Driving on New Mexico’s streets and highways can be dangerous, but how dangerous compared to other states? According to the CDC, the state of New Mexico’s overall driver deaths and cost of death per year ranges about average out of the fifty states.
How are these statistics determined? By looking at the number of deaths in various states. For instance, there are an average of 30,000 vehicular deaths in the United States each year. Approximately 330 of those deaths occur in New Mexico, with the majority of deaths taking place among young adults ages twenty to thirty-four, with adults ages thirty-five to sixty-four a close second. The other primary statistic is cost, which can be broken down into medical costs versus work loss costs. New Mexico spends approximately $4 million per year on medical costs related to driver fatalities, and $429 million in work loss costs, resulting in $433 million in annual costs for crash-related deaths.
This cost alone accounts only for medical care for those who died, and work loss, which refers to the amount of money that person would have earned over the course of their life had they lived. The amount does not take into account any lawsuits for wrongful death or damages that the state might be liable for, or any insurance claims. It also does not account for medical expenses for those surviving a crash. The CDC reports a number of measures to reduce this amount through improved safety conditions.
This information is used for reference only, and should not be considered actual legal advice.