Research

Our Research!

=__Driving in general.__=

[] ICBC Up to 90% of crashes involve human error.

If you crash while drinking and driving, you’re likely in breach of your insurance policy. That means you could be personally responsible for 100 per cent of the costs if you damage someone else’s property or injure them.

Up to 4,000 more British Columbians whose driving records show evidence of drinking and driving must now provide breath samples every time they operate their vehicles.

Every day an average of more than 250 crashes occurred at an intersection in B.C. between 2005 and 2009.

While the impaired driving message is getting through, it hasn’t reached everyone. We are still averaging about 133 people killed and 3,400 injured a year in B.C.

What happens if you or your child is in a 50 km/h head-on crash, and not wearing a seatbelt?


 * A 150-pound adult will collide with other occupants, strike the inside of the vehicle or get thrown from the car with the same as the weight of a 3½-ton truck.
 * An unrestrained 25-pound child will be thrown forward with the same force as the weight of 1,200-pound baby elephant.

There’s a $167 fine for MVA infractions (including a 15 per cent victim surcharge). The amount can be reduced by $25 if the ticket is paid within 30 days.

You could get a $598 ticket (including victim surcharge) for:


 * Requiring or allowing a vehicle to be operated with too many people in the vehicle;
 * Requiring or allowing a vehicle to be operated with inoperative seatbelts;


 * Requiring or allowing a vehicle to be operated with too many seats.

[] World health Organization.

More than 1.2 million people die in road traffic crashes every year As many as 50 million people are injured or disabled by road traffic crashes every year Half of all crash victims are vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists Correctly used seat belts reduce the risk of death in a crash by 61% Helmets reduce fatal and serious head injuries by up to 45% Enforcing a drinking and driving law around the world could reduce alcohol-related crashes by 20% For every 1km/h reduction in average speed, there is a 2% reduction in the number of crashes

[] Road safety.

If caught drink driving you will face:


 * Up to 6 months in prison
 * A fine of up to £5000
 * A minimum of 12 months’ disqualification (3 years for a second offence within 10 years)
 * Sobering-up tricks do not work – coffee and cold showers the morning after a night out don’t help you sober up. Time is the only way to get the alcohol out of your system and you could still be over the legal limit many hours after drinking.

It is estimated that drivers who fall asleep at the wheel account for around one fifth of accidents on major roads, and are responsible for around 300 deaths per year.


 * __ Teen driving. __**

[] Centers for dieses control and prevention.

In 2009, 8 teenagers ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.

Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash. In 2009, about 3,000 teens in the United States ages 15 to 19 were killed, and in 2008 more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes In one year alone, crash-related injuries and deaths among teen’s ages 15 to 19 cost $14 billion in medical care and productivity losses Per mile driven, teen drivers are four times more likely than adult drivers to crash For all ages, fatal crashes are more likely to occur at night, but the risk is highest for teens Compared with other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use Distractions – such as talking or texting on cell phones, eating, or playing with the radio – increase teen drivers’ risk of being in a crash The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with the number of teen passenger Crash risk is particularly high during the first year that teenagers are eligible to drive

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Each Year over 5,000 teens ages 16 to 20 Die due to Fatal injuries caused Car accidents. About 400,000 drivers age 16 to 20 will be seriously injured.

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16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age. Hand-held cell phone use was highest among 16- to 24-year-olds (8% in 2008, down from 9% in 2007).

[] Allastate. Car crashes caused by teen drivers are the #1 killer of teens in America today. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, killing between 5,000 and 6,000 teenagers every year • Teenage drivers account for 12.6 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes. • The fatal crash rates among 16- to 19-year-olds is four times that of older drivers. Risk is the highest at age 16, when the fatal crash rate is 40 percent higher than for 18 year-olds and 30 percent higher than for 19-year-olds.

• ** Cell Phones ** 56 percent of teens said they make and answer phone calls while driving. Talking on a cell phone can double the likelihood of an accident and can slow a young driver’s reaction time to that of a 70-year-old. 13 percent of teens said they send and respond to text messages while driving. • ** Speeding ** 17 percent of teens said speeding is fun. 55 percent of teens said they exceed the speed limit by more than 10 mph. 26 percent of self-identified "aggressive" teen drivers reported speeding by more than 20 mph over the limit. 69 percent of teens that speed said they do so because they want to keep up with traffic. • ** Peer Pressure ** 44 percent of teens said they drive more safely without friends in the car. 67 percent of teens said they have felt unsafe when someone else was driving. Only 45 percent said they would definitely speak up if someone were driving in a way that scared them. 37 percent said they would ride with one or more friends who speed in the coming year.