Injury Levels By Vehicle Type in Florida
Car accidents are one of the most common causes of personal injury in the United States. While any crash has the potential to cause injury, they do not all result in the same degree of damage. There are many factors that can impact the severity of accident injuries, including the type of vehicle involved in the crash.
Here, the car accident lawyers from Chanfrau & Chanfrau present recent data regarding accident injury levels by vehicle type in Florida. This information gives drivers in Daytona Beach, FL, Palm Coast, FL, and surrounding areas a better idea of what type of vehicles are responsible for the most accident injuries.
Defining Injury Levels
The injury level data we are presenting has been reported by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) in Traffic Crash Facts: Annual Report 2018.
The FLHSMV separates injury data into four categories: fatal, incapacitating injury, non-incapacitating, and possible injury.
- Fatal injury - One that results in death
- Incapacitating injury - One that causes disabling injuries, such as broken bones or a severed limb
- Non-incapacitating injury - Visible injuries, such as cuts, burns, or sprains
- Possible injuries - Injuries, such as pain, that are not visible
Fatal Injuries by Vehicle Type
In 2018, Florida reported a total of 3,135 fatal injuries among drivers and passengers. The types of vehicles that were involved in the highest number of fatal accidents for the year were:
- Passenger cars - 716 fatal driver injuries and 269 fatal passenger injuries
- Motorcycles - 506 fatal driver injuries and 25 fatal passenger injuries
- Pickup truck - 211 fatal driver injuries and 47 fatal passenger injuries
- Sport utility vehicle (SUV) - 191 fatal driver injuries and 83 fatal passenger injuries
What is most notable among these numbers is the high percentage of motorcycle fatalities. Although there are far fewer motorcycles on the road than passenger cars, they were only a close second in terms of accident fatalities.
Incapacitating Injuries by Vehicle Type
The number of accidents resulting in incapacitating injuries in Florida in 2018 totaled 12,608 involving drivers, and 4,162 involving passengers. Similar to the fatal injury data, the types of vehicles with the highest number of incapacitating injuries were passenger cars, motorcycles, pickup trucks, and SUVs.
- Passenger cars - 6,204 incapacitating driver injuries and 2,125 incapacitating passenger injuries
- SUVs - 2,137 incapacitating driver injuries and 931 incapacitating passenger injuries
- Motorcycles - 1,943 incapacitating driver injuries and 175 incapacitating passenger injuries
- Pickup truck - 1,191 incapacitating driver injuries and 449 incapacitating passenger injuries
Non-incapacitating Injuries by Vehicle Type
In terms of non-incapacitating injuries, 48,993 drivers and 17,363 passengers suffered this type of injury. Again, accidents involving passenger cars, motorcycles, SUVs, and pickup trucks resulted in the highest number of non-incapacitating injuries.
- Passenger cars - 28,543 non-incapacitating driver injuries and 9,689 non-incapacitating passenger injuries.
- SUVs - 9,080 non-incapacitating driver injuries and 3,859 non-incapacitating passenger injuries
- Pickups - 4,263 non-incapacitating driver injuries and 1,536 non-incapacitating passenger injuries
- Motorcycles - 3,375 non-incapacitating driver injuries and 279 non-incapacitating passenger injuries
We should note that passenger vans also reported a high number of non-incapacitating injuries. Accidents involving passenger vans resulted in 1,763 non-incapacitating driver injuries and 1,200 non-incapacitating passenger injuries.
Possible Injuries by Vehicle Type
The most common classification of accident injury reported in Florida in 2018 was possible injuries. There were a total of 111,161 drivers and 46,592 passengers who suffered possible accident injuries. For the first time, motorcycles were not among the top four vehicles to cause possible injuries, instead being replaced by passenger vans.
- Passenger cars - 68,341 possible driver injuries and 26,473 possible passenger injuries
- SUVs - 22,502 possible driver injuries and 10,747 possible passenger injuries
- Pickups - 9,875 possible driver injuries and 3,584 possible passenger injuries
- Passenger vans - 4,362 possible driver injuries and 3,323 possible passenger injuries
Contact Us
Any degree of injury can cause pain, suffering, and financial losses. If you’ve been injured in an accident, the lawyers at Chanfrau & Chanfrau can help you explore your right to financial compensation. Send us a message or call our Daytona Beach office at (386) 258-7313.