U.S. Traffic Deaths Rise to Highest Level Since 2007

THURSDAY, March 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Even although Americans drove much less within the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, near 39,000 lives have been misplaced on U.S. roadways in 2020 — the very best demise toll since 2007, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) studies.

Fatal collisions spiked virtually 7% between 2019 and 2020, the security administration revealed in its annual crash report.

“The tragic lack of life of individuals represented by these numbers confirms that we have now a lethal disaster on our nation’s roads,” mentioned Steven Cliff, NHTSA’s deputy administrator.

“While general visitors crashes and other people injured have been down in 2020, deadly crashes and fatalities elevated,” Cliff mentioned in an company information launch. “We can’t enable this to turn out to be the established order.”

In 2020, the fatality price per 100 million car miles traveled rose to 1.34, a 21% enhance from 2019.

When many Americans have been in lockdown, street deaths elevated though whole car miles traveled fell by 11% from 2019 to 2020, the information confirmed.

Risky behaviors contributed to many of those tragedies: In 45% of deadly crashes, drivers of passenger automobiles have been both rushing, impaired by alcohol, or not carrying a seat belt.

Other main findings from the 2019-2020 information:

• Deaths involving drunk driving jumped 14%.
• Deaths of individuals in passenger vehicles elevated 9%, and deaths of unrestrained individuals in passenger automobiles rose 14%.
• Motorcyclist deaths rose 11%, reaching the very best quantity since information was first collected in 1975.
• Bicyclist deaths elevated greater than 9%, hitting the very best quantity since 1987.
• Fatalities in cities rose virtually 9%, and pedestrian deaths approached 4%, the very best quantity since 1989.
• Deaths in hit-and-run crashes jumped 26%
• Deaths in large-truck crashes declined 1.3%.
• Police-reported crashes declined 22%.
• Number of individuals injured fell 17%.

“This sudden uptick of lives misplaced in preventable crashes is brought on by a mixture of things,” mentioned Pam Shadel Fischer, senior director of exterior engagement with the Governors Highway Safety Association.

“The security of all street customers have to be the highest precedence with regards to roadway design. We proceed to face an ongoing security disaster threatening individuals strolling, biking, scooting and rolling. Drivers are nonetheless partaking in dangerous behaviors that put all street customers in danger,” Shadel Fischer mentioned in an affiliation assertion.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation has established a nationwide framework for motion in its new National Roadway Safety Strategy based mostly on the Safe System strategy. However, extra motion is clearly wanted on the federal, state and native ranges,” Shadel Fischer mentioned.

The DOT technique requires safer roads, safer individuals, safer automobiles, safer speeds and higher post-crash care.

“The rising fatalities on our roadways are a nationwide disaster; we can’t and should not settle for these deaths as inevitable,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg mentioned.

“People ought to depart the home and know they’re going to get to their vacation spot safely,” Buttigieg added within the NHTSA information launch.

More info

The NHTSA has protected driving ideas.

SOURCES: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, information launch, March 2, 2022; Governors Highway Safety Association, information launch, March 2, 2022