The recently released National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)'s "Characteristics of Law Enforcement Officers' Fatalities in Motor Vehicle Crashes" report reveals some remarkable facts about injuries to and deaths of police officers occurring in the line of duty. The report analyzed data compiled from several noteworthy sources, including the FBI's Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report and the NHTSA's own Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a storehouse of information about all fatal motor vehicle accident in the United States.
The 2011 report was the most comprehensive one to date, analyzing data dating back to the 1980s to provide the most accurate and inclusive information about how officers die on the job.
Headline news stories about dramatic shootings aside, the majority of officers, sheriffs, deputies and troopers killed in the line of duty die in car accidents. Most of these (around 60 percent) are single-vehicle accidents where the emergency vehicle either left the road and spun out of control or struck a fixed object like a guardrail, tree, building, fence or other structure. Of course, that means that 40 percent of accidents involve at least one other vehicle, and that vehicle could contain any number of different people like fellow officers, suspects or innocent bystanders.
As in many civilian crashes, speeding is the number one contributor to law enforcement traffic accidents. Slowing down even five miles-per-hour on the way to a call would likely increase reaction times and stopping distances, both of which might allow the officer to take evasive action and avoid a crash.
Contrary to popular belief, though, curvy roadways, icy/wet conditions and driving rain had little effect on the likelihood that a vehicle would wreck: according to the NHTSA report, a whopping 70 percent of accidents occurred on relatively straight roads and about 85 percent of them occurred during periods of no noticeable precipitation. Unfortunately, this proves that there is no such thing as a "safe" route for an officer to travel when he or she is responding at high speed to an emergency call - even perfect road conditions can result in personal injury.
Perhaps the most shocking revelation of the report involves the use - or rather the prevalent non-use - of seat belt and other vehicle restraints. Nearly half (about 43 percent) of officers killed in on-duty crashes were not wearing a seat belt. This number is shockingly only about 10 percent lower than figures seen in the 1980s when nearly no laws required the use of in-vehicle restraints. Seatbelts have been proven to save lives, so it is important for police officers and other first responders to take a moment to think about their own safety before heading out to an emergency call.
If you have been injured in a car crash - or you have lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident - contact an experienced personal injury attorney in your area for more information about your legal rights.
