More than 11 million crashes take place on U.S. roads every year, resulting in more than 2.5 million police-reported injuries and more than 40,000 deaths.

Unfortunately, most of the serious crashes taking place on our roads today are not truly accidents. Rather, they are the direct result of failed highway safety policies -- policies that actually encourage and promote dangerous, irresponsible driving.

The Partnership for Safe Driving is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Americans about all forms of dangerous driving and halting the epidemic of motor vehicle crashes in our society. Founded in February 1997 and headquartered in Washington, DC, we are working to change the driving culture in America through education, research, and grassroots activism.

Crash Prevention News and Opinion ...

AAA Underestimates Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes

Source: CNN
Link: AAA: Crashes cost U.S. motorists billions
Published:  March 06, 2008

News: AAA released a study this week estimating that the total cost of motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. is $160 billion annually.

Opinion: We applaud AAA for undertaking its own study of this always-present but never-discussed issue. However, the federal government did its own study back in 2000, and found the cost to be significantly higher. The government study estimated the cost of motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. to run about $230 billion annually. We expect that this cost has increased substantially since then, due primarily to inflation in medical care.

We are also a little dismayed to see that the solutions AAA is espousing for this monumental problem are the same old solutions that AAA and the federal government have been espousing for 30 years -- namely, cracking down on drunk driving and promoting seatbelt use. This will not even begin to remedy the problem, because most of the more than 11 million crashes on our nation's roads each year have nothing to do with alcohol, and the vast majority of people are already buckling up.