Pennsylvania is a vast state with both heavily populated metropolitan urban areas (Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, etc.) and smaller townships like Stroudsburg in more rural settings. Unfortunately, car accidents occur everywhere people drive motor vehicles.
But here, we’ll take a quick look at a common question: where do fatal car accidents occur more often? Which setting is more dangerous for drivers, rural or urban?
What do the statistics say?
The statistics show that the occurrence of car accidents resulting in personal injury or death is roughly split between rural and urban areas.
However, if you are looking at it proportionally, a disproportionate percentage of vehicular accidents occur in rural areas: “Although 19 percent of people in the U.S. live in rural areas and 30 percent of the vehicle miles traveled occur in rural areas, almost half of crash deaths occur there.”
Bicycle and pedestrian accidents resulting in death are more common in urban areas
Unsurprisingly, cities are more often the scenes of bicycle and pedestrian accident fatalities because of the dense combination of these travelers with motor vehicles. In contrast, large passenger vehicle and truck deaths are more common in rural areas.
Compensation available to auto accident victims
The families of loved ones who die in car accidents may be entitled to compensation under Pennsylvania law. For victims’ families who experience these tragedies, exploring your legal options fully is the best way to ensure that you get a fair outcome in your case.
Although the split is even between rural and urban settings, fatal car accidents tend to occur more often in rural areas when adjusting for population and miles driven.
