Baltimore is a unique place. It is a city unlike any other. The accent of the people is unmistakable. The history is interesting. It has grown considerably from its beginnings, but it still doesn’t rival the largest cities in the United States. So, why does Maryland have so many car accidents? While they don’t all occur in Baltimore, the city is prone to traffic like any other. Between the traffic, the density of Baltimore, and its location between Washington DC and Philadelphia, why are there so many car accidents in Maryland?
Location
One of the biggest reasons that there is a lot of traffic in the state of Maryland is due to where it is located. To get from Washington DC—the nation’s capital—to Philadelphia, the former capital, you have to pass through Maryland. There are plenty of reasons to drive from DC to Philadelphia, and many people get caught in accidents on the way. It causes congestion on the highway during commute hours. Beyond Philadelphia, there is New York City. One of the biggest reasons that the state of Maryland has so many accidents is because there are a lot of people passing through.
Population
While the capital of Baltimore is less than a million people, there are over 6 million people in the state of Maryland. There are a lot of different factors, but there are at least 140,000 people commuting into Baltimore every day for work. This leads to traffic because there are more people in the city than the ones who live there. With more people than the roads are typically ready for, there are more accidents between motorcycles, cars, and transport trucks. This also goes for people commuting to work to other places in Maryland. No matter how you divide them, 6 million people going to work every day leads to a lot of car accidents.
Traffic
With all the commuting and relatively small size of Baltimore, there is a lot of traffic. Baltimore is the 16th worst city in the United States for traffic. Baltimore drivers lose about 37 hours to congestion each year, costing them over $500 in fuel. Baltimore’s population has gone down, but the suburbs are increasing.
Furthermore, there are some major chokepoints in Baltimore due to the people commuting to and from the city and driving from Washington DC or Philadelphia. For example, a lot of the bad traffic occurs on I-695, otherwise known as the Baltimore Beltway. Hundreds of thousands of people are caught in this bottleneck every day. With choke points like the Beltway and the I-95 north at Route 100, this traffic leads to more accidents.
Weather
The weather in the state isn’t the worst, but it can get ugly in the winter. Bad weather is another reason why there are so many accidents in Maryland. The rain and snow don’t help anything when there is a lot of traffic from commuters. While drivers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Michigan will scoff at the idea that Maryland drivers have it that bad, for a lot of people who aren’t equipped to drive in inclement weather it is. The weather also has an impact on accidents.
Bad Driving
Lastly, it might sound simple but one of the biggest causes of accidents in Maryland is simply bad driving. Distracted driving is the most common cause of traffic accidents in the United States and Maryland is no different. There are tens of thousands of crashes due to distraction every year. Speeding, impaired driving, and aggressive driving are all other reasons that people find themselves in accidents in Maryland. It’s not surprising that there are a lot of Baltimore car accident lawyers.
Maryland has a lot of accidents for the size of its state and relatively low population of its major city. Between its location, the highway bottlenecks, the population, traffic, weather, and just plain bad driving, the state sees many accidents every year. It’s not the first place you think of when you think about traffic and car accidents, but there are still a lot of them.
Baltimore isn’t Maryland, but Baltimore has seen its fair share of problems. With people leaving the city and commuting in, the traffic and accidents will likely increase. What will be done about Maryland’s car accident issue?
