More than 3 million Americans required emergency
treatment after a car crash in 2006. (S. Dak. DPS)
"About 3.5 million motor vehicle crash victims were treated in emergency departments in 2006," begins an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality data summary on the health effects of traffic accidents released last Wednesday.
The data show that crashes involving cars, motorcycles and trucks of all types constitute nearly 10 percent of hospital visits due to injury. The most common nonfatal injuries suffered by drivers and passengers in traffic accidents were sprains, which accounted for 44 percent of the injuries treated in emergency rooms. Minor scrapes and cuts accounted for 35 percent of ER visits following accidents, and open wounds accounted for 10 percent.
During 2006 in Virginia, 73,349 people suffered injuries from crashes, and another 981 died. These numbers ticked downward in 2008, the last year for which complete data are available, but still stood near 70,000 injured and more than 800 killed.
The physical toll of traffic accidents is matched by the economic impact of the crashes, both in Virginia and across the United States. Motor vehicle accidents cost residents of the Commonwealth an estimated $4 billion during 2006, and the country an estimated $150 billion that year. The costs represent both property damage and health care expeditures.
Speeding, drunk driving and failure to wear a seat belt lead to higher numbers of traffic fatalities in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth and Chesapeake than in any other groups of cities in Virginia during 2008.
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