View Montana's Crash Statistics
In Montana, more young people, age 15-24, die or are seriously injured on Montana's roadway than any other 10-year age groupings.
While technology advancements in vehicle safety increase and more people take defensive driving courses, the good old seatbelt continues to save more lives than anything else when it comes to traffic and auto safety.
Infants & Children
Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants, and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4 years. (Source: CDC)
For children 4 to 7 years, booster seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to seat belts alone. (Source: CDC)
Teens
Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash. (Source: CDC)
Responsible teens need to be aware of the risks they face as new drivers and as passengers riding with their friends. They should strive to be role models for their peers, modeling safe, healthy behaviors, and practicing positive peer pressure to prevent potentially fatal at-risk situations.
Seniors
A person 65 or older who is involved in a motor vehicle crash is more likely to be seriously hurt, require hospitalization, and to die than younger people involved in the same crash.
The truth is, fatal crash rates rise sharply after a driver has reached the age of 70. The increased fatal crash risk among older drivers is largely due to their increased susceptibility to injury, particularly chest injuries, and medical complications, rather than an increased tendency to get into crashes. (Source: IIHS) Seatbelt use decreases your odds of being seriously or fatality injured in a crash.