A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that urban areas have lower rates of car accident fatalities than rural areas. The national car accident fatality rate was 11.1 deaths per 100,000 people. Los Angeles’ car accident death rate was 7.7 deaths per 100,000 people.
Los Angeles follows a trend in fatal car accidents which indicates that urban dwellers are less likely to be involved in fatal crashes than their rural counterparts.
“The combined overall motor vehicle crash death rate for the 50 most populous metropolitan statistical areas in the United States was lower than the overall national rate,” researchers wrote. “Residents of the metropolitan statistical areas represented 54 percent of the U.S. population in 2009 while accounting for only 40 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths.”
Researchers did note that the most recent data was subject to several limitations including the fact that some deaths were not reported due to confidentiality reasons associated with small death totals.
The reported death rates were also based on place of residence, which means that a Los Angeles resident who dies in a rural crash would be considered a Los Angeles fatality.
We will discuss another aspect of this report in our next post.