What Are the Odds of Dying in a Car Crash in Pennsylvania?

You can measure your odds of dying in a car accident in many different ways. The likelihood that you will die in a crash depends on many factors. Your odds also vary depending on whether you look at your lifetime odds or yearly odds.

Here are some ways to look at your odds of dying in a car crash in Pennsylvania and the lessons you can draw from them.

Lifetime Odds vs. Yearly Odds

Everyone dies. Your lifetime odds of dying in a car crash tell you the likelihood that your death — whenever it happens — will result from traffic accident injuries.

You have a one in 107 chance of dying in a car crash sometime during your life. You have similar odds of dying in a falling accident at one in 108. This might seem high, but you have much higher odds of dying from heart disease at one in six.

You have lower odds of dying in a car crash in 2022. This is because your odds of dying in a car crash in 2022 must account for your odds of dying from another cause, plus the odds that you will not die during this year.

These odds also depend on your age. A 30-year-old male has a one in 556 chance of dying this year, while an 80-year old male has a one in 17 chance of dying this year.

The odds also depend on your gender. A 30-year-old woman has a one in 1,233 chance of dying this year, less than half the odds for a male of the same age.

Averaged across all ages, the likelihood you will die in a car crash in 2022 is one in 8,393. But drivers younger than 25 and older than 65 have a higher risk of dying in a car crash.

Drivers in Pennsylvania

Location matters when looking at your odds of dying in a car crash. Traffic laws, weather, and congestion affect the frequency of car accidents.

Pennsylvania had 104,475 auto accidents in 2020. Of these, 1,060 resulted in at least one fatality. This means one in 98 auto accidents resulted in a fatality.

But this does not account for the number of accidents that involved multiple people such as passengers and pedestrians. One out of 198 people involved in traffic accidents died that year.

These statistics do not necessarily account for Pennsylvania’s large population. Normalized to the state’s population, Pennsylvania has 8.3 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents. The national average is 11.0 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents. This means that the odds of dying in a car crash in Pennsylvania are roughly 24.5% lower than the national average.

Driving Behaviors in Pennsylvania

Many driving behaviors affect your odds of dying in a car crash. You have a one in 60 chance of dying in a crash if you speed. Similarly, you have a one in 50 chance of dying in a crash if you drive drunk.

But the most dangerous driving behavior is failing to wear a seat belt. People wearing a seat belt during a crash had a one in 746 chance of dying. People not wearing a seat belt had a one in 43 chance of dying. 

Learning from the Odds

In many ways, the odds of dying in a car crash in Pennsylvania are out of your hands. You cannot control your age, gender, or the likelihood that someone else will crash into you.

But you can reduce your risk of dying in a crash. Driving drunk reduces your reaction time and judgment. Speeding increases the damage a crash could cause. And failing to wear a seat belt increases the severity of the injuries you could receive. 

Avoiding these behaviors vastly increases your chance of avoiding an accident or surviving one.

If you’ve been injured in Pennsylvania, please contact Marzzacco Niven & Associates at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation today:

Harrisburg Law Office
945 East Park Drive, Suite 103 Harrisburg, PA 17111
(717) 231-1640

York Law Office
2550 Kingston Road, Suite 210A York, PA 17401
(717) 995-8998

Wyomissing Law Office
833 N. Park Road, Suite 103, Room A Wyomissing, PA 19610
(717) 388-2325

Chambersburg Law Office
79 St. Paul Drive, Suite 1 Chambersburg, PA 17201
(717) 388-2378

Carlisle Law Office
354 Alexander Springs Road Carlisle, PA 17015
(717) 995-8732

Carbondale Law Office
30 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 101 Carbondale, PA 18407
(717) 995-8810

Lancaster Law Office
2173 Embassy Drive, Ste 123, Lancaster Pa 17603
(717) 616-2954

Lebanon Law Office
937 Willow Street, Suite D Lebanon, PA 17042-1140
(717) 995-8963