Final answer:
The most contributing factor to fatal collisions and running off the road is driver error. Driver error is responsible for about 54 percent of fatal auto accidents, and this statistic can be tested for its accuracy using statistical significance tests with an alpha level of 0.05.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most contributing factor to fatal collisions and running off the road is often attributed to driver error. According to the American Automobile Association, driver error accounts for approximately 54 percent of all fatal auto accidents. When examining a sample of thirty randomly selected fatal accidents, it was found that 14 were caused by driver error. To determine if the AAA proportion is accurate, a hypothesis test could be used with a significance level (α) of 0.05.
Regarding the question of why car collisions happen more frequently than other accidents, there are various contributing factors. For instance, driving in high-traffic conditions increases the likelihood of accidents due to higher car concentration and more opportunities for incidents. Over time, changes in external factors such as drug overdose rates can shift the leading causes of accidental deaths, as was seen between 1999 and 2014 where drug overdoses became a more prevalent cause than motor vehicle crashes.