Road fatalities due to car crashes are increasing with each passing year despite huge efforts on the part of traffic control authorities. An alarming number of people, that is, 42,900 died in car crashes in 2003 and the number is only increasing with each passing year. The figure becomes more frightful when depicted like this: every 12 minutes in the US there is a car fatality, and every 14 seconds there is a person disabled in a motor accident.

The number of car crashes is comparatively very high in the senior population over 65 years of age. This bracket of people drives only 8% of the total road traffic, but one in four of them are likely to be involved in a car crash. Another high majority among car crash casualties are teenagers of the age group 15-20 years. An estimated 14% of all car crashes are among this age group.

Several factors may lead to car crashes. One of the greatest culprits is drunken and drugged driving. This is especially rampant among teenagers and causes no less than 16,000 deaths each year in the States alone. In current times, mobile phones are also becoming another major cause. Hand held devices are banned almost everywhere during driving. Even hands-free cell phones are dangerous as they divert the attention of the driver from the road. Eating or drinking while at the wheel, speaking to the passengers, listening to the radio or music while driving are all factors that make people involved in car crashes. Speeding and reckless driving also account for a major chunk of car crash casualties each year. Another significant cause is the pedestrians who do not obey traffic rules, especially while crossing roads.

There are several road safety measures that can be followed to prevent car crashes. It has been found that of all the fatal car crashes, almost half of the victims were not wearing their seatbelts. Traffic in US cities is quite congested at peak hours, but following simple road safety measures could help curb a vast number of road accidents. This even applies to pedestrians and cyclists on the road.