A new report ranks Tennessee 12th in the nation for fatal injuries. Researchers from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that Tennessee had a fatal injury rate of 76 fatal injuries per 100,000 people, well above the national rate of 58 fatal injuries per 100,000 people. The report looked at many causes of fatal injuries, such as car accidents, slip and fall accidents and traumatic brain injuries.
Researchers scored states on whether they had policies in place for 10 different injury sectors. Tennessee passed seven, including seatbelt laws, motorcycle helmets, booster seats, bicycle helmets, relationship violence, prescription drug monitoring and injury tracking systems. Tennessee missed three categories:
- No requirement for ignition interlocks on drunk driving offenders’ vehicles
- Did not receive an A ranking on the teen violence-related Break the Cycle Report
- No “strong concussion law”
The report also includes many alarming safety statistics, such as:
- Car accidents kill 38,000 Americans every year, the leading cause of the death for people between the ages of 5 and 34
- Nearly 28 percent of those deaths (nearly 11,000) involved alcohol
- 16-year-olds are twice as likely to crash as 18- or 19-year-olds
If you have older teens in high school this year, let them know about these statistics. The weeks surrounding prom and graduation have consistently high fatal accident rates for young people. Help them live to see the future that they celebrate in the coming weeks by encouraging safe celebrations.
“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” – Proverbs 11:14.
The Law Office of Stanley A. Davis – Nashville car accident attorney