Automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of accidental injury and death in Louisiana. In 2009, there were 814 auto fatalities and 70,619 injuries. East Baton Rouge Parish had the most injuries (8,985) followed by Orleans (6,930), Jefferson (4,877), Lafayette (4,484), Caddo (4,088) and Calcasieu (3,843) Parishes. East Baton Rouge Parish also had 52 fatalities, the most of any parish.

40% if fatalities occurred in Passenger Cars and 41% in Light Trucks and Vans. Motorcycles drivers/passengers accounted for 13% of fatalities. 317 (39%) of traffic fatalities and 6,144 (8.7%) of injury crashes are estimated by be alcohol related. 63% of drivers killed were not wearing a safety belt and 72% of passengers ages 5 and older who were killed were not wearing a safety belt. Pedestrians account for 13.6% of all traffic fatalities.

Louisiana injury crashes are lowest on weekends; fatal crashes are highest on weekends. Injury crashes are highest during the afternoon rush hour traffic. Fatal crashes occur more frequently in the evening and early morning hours.

In 2009, there were 1,076 vehicles in fatal crashes, 81,677 vehicles in injury crashes and 194,971 vehicles in property-damage-only crashes. There are 2,859,808 licensed drives in the state. Thus on the average about 9.7% of all licensed drivers were in a crash in 2009.

Louisiana motor vehicle accidents can have many causes, but they usually fall under negligence, intentional misconduct or products liability. Negligence occurs when a driver fails to exercise reasonable care. For example, a driver gets in an accident because he is driving too fast or is distracted due to texting while driving.

A driver may be involved in intentional misconduct if he consciously desires the physical results of his act or knows that the result is substantially certain to follow from his conduct. For example, a driver driving at a high rate of speed, weaving in and out of traffic, may be intentionally putting himself and others at risk.

In products liability cases, neither negligence nor intentional misconduct need be shown, rather, the law of strict liability comes into play. The automobile is show to be defective and the defect causes the accident and resulting damages. For example, it has been alleged that certain Toyota models have defective floor mats, gas pedals and other defects leading to unintended acceleration and resulting injuries.

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Additional Resources:

Louisiana Highway Safety Commission

LSU Highway Safety Research Group

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defects Investigation