Driving Statistics

• In 1960, there were 3,545,693 miles of highway in the U.S. By 1997, that number had risen to 3,944,597 according to information compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

• According to the DOT, the number of registered passenger cars in the U.S. has more than doubled from 61,671,390 in 1960, to 129,748,708 in 1997.

• The DOT has indicated that the total societal annual cost of car accidents is $150 billion.

• According to data compiled and analyzed by the DOT, 41,471 people died in motor vehicle accidents in the United States in 1998.

- Of these people killed, 54 percent were occupants of passenger cars, and 23 percent were occupants of pickup trucks, utility vehicles, and vans.

- Of the passenger car fatalities in 1998, 60 percent involved multiple-vehicle accidents.

- Of all fatally injured motor vehicle drivers in 1998, 28 percent had blood alcohol levels higher than the legal limit, in most states, of .10 percent.

• The highest motor vehicle death rate, by age, is not teenage boys as many people might assume. Instead, the highest motor vehicle death rate is among males who are eighty years and older. Boys and men ages sixteen to twenty-four are the next highest grouping.

• In 1999, there were 5,362 large truck-related fatalities. Approximately 800 of those fatalities are believed to have been related to driver fatigue.

Serving Des Moines and Central Iowa in Criminal Defense, Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death and Personal Injury Representation. Ames and Des Moines , Iowa Attorneys practicing in central Iowa. Lawyers at Kutmus and Pennington are dedicated to serve their clients in central Iowa, including the cities of Ames and Des Moines, and the communities that make up Story and Polk Counties.