Media
For more information call CDC Injury Center Media Relations at 770-488-4902.
General Public
Inquiries from the general public are handled by CDC-INFO at 800-CDC-INFO or 800-232-4636.
CDC Vital Signs — Drinking and Driving: A Threat to Everyone
(Posted 10/04/2011)
U.S. adults got behind the wheel after drinking too much about 112 million times in 2010.
Though episodes of drinking and driving have gone down by 30% during the past 5 years, it remains a serious problem. Alcohol-impaired drivers are involved in about 1 in 3 crash deaths, resulting in nearly 11,000 deaths in 2009.
Whenever anyone drives drunk, they put everyone on the road in danger. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.
The October edition of CDC Vital Signs discusses drinking and driving and the proven measures that can help.
Learn More
Members of the News Media
For more information call CDC Injury Center Media Relations at 770-488-4902.
General Public
Inquiries from the general public are handled by CDC-INFO at 800-CDC-INFO or 800-232-4636.
New State-based Costs of Crash Deaths from CDC
(Posted 05/11/2011)
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2011 to 2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. CDC is excited to be part of this effort to enhance focus on protecting people on the road. As a first step, CDC is releasing fact sheets showing the tremendous cost burden of deaths from motor vehicle crashes in the United States, and highlighting strategies to prevent these deaths.
Over 30,000 people are killed in crashes each year in the United States. In 2005, in addition to the toll on victims’ family and friends, crash deaths resulted in $41 billion in medical and work loss costs.
CDC’s new analysis found that only 10 states shoulder half of all the costs of crash deaths. Individual state fact sheets with state-specific cost information are now available.
The ten states with the highest medical and work loss costs were California ($4.16 billion), Texas ($3.50 billion), Florida ($3.16 billion), Georgia ($1.55 billion), Pennsylvania ($1.52 billion), North Carolina ($1.50 billion), New York ($1.33 billion), Illinois ($1.32 billion), Ohio ($1.23 billion), and Tennessee ($1.15 billion).
Learn more about your state’s costs and CDC’s recommendations
for safety on the road:
Members of the News Media
For more information call CDC Injury Center Media Relations at 770-488-4902.
General Public
Inquiries from the general public are handled by CDC-INFO at 800-CDC-INFO or 800-232-4636.
Seat Belts - Every Person, Every Trip, Every Time
(Posted 01/04/2011)
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for people between the ages of five and 34. Seat belt use is the best way to save lives and reduce injuries in crashes.
This month, a new CDC report shows that seat belt use has increased in the United States (to 85%) as crash-related injuries have decreased.
Protect yourself by wearing your seat belt, and encourage everyone in the car to buckle up, even those in the back seat. Always buckle up your child passengers into the correct safety seat.
Learn More
Members of the News Media
For more information call CDC Injury Center Media Relations at 770-488-4902.
General Public
Inquiries from the general public are handled by CDC-INFO at 800-CDC-INFO or 800-232-4636.
New CDC Resources for Teen Driver Safety
(Posted 10/17/2010)
Learning to drive is often considered a rite of passage for teenagers. But with the reward of being a new driver comes real risk. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, taking the lives of eight teens a day. CDC’s Injury Center is committed to preventing these crashes.
CDC recently released a new study, a communications campaign for parents of teen drivers, and an at-a-glance policy issue brief to focus attention on teen driver safety and the proven steps that can help save young drivers’ lives.
Learn More
Members of the News Media
For more information call CDC Injury Center Media Relations at 770-488-4902.
General Public
Inquiries from the general public are handled by CDC-INFO at 800-CDC-INFO or 800-232-4636.
New CDC Study Finds Annual Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes Exceeds $99 Billion
(Posted 08/25/2010)
In a one-year period, the cost of medical care and productivity losses associated with injuries from motor vehicle crashes exceeded $99 billion - with the cost of direct medical care accounting for $17 billion, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The total annual cost amounts to nearly $500 for each licensed driver in the United States, said the study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention. See the CDC press release.
The one-year costs of fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries totaled $70 billion (71 percent of total costs) for people riding in motor vehicles, such as cars and light trucks, $12 billion for motorcyclists, $10 billion for pedestrians, and $5 billion for bicyclists, the study said.
CDC has also released a one-page fact sheet to help communities play an important role in reducing the human and economic toll of motor vehicle-related injuries by supporting prevention policies that have been shown to save lives and reduce costs.
Save Lives, Save Dollars—Prevent Motor Vehicle Related Injuries [pdf 255K] provides information about cost-effective policies to:
- Improve child passenger safety.
- Improve teen driver safety.
- Reduce alcohol-impaired driving.
- Increase safety belt use.
Members of the News Media
For more information call CDC Injury Center Media Relations at 770-488-4902.
General Public
Inquiries from the general public are handled by CDC-INFO at 800-CDC-INFO or 800-232-4636.
(Posted 08/25/2010)
In a one-year period, the cost of medical care and productivity losses associated with injuries from motor vehicle crashes exceeded $99 billion - with the cost of direct medical care accounting for $17 billion, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The total annual cost amounts to nearly $500 for each licensed driver in the United States, said the study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention. See the CDC press release.
The one-year costs of fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries totaled $70 billion (71 percent of total costs) for people riding in motor vehicles, such as cars and light trucks, $12 billion for motorcyclists, $10 billion for pedestrians, and $5 billion for bicyclists, the study said.
CDC has also released a one-page fact sheet to help communities play an important role in reducing the human and economic toll of motor vehicle-related injuries by supporting prevention policies that have been shown to save lives and reduce costs.
Save Lives, Save Dollars—Prevent Motor Vehicle Related Injuries [pdf 255K] provides information about cost-effective policies to:
- Improve child passenger safety.
- Improve teen driver safety.
- Reduce alcohol-impaired driving.
- Increase safety belt use.
Members of the News Media
For more information call CDC Injury Center Media Relations at 770-488-4902.
General Public
Inquiries from the general public are handled by CDC-INFO at 800-CDC-INFO or 800-232-4636.
New York State Booster Seat Law is Preventing Child Injuries
(Posted 08/13/2010)
A new Pediatrics study examines traffic injury rates among booster-seat aged children before and after the implementation of New York State’s 2005 law requiring booster seats.
The study was conducted by the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Injury Prevention and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the New York Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.
This is the first study comparing traffic injury rates for booster seat-aged children before and after implementation of the booster seat law in New York.
Key findings include:
- The injury rate for motor vehicle crashes decreased by 18 percent for children 4 to 6 years of age after the NY state law requiring booster seats was implemented in 2005.
- The decrease in child injuries was primarily attributed to a 72 percent increase in the use of child restraints as required by the NY state law.
Learn more:
Members of the News Media
For more information call CDC Injury Center Media Relations at 770-488-4902.
General Public
Inquiries from the general public are handled by CDC-INFO at 800-CDC-INFO or 800-232-4636.
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