Trauma Factoid: What Cars Were Doing When Involved In A Fatal Crash?

What were cars doing when they got involved in a fatal crash?

  • 69% – going straight ahead
  • 15% – negotiating a curve
  • 6% – turning left
  • 4% – not known
  • 2% – passing
  • 2% – merging or changing lanes
  • 1.5% – stopping, slowing or starting in a traffic lane
  • 0.8% – turning right

Bottom line – most fatal crashes occur when moving straight ahead, but look out when turning left!!

Reference: NHTSA