The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week said significant progress has been made to reduce motor vehicle injuries, but additional efforts are needed to reduce the number of deaths attributed to motor vehicles.
The CDC said the current national average motor vehicle death rate is well above the Healthy People 2010 objective. The highest state death rate (Mississippi) is four times the lowest state rate (Massachusetts).
An article by the CDC cited in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said that during 1999-2005, compared with the national average of 15.4 deaths per 100,000 population, motor vehicle-related death rates were 36 percent lower in the Northeast (9.8 deaths per 100,000 population), 5 percent lower in the Midwest (14.7 deaths per 100,000 population), and 8 percent lower in the West (14.2 deaths per 100,000 population), but considerably higher in the South by 27 percent (19.5 deaths per 100,000 population).
The South accounted for 46 percent of deaths during the period studied, but only 36 percent of population.
The agency noted that a previous study suggested that drivers in the Southern rural areas may travel more miles, increasing the probability of serious collisions.
Prevention measures like lower blood alcohol concentration laws, vehicle safety improvements, better roads, improved emergency response, primary seat belt laws and alcohol checkpoints may help communities to save lives.
