Which kills more people on the road: speeding, old people, poor driving, or poor road conditions?

I%26#039;m only interested in fact based statistics. If you can deliver stats from a reliable source you get best answer. Simple.
Which kills more people on the road: speeding, old people, poor driving, or poor road conditions?
I%26#039;ll say speeding, but you can do the research yourself!
Which kills more people on the road: speeding, old people, poor driving, or poor road conditions?
Driver inattention, but you will never get a real answer to this question.





The reason is the method used to collect statistics. On an accident form, they have boxes for the investigating officer to check to indicate the cause. If the driver was driving 55 in a 50 mph zone, they will consistently list %26quot;excessive speed%26quot; as a causative factor, whether that was really the cause or not.





Years ago (Okay, so it was decades ago) I was returning to Maryland after a short visit with my parents in Illinois. I passed the last service plaza on the Indiana Toll Road and got passed by a red car going about a hundred and ten. (I knew because I tried to catch him and at 100, he was still going away.)





A few miles into Ohio I saw a trooper with his lights flashing on the side of the road. I wondered if it was the red car, so after moving over a lane to give them room, I looked to see, and it was.





When I looked back, the flat-bed big rig that had been in the right lane when I moved over had done the same thing, and by the time I had hit the brakes, my hood was wrapped around his cow-catcher.





To this day, I believe that the cop who wrote up that accident checked the box labeled %26quot;following too close%26quot; only because there was no box for %26quot;driving with head up a**.%26quot;





Oh. And the red car? No ticket. The cop told me the driver was attached to an embassy and had diplomatic immunity.
Reply:40% of car accident fatalities are caused by drunk drivers


30% are caused by speeding


30% are caused by reckless driving





poor driving and poor road conditions (they were driving too fast for conditions), and old people (not all are bad, but some are %26#039;reckless%26#039;) are all considered to be part of the last 30% that is reckless driving.
Reply:Poor driving. That%26#039;s #1. That%26#039;s why the accident rate on highways is SO MUCH worse than in railroading, aviation or commercial boating. All those drivers are professionals.





Bad road conditions? A competent driver always accounts for road conditions in how he drives, so it would take bad road conditions both bizarre and unpredictable, like a bridge falling down or something. I remember a stop sign making the news, the road before it had ripples in the asphalt which made it very difficult to get traction to stop.





As for old people, I don%26#039;t think you really want to closely examine the question of whether old people or YOUNG people are more of a danger -- young male people in particular.
Reply:I%26#039;d say a combo of everything. Too many to list!!!!!!!!
Reply:Drunk driving see below..............





Year Total Deaths Drunk Deaths Percent





1982 43,945 26,173 60


1983 42,589 24,635 58


1984 44,257 24,762 56


1985 43,825 23,167 53


1986 46,087 25,017 54


1987 46,390 24,094 52


1988 47,087 23,833 51


1989 45,582 22,424 49


1990 44,599 22,587 51


1991 41,508 20,159 49


1992 39,250 18,290 47


1993 40,150 17,908 45


1994 40,716 17,308 43


1995 41,817 17,732 42


1996 42,065 17,749 42


1997 42,013 16,711 40


1998 41,501 16,673 40


1999 41,717 16,572 40


2000 41,945 17,380 41


2001 42,196 17,400 41


2002 43,005 17,524 41


2003 42,643 17,013 40


2004 42,518 16,919 39


2005 43,443 16,885 39


2006 42,532 15,829 37