Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
Certainly there are no guarantees in life, but as motorists we do assume risks every time we get behind the wheel of our automobiles, motorcycles and SUVs. This being said, it would be comforting to know if we could expect a modicum of safety for ourselves and our families while traveling Maryland’s highways and byways. As Baltimore car accident lawyers, I and my colleagues know first-hand the worst-case scenarios that await some people.
A recent study by the Reader’s Digest gave us some hope for drivers throughout the state. According to the report, Maryland ranks in the top one-fifth of states with the lowest chances of a fatal alcohol-related traffic accident. Furthermore, when it comes to speeding-related deaths on our roads, the state falls just below the national average fatal.
What does this mean in real figures? According to the report, Maryland has about 0.28 drunk driving-related deaths per million vehicle miles, ranking it eighth and placing it in the top ten safest states for that category. For the United States as a whole, drunk driving deaths average 0.40 per million vehicle miles traveled.
In the category of deaths caused by speeding, our state was ranked 22nd out of 50. The statistics bear this out as Maryland averages about 0.35 deaths per million vehicle miles traveled. Compare that to the national average of 0.39 deaths per million vehicle miles as a result of drunk driving.
Reader’s Digest ranked all 50 states to determine the safest, most scenic and sensible roads. While Maryland made a fair showing it should be noted that some of our neighbors did not. Included in the publication’s list of bad roads, the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 78 and Interstate 80) as well as I-95 over the George Washington Bridge between New Jersey and New York were among the worst.
Reader’s Digest Ranks Safest, Deadliest Roads in U.S., TruckingInfo.com, March 16, 2010