Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of trauma-related fetal death in the United States — and yet they are almost never among the hazards discussed at a prenatal appointment. According to a detailed analysis published by the Suffolk County News on June 29, 2026, and authored by attorney Garry R. Salomon of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., the epidemiological evidence on crashes and pregnancy is both more alarming and more specific than most expectant parents realize. One large study placed the odds of a serious crash at roughly 1 in 50 over the course of a pregnancy — a figure that places driving in the same risk conversation as the dietary restrictions and travel limitations that dominate prenatal care.
The most important dataset on crash frequency comes from a 2011 review in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine by epidemiologists Catherine Vladutiu and Harold Weiss, which estimated that approximately 92,500 pregnant women are injured in motor vehicle crashes each year in the United States. That same review identified crashes as the leading cause of traumatic fetal death and a top cause of injury-related hospitalization among pregnant women. State-level crash rates for pregnant drivers ranged from roughly 1% to nearly 3%, depending on the jurisdiction and measurement period, according to the Suffolk County News report.
The human toll on pregnancies themselves is harder to measure in precise national terms, partly because fetal death certificates do not record whether the mother had recently been in a crash. The closest current estimate comes from a 2020 systematic review published in BMJ Open by Amezcua-Prieto and colleagues, which pooled 19 studies covering more than 3.2 million women. Among women involved in a crash during pregnancy, the review found fetal death or stillbirth in approximately 6.6 per 1,000 and maternal death in approximately 3.6 per 1,000. The authors cautioned that the underlying studies varied widely — a key reason the article presents these figures as approximations rather than precise national counts.
Perhaps the most counterintuitive finding in the research concerns when the danger peaks. Conventional wisdom might suggest the third trimester — when the abdomen is largest and the driver’s range of motion most restricted — would be the most dangerous period. The data say otherwise. A 2014 study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, led by Dr. Donald Redelmeier, followed 507,262 women who gave birth in Ontario between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2011. Using a self-matched cohort design — comparing each woman against her own pre-pregnancy driving record rather than against other drivers — the team found that serious crashes rose from 177 per month in the three years before pregnancy to 252 per month during the second trimester. That is a 42% increase, with a 95% confidence interval of 32% to 53%. The pattern held regardless of age, income, education level, or season of the year.
Two features of the Ontario data make the finding particularly credible. First, the elevated crash rate appeared only when the women were driving — not when they were passengers or pedestrians — pointing to something specific about being behind the wheel rather than simply increased exposure to traffic. Second, the risk faded during the third trimester and dropped below the pre-pregnancy baseline in the year following birth. Redelmeier and his colleagues attributed the second-trimester spike to the fatigue, insomnia, nausea, and distraction that are common in mid-pregnancy, conditions that tend to arrive after the heightened caution of the early weeks has passed.
The medical complications that can follow a crash during pregnancy range from the common to the catastrophic. Placental abruption — in which the placenta tears away from the uterine wall — is the most common cause of crash-related fetal death. Reported rates of abruption run from roughly 1% to 5% following minor crashes and as high as 20% to 50% in severe collisions. Uterine rupture is rare but carries a fetal mortality rate approaching 100% when it does occur. Maternal shock, caused by heavy blood loss diverting circulation away from the fetus, and direct fetal trauma — most often to the head, though the uterus and abdominal wall provide considerable protection — round out the primary clinical concerns. Beyond immediate outcomes, crashes during pregnancy are also associated with elevated rates of preterm birth. Because even a low-speed collision can trigger abruption with no visible symptoms, obstetricians recommend evaluation after any crash, including cases where the mother feels completely unharmed.
On the question of restraint use, the evidence is unambiguous: seat belts and airbags protect pregnant occupants, and the danger of going unbelted far exceeds any risk the restraint itself might introduce. Proper technique calls for the lap belt to run low — beneath the belly, across the hips and pelvic bone — while the shoulder strap is positioned between the breasts. Drivers should also aim to keep approximately 10 inches between the breastbone and the steering wheel wherever seat adjustment allows.
Location & Road Context
Suffolk County is one of the most car-dependent counties in New York State, and its roads see a steady volume of serious crashes. Our local incident database contains 520 recorded accidents in Suffolk County, and the week of June 29, 2026 alone included a crash on I-495, a moderate collision on NY 27, and two critical fatalities on June 26 — underscoring that the roads where Long Island’s pregnant drivers commute daily carry real, documented risk. The I-495 (Long Island Expressway) and NY 27 corridors are among the region’s most heavily traveled routes and figure regularly in serious crash reports.
For more on traffic conditions across the region, see our full Suffolk County roads coverage and accident archive.
Broader Impact
The legal dimension of pregnancy-related crashes can be more complex than standard injury cases. As the Suffolk County News report notes, New Jersey’s Limitation on Lawsuit Threshold — sometimes called the verbal threshold — generally restricts claims for non-permanent injuries, but state law treats fetal loss as a permanent injury, preserving the right to file. Beyond immediate claims, the long window before some developmental injuries become apparent — since fetal head trauma can produce intellectual or developmental delays that don’t surface until later in childhood — is among the reasons these cases frequently grow legally complicated. Pediatricians advise that any prenatal crash be noted in the child’s permanent medical record as a baseline reference for later developmental monitoring. For Long Island drivers involved in any crash, including those during pregnancy, our Know Your Rights guide covers the key steps to take in the immediate aftermath.