Automobile Fatalities and Compulsory Insurance

Archive Report

During the last ten years automobile fatalities in the United States have more than doubled. In the same period the number of motor vehicles in operation in the United States has more than quadrupled. While the total of deaths, in proportion to the number of cars, trucks and busses registered, was cut nearly in half during the decade 1917–1926, the fatalities for each 100,000 of the population from accidents in which automobiles were involved increased from 9.9 to 19.9. The steady upward trend of automobile fatalities during this period is shown in the following table.

YearAutomobiles registeredAutomobile fatalitiesCars registered for each death
19174,983,34010,081494
19186,146,61710,548583
19197,565,44610,811700
19209,231,94112,186757
192110,463,29513,612769
192212,238,37515,049813
192315,092,17718,103834
192417,593,67719,307911
192519,954,34721,627923
192622,001,39323,264946

The foregoing estimates of automobile fatalities for the country as a whole are based upon the reports of the Census Bureau for the death ...

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