In August of 2023, the Maryland government organization Zero Deaths Maryland published a report detailing accident statistics in Prince George’s County. We highlight the most informative statistics here. Unfortunately, the number of accidents in Maryland is on the rise in 2023. It is October, 2023, and there are already more motor vehicle accidents than there were throughout all of 2022. This may be due, in part, to the rise of commuters now that many office-workers are returning to in-person work. Whatever the reason is, it is surprising given the increasing amount of safety technology present in vehicles. Seemingly each year, safety mechanisms such as automatic breaks, blind-spot sensors, lane change assist, and more become standard in our vehicles. And yet, the number of accidents only continues to rise.
On average, there are 19,414 crashes each year in Prince George’s County, averaged over the last five years. Further, 108 of those are fatal, on average. This means roughly .5% of all motor vehicle accidents in Prince George’s County are fatal. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Friday and Saturday are the two days of the week with the most vehicle accidents, with Sunday having the least. It is a fair assumption to make that this relates in some way to drunk driving, as well as many other factors. One basis for this is that a surprisingly high number of these accidents occur between midnight and 5:00 a.m., at roughly 13.3% of accidents. By token of number of accidents, right around 5:00 p.m. is when most accidents occur. Of course, this can likely be explained by fatigued drivers returning home from work.
One might expect the best drivers to be those in their mid-to-late 20s. By this point, drivers have enough experience to be competent drivers. But they are arguably at their most alert due to youth. However, the statistics over the last five years show just the opposite. In fact, the age bracket with the most accidents in Prince George’s County is 25-29, at 14.3%. Furthermore, the age bracket with the second most accidents in P.G. County is 30-34, at 12.8%. Sadly, car accident fatalities do correlate strongly by age as with car accidents generally. Perhaps the most starting statistic in the entire report by the Maryland government organization Zero Deaths Maryland is that only exactly two-thirds of drivers in the accidents were wearing a seatbelt at the time of accident. What is unsurprising is that 81.6% of those injured in accidents were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of accident.
The Prince George’s County accident statistics on gender may or may not be surprising to you. Although, as a disclaimer, the statistics reported by the Maryland government organization Zero Deaths Maryland leaves 22.3% of driver gender unspecified or unknown. For standard motor vehicle accidents, 48% involve male drivers, while 29.6% involve female drivers. Interestingly, injuries are more even with 52.2% of them being for male drivers. Meanwhile, 46.2% are for female drivers, with just 1.6% being unknown. Then, conversely but perhaps more in line with what one might expect, 77.2% of driver fatalities are for male drivers, with 20.7% for female drivers.
Personal injury law does not involve only motor vehicle accidents. Our team of personal injury lawyers handles nearly any case where a victim is hurt due to another party’s negligent or intentional conduct. Generally, motor vehicle accidents result in negligence claims. However, we also handle intentional tort claims such as civil assault, battery, and wrongful death. Of course, these acts are crimes and the state will prosecute them accordingly. However, legal counsel is still necessary to carry out civil claims.
The statistics for violent crimes in Prince George’s County include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The statistics show that, from 2009 to 2020, there has been a sharp decrease in the number of violent crimes. While there was a slight uptick in 2020, this was likely due to COVID and may be viewed as an outlier year. But in general, and in pleasant contrast to the statistics and upward trend from above, violent crime from 2009 to 2020 has decreased by over 50%.
If you or someone you know is in a car accident in Prince George’s County, reach out to our legal team today for a free consultation. We have our Maryland office in Upper Marlboro. If you have any questions regarding the Prince George’s County accident statistics, we would be happy to discuss with you.