Average auto fatalities per 100,000: 18.3 Auto fatalities/year: 784 (20th most) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $6,410,980 (22nd highest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $789,411,765 (19th highest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 28.39% (16th lowest) Pictured: 464 miles (747 km) long Kentucky Route 80, the longest route in Kentucky, pictured here west of Somerset.Wikimedia Commons
Average auto fatalities per 100,000: 18.3 Auto fatalities/year: 784 (20th most) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $6,410,980 (22nd highest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $789,411,765 (19th highest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 28.39% (16th lowest) Pictured: 464 miles (747 km) long Kentucky Route 80, the longest route in Kentucky, pictured here west of Somerset.Wikimedia CommonsAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 19.5 Auto fatalities/year: 711 (21st most) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $5,896,988 (23rd highest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr .auto accidents: $657,831,325 (22nd highest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 24.91% (10th lowest) Pictured: One of ten major toll highways in Oklahoma, the Will Rogers TurnpikeWikimedia CommonsAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 19.8 Auto fatalities/year: 359 (18th fewest) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr, auto accidents: $2,938,686 (18th lowest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $289,051,095 (16th lowest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 33.11% (17th highest) Pictured: The New River Gorge bridge, West VirginiaStock.xchngAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 20.2 Auto fatalities/year: 897 (15th most) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $7,363,795 (18th highest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $1,109,612,984 (8th highest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 31.71% (22nd highest) Pictured: Bossier City, LouisianaWikimedia CommonsAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 21.0 Auto fatalities/year: 944 (13th most) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $7,702,929 (16th highest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $966,527,197 (12th highest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 31.11% (23rd highest) Pictured: Skyline of Downtown Columbia, South CarolinaWikimedia CommonsAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 21.6 Auto fatalities/year: 619 (22nd most) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $4,775,033 (24th lowest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $617,945,384 (24th highest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 26.02% (13th lowest) Pictured: City of Little Rock, ArkansasWikimedia CommonsAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 21.7 (tied 3rd highest) Auto fatalities/year: 116 (7th least) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $947,934 (4th lowest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $107,859,504 (7th lowest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 16.43% (3rd lowest) Pictured: Cheyenne downtown, WyomingWikimedia CommonsAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 21.7 (tied 3rd highest) Auto fatalities/year: 1,014 (11th most) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $8,254,510 (15th highest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $964,444,444 (13th highest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 32.85% (19th highest) Pictured: Birmingham, largest city and metropolitan area, AlabamaWikimedia CommonsAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 23.3 (2nd highest) Auto fatalities/year: 225 (11th least) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $1,831,676 (12th lowest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $195,289,017 (11th lowest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 18.05% (4th lowest) Pictured: Montana landscapesstock.xchngAverage auto fatalities per 100,000: 26.7 (the highest) Auto fatalities/year: 784 (19th most) Lifetime medical costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $7,158,007 (19th highest) Lifetime work loss costs due to 1-yr. auto accidents: $823,487,544 (17th highest) Pct. commuters traveling 30 mins. or more: 30.83% (25th lowest) Pictured: An open road on the banks of the Mississippi Riverstock.xchng
A recent report by The Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit disease prevention group, reveals that more Americans, aged five to 34, are die in vehicle crashes than from any other cause. Financial news provider 24/7 Wall St., which reviewed the report, said another study released this week revealed that not much was being done to prevent such fatalities in the ten states where the number of deaths caused by road accidents were the highest.
"Deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents in the U.S. range widely. Twelve states averaged less than 10 deaths per 100,000 people a year during 2007 to 2009," the journal said in a news feed on Thursday.
Auto fatalities often lead to increase in lifetime costs incurred by the states. In 2005, the costs of medical expenses and lost economic productivity caused due to auto fatalities in a single year was $170bn.
"With such high costs, and more importantly loss of life, the question is whether there is anything states can do to prevent car accidents. The Trust for America's Health found that nothing works better to prevent traffic deaths than seat belt use. According to a report released by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, six of the 10 states with the lowest seat belt usage rates also had the highest average auto fatality rates between 2007 and 2009," the journal added.
Some suggested factors to prevent causalities from car accidents include having a primary seat belt law, a mandatory ignition interlock for all convicted drunk drivers, a mandatory motorcycle helmet law and requiring booster seats for children eight years and younger, according to The Trust for America's Health report.
Check out the slideshow to know which are the ten most dangerous US states to drive in, derived on the basis of number of auto fatalities, the costs arising from all fatalities and the policies states use to prevent car crashes.
