car accident statistics

Legal Help for Semi Truck Accidents

Posted on by Charles E. Martin

semi truck accident

Semi truck accidents are seldom without serious injuries and often cause fatalities, since they typically occur on highways where vehicles are traveling at high speeds. Combined with the speed of travel and the size of these trucks, the risks of serious injury and even deaths when an accident occurs are very high. Semi trucks usually weigh more than 10,000 pounds, and depending on the load they are carrying, can take much longer to stop than a normal car or passenger vehicle – especially when traveling at highway speeds.

This article includes key information and semi truck accident statistics for the Seattle area, King County, and Washington State.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) lists the following semi truck accident statistics for King County in recent years:

  • 9 fatalities from semi-truck accidents in 2012 (of 46 in the whole state)
  • 6 fatalities from semi-truck accidents in 2011 (of 33 in the whole state)
  • From 2001-2011, large truck accidents involving injuries decreased by 30%
  • Over 75% of fatalities from semi truck accidents from 2009-2011 were occupants of the other vehicles, while less than 18% of fatalities were occupants of the truck

According to the 2012 Washington State Annual Collision Summary, there were a total of 4,453 collisions involving heavy trucks or commercial vehicles. Of those:

  • 43 were fatal collisions
  • 83 were serious injury collisions
  • 955 were minor injury collisions
  • 3,327 were collisions where only property was damaged
  • 43 were collisions with unknown injuries

If you or someone you love is involved in a semi truck accident and has been injured or killed, please contact our offices for legal services. Since semi trucks are often owned and operated by large companies with legal teams and insurance adjustors to defend their claims, it is critical that you acquire legal representation to fight for your just recompense.

Martin Law PLLC specializes in providing expert-level legal representation, to ensure you and your loved ones receive just compensation for personal injury or wrongful death cases.

Charles Martin, Marin Law LLC
Call for a free consultation 206-684-9468

Local Seattle Car Accident Statistics

Posted on by Charles E. Martin

Two cars crashed

Auto accidents can present insurmountable challenges for the victims injured and/or affected, and my aim is to help these individuals to navigate the process toward acquiring recompense. However, to understand the state of our region as it relates to auto accidents, I wanted to provide some car accident statistics…

According to data from the city of Seattle:

  • The fatal accidents in 2011 were down to 19 from 23 in 2010, with 20 total fatalities in 2011 and 25 in 2010.
  • Vehicles involved in fatal accidents were also down 29 in 2011 from 36 from 2010. A total of 37 people were involved (injured, killed, and uninjured) in fatal car accidents in 2011, down from 45 in 2010. Only 5 pedestrians were involved in fatal auto accidents in 2011, compared with 10 pedestrians in 2010.
  • Fatal drunk driving collisions decreased in 2011 to 7 from 11 fatal accidents caused by drunk drivers in 2010.

According to the 2012 Annual Collision Summary for Washington State (2013’s has not yet been released):

  • A car accident occurred every 5 minutes.
  • An individual died in an auto accident every 20 hours.
  • Every 12 minutes, someone was injured in a car accident.
  • Crashes involving a motorcyclist occurred every 4 hours.
  • Pedestrians or cyclists were involved in a crash every 4 days.
  • Every 25 minutes, a car crash involving a speeding driver occurred (Speeding was the most frequent contributing circumstance in all collisions).
  • An impaired driver (i.e. DUI) was involved in a car accident every 2 hours.
  • A fatality occurred as a result of a car accident involving an impaired driver every 2 days (Half of all traffic fatalities involved an impaired driver).

In the year 2012, there were 99,560 car accidents across the state of Washington.

For a national picture of fatal car crashes, click here for a map of fatalities from a collision involving a motor vehicle between January 2001 and December 2009.

If you are involved in a car accident that caused you injury and were not at fault, contact the office of Chuck Martin. I will use my extensive knowledge and expertise to acquire the best possible settlement outcome, and argue your case for justice.

Charles Martin, Marin Law LLC
Call for a free consultation 206-684-9468