The statistics on car accident injuries continue to be startling. Car crashes take the lives of over 100 people each year in Philadelphia and nearly 300 more are injured. According to Allstate’s 2016 Best Driver’s Report, residents in Philadelphia were 58% more likely to file a car insurance claim than residents living in New York, Chicago and Houston. Philadelphia has one of the highest rates of car accident deaths per 100,000 residents. In 2016, there were over 32,408 individuals who were involved in car accidents in the City of Philadelphia.
In an effort to prevent the further rise of car accident injuries and deaths, Philadelphia’s Mayor, Jim Kinney, signed an executive order on November 7, 2016 for Philadelphia’s Vision Zero Program. The Plan’s main goal: to reduce traffic-related deaths to zero by the year 2030.
The Vision Zero Action Plan outlines Philadelphia’s goal to be a safer place for its community and visitors. According to the plan, children, senior citizens and people who walk and bike are the people most vulnerable to car accident injuries. Every day, 4 children in Philadelphia are reported to be involved in car accidents, often while walking to school. In Philadelphia, individuals who walk and bike are involved in 20% of car accidents. The action plan highlights ways to protect these people from car accident injuries and death. Some examples are prioritizing safer routes to school, developing neighborhood slow-zone programs and to working with City Council to improve road markings, signage and other traffic safety features on Philadelphia’s roadways.
The Vision Zero Action Plan also plans to create a “Crash Analysis Team” that will identify the “high crash” zones in the city and implement safety improvements in these areas including possible speed cameras, pedestrian countdown timers and protected bicycle lanes.
Though the city of Philadelphia is striving to make the streets safer for our community, there are still many dangerous and careless drivers on the road. If you or someone you care about is the victim of careless driving and sustains a car accident injury, it is important to act quickly. First and foremost, call for help. Contact the police and emergency services to be sure you get the medical attention you need as soon as possible. Then, be sure to contact a personal injury law firm you can trust so that they can get to work right away to ensure you are fully compensated for the pain and suffering your car accident injury has caused. Click here for more information about what to do if you are injured in a car accident.
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