Although Nebraska has seen a steady decline in the number of overall traffic accidents, they are still a common occurrence. The worst of them end in serious, lifelong injuries or death. In 2013 alone, Nebraska experienced 190 crashes in which there were one or more fatalities, according to state traffic data. Many are tragically killed in motor vehicle accidents, but even more are injured. In 2013, there were 11,067 crashes in Nebraska that resulted in injury. That's 0.6% and 35.3% of all Nebraska accidents, respectively.
Where are these crashes occurring?
Not surprisingly, the highest concentration of fatal accidents occurs in the most populous county – Douglas County. Douglas County is home to Nebraska's largest city, Omaha. Below is a breakdown of traffic crashes by county in 2013.
- Douglas County – 28 fatal crashes
- Lancaster County – 13 fatal crashes
- Sarpy County – 8 fatal crashes
Of the 190 total traffic crashes that occurred last year in Nebraska, alcohol involvement played a role in 65 of them – approximately 34%.
When it came to injury accidents, Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy Counties also led the way –
- Douglas County – 3,400 injury crashes
- Lancaster County – 2,571 injury crashes
- Sarpy County – 835 injury crashes
This data reflects only the total number of injury crashes; the number of persons injured is much higher. For example, Douglas County had 3,400 injury crashes in 2013 but 4,670 individuals sustained some type of injury.
What types of vehicles are involved in accidents?
When compiling the data, the State of Nebraska broke down accidents by vehicle type as well.
For injury and property damage crashes –
- Automobiles accounted for 51.2% of accidents
- Light trucks accounted for 43.3% of accidents
- Heavy trucks accounted for 3.6% of accidents
- The remaining 1.9% accounted for motorcycle, bus, farm equipment, and other types of motor vehicle accidents.
For fatal crashes –
- Light trucks accounted for 45.1% of accidents
- Automobiles accounted for 36.3% of accidents
- Heavy trucks accounted for 8.8% of accidents
- The remaining 9.9% accounted for motorcycle, bus, and all other categories of motor vehicle accidents.
Domina Law Group represents individuals who are seriously injured in traffic collisions as well as those who have lost loved ones through the negligence and carelessness of others. If this has happened to you, contact our firm today to learn more about how we could help.