REPORT: Most Crashes In DC Area Are Single Vehicle Accidents

Monique Robinson
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Multiple-vehicle crashes, head-on collisions, side impact crashes and rear impact crashes fear many but is not the most reported type of fatal car accidents.

“The vast majority of crashes in the Washington metro area are single vehicle crashes,” said John Townsend, AAA Mid-Atlantic Spokesman. “That tells us that there was not a collision but the driver made an error due to either inattention, intoxication, distraction, drowsiness, or going too fast. We are our own worst enemies on the roadways.”

But, studies show 96 percent of drivers fear being hit by a red-light runner at an intersection, and 86 percent fear being hit by another driver who is distracted.

In 2015, about 54% of all traffic deaths in Maryland took place in crashes involving a single vehicle. 513 fatalities were reported that year, and 275, of that total, were single-vehicles accidents, according to the Highway Data Loss Institute at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

“We can control our own destiny by doing four things: slowing down, obeying the speed limit, not driving distracted and not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and observing the road way conditions because in many cases people are hitting objects in the road,” said Townsend.

Single-vehicle crashes can initiate roadway departure or rollovers. Distracted driving has proven to be a huge factor.

“Now, we are seeing a new phenomenon where most persons who are killed in the District were persons outside of the car on foot, ” said Townsend. “That means the single vehicle struck the person they killed or they walked in front of a single-vehicle that struck.”

“Because only one car was involved in a single vehicle accident, the driver is almost always considered to be at fault for the accident,” insurance underwriters say.

AAA advises: driving is a skill that can and should be continually improved.