According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Native Americans and Alaskan Natives are often at a greater risk to a car accident than others out on the road. Injuries are the leading cause of death among these people groups between the ages of 1 and 44. They are the third leading cause of death overall. Car accidents are also the leading cause for unintentional injury in men and women between the ages of 1 and 44. As well, it’s interesting to note that the death rate for Native Americans and Alaskan Natives from motor vehicle accidents is more than twice that of whites and almost twice that of African Americans.

People in these minorities that are under 19 are more likely to receive an injury from a vehicle collision than from any other medium. The AI/AN infants have a higher total injury death than those of other population and the highest rates of motor vehicle deaths. AI/AN minority children often have double the likelihood of a painful car accident injury. They also have double the likelihood of a pedestrian injury or another vehicle-related collision. Interestingly enough, children in these minorities are most likely to suffer extensive harm from an accident. Men in these minorities are four-times more likely to die from a pedestrian crash than women are.

There are many reasons that these minorities are at an increased risk to injury and death in a motor vehicle accident. First of all, the overall rate for seat belt use on reservations is extremely low. Only about half of all vehicle passengers will put on their seatbelt when they are driving, and in some reservations the seatbelt use rate is as low as 8 percent. This is in part because seatbelt use isn’t normally enforced on these reservations. Therefore, people must make their own choice whether or not they are willing to make a sager choice. More than 3 out of every 4 passenger vehicle occupants who die in a crash on a reservation were not wearing a seatbelt during the crash.

The lack of seatbelt use on reservations affects children who hardly ever buckle up. In one study, researchers were able to gather that the seatbelt use rate among children that are under the age of 4 is only 12-28 percent in the Northeast Tribes. Unfortunately, AI/AN populations also have a tendency to drink and drive. They have the highest alcohol-related motor vehicle rates among the nation, at one point 47 percent of all crashes were related to an alcoholic issue. Because the tribes are often under the sovereign cloak of immunity, they don’t take DUI warnings seriously and may make a mistake that proves fatal in the future.

According to the CDC, many of the horrific accidents that happen on reservations would be avoided if the children were placed in safety seats. This move alone would reduce automobile accident deaths by 71 percent for infancies and 54 percent in toddlers. As well, if people were cautious to wear their seatbelts it would seriously affect their ability to survive a car crash. The CDC suggests that field sobriety tests could reduce the amount of drink driving on reservations, and in turn eliminate some of the crashes that take AI/AN lives every single year. As well, the CDC says that teen drivers need to practice safer driving habits. With the help of the Graduated Drivers Licensing program, teens are able to learn how to drive safely before they are given their license. If you are on an Indian or an Alaskan reservation and have been involved in an accident, contact a local car accident/personal injury attorney at our firm to obtain more information about litigation and seeking damages.