Medina County Ohio Car Accident Attorney Discusses Statistics

Located just northeast of the heart of Ohio, Medina County is home to over 150,000 residents. A little more than half of those residents dwell within the Greater Cleveland area, and thus are not counted as part of the populations of the townships in Medina County. The townships in Medina County have a total population of 74,131 residents according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, and those residents will be the basis for the following statistics.

Overall, Medina County is a dangerous place for motorists in Ohio, with 2,052 total traffic accidents on record in 2007 and a stunning 2,500 the following year. An increase of almost 25% in year to year traffic accidents is alarming, especially when it is almost impossible to suggest that statistical anomalies may be at work. After all, a data set of almost 75,000 residents should be sufficient to provide reasonably stable traffic accident figures, and indeed this is the case with some of the countywide traffic-related statistics. For example, there were 19 traffic-related deaths during 2007 and an equal number during 2008.

So, what is the cause for the massive year to year increase in total traffic accidents in Medina County? There appear to be two major factors: PDO crashes and the number of crashes that resulted in injuries. 2007 saw Medina County record 1,490 PDO crashes and 529 crashes that resulted in 767 total injuries. 2008 say 1,808 PDO crashes go on the county books, as well as 663 traffic accidents that caused 970 injuries.

Leading Medina County in overall PDO crashes during 2007 were: Medina (the township) with 280, Montville with 159, Hinckley with 118, Granger with 113, Harrisville with 111, and Westfield with 110. In 2008, more than a few of the same townships reprised their status as PDO-prone townships in Medina County: Medina (the township) with 368, Montville with 165, Westfield with 158, Wadsworth with 132, and Granger with 109 PDO only crashes. It is not necessarily surprising that the most populated township in Medina County, also named Medina, tops these lists. What is surprising is that smaller townships such as Harrisville (4,914 residents) and Granger (3,928 residents) factor so prominently on the PDO list during both years.

It is also worth noting that the Township of Wadsworth also rates very high on per capita rates for traffic-related injuries. With only 3,966 residents and 41 traffic accidents that products 61 injures in 2007, followed by 61 traffic accidents that produced 82 injuries in 2008, the Township of Wadsworth is indeed a very dangerous place for motorists in Medina County when viewed on a per capita basis. Unfortunately, there do not seem to be too many townships in Medina County worth singling out as particularly safe places for motorists. Certainly, some townships are safer than others, but none of them stand out as particularly safe on their own merits.

If there was one bright spot on the otherwise negative-appearing traffic record for Medina County during 2007 and 2008, it would have to be the decline in unknown and/or unattributable traffic accidents. A decline from 16 to 13 could be a statistical anomaly, but it is worth observing that the townships in Medina County are more or less the right size range to suffer these accidents as they have too many residents to make law enforcement in these cases simple.

If you’ve been seriously injured or have lost a loved one in a Medina Township, Hinkley Township, or Wadsworth truck / car accident, call the Medina County auto accident and wrongful death attorneys / lawyers at Chester Law Group at 800-218-4243 or order your FREE BOOK entitled The Insider’s Guide to Handling Ohio Accident Claims at www.ChesterLaw.com.