STATEN ISLAND, NY- The silive.com reports that one person was injured in a rollover crash on Carlton Avenue close to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Parkway. Firefighters rescued the injured individuals and the person was brought to the Staten Island University Hospital for treatment.
The crash seemed to be the result of a collision between a car and a box truck. The vehicle that flipped landed upright.
Rollover accidents are frightening and particularly dangerous. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that there were 9.1 million vehicle crashes in 2010, including collisions involving cars, vans, pickup trucks, and SUVs. In just 2.1% of those accidents, a vehicle rolled over. Despite the small number of overall accidents involving rollovers, close to 35% of all traffic-related fatalities occurred in accidents in which a vehicle flipped.
It is important to note that the vast majority of people who died in rollover crashes were not wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crashes. In the NHTSA’s report, as many as 69% of those killed were unrestrained.
Overall, more than 50% of people killed in car accidents were not wearing seatbelts. Fortunately, the number of Americans who are buckling up is increasing. In 1981 only 11% of people used seatbelts. The percent of people in the United States who now use their safety belts has gone up to 90.1%. The increase in seatbelt use translates to thousands of lives saved. By some estimates, seatbelts saved nearly 14,000 people in 2015 alone.
New York State requires that all front seat passengers, drivers, and vehicle occupants under 16 years of age be restrained with a seatbelt or child safety seat.
