Traffic Fatalities Surge: Causes and the Way Forward
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recorded the highest number of fatalities resulting from road crashes in 2020 and 2021. Nearly 43,000 people lost their lives on the roads, this being the highest number recorded in the past 16 years.
The increase in accidents was attributed to careless driving habits such as speeding, especially after people took to the roads as the COVID-19 cases started to decrease. The ongoing road crisis has forced state and local governments to devise strategies to deal with the problem.
More families continue to be affected by these catastrophic events as their relatives die or get injured from road accidents. Statistics have shown that the states of Florida, Texas, and California reported the highest number of road accident deaths.
The sharp rise in road accident-related deaths between 2020 and 2021 is related to the increase in travel after the pandemic started to subside. Moreover, more people were reported to have been driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, which led to less attention on the roads. These behaviors have seen the efforts of the governments to reduce road crashes crumble to the ground.
Americans’ travel rate increased by 11.2 percent in comparison to 2020. With this increase came more fatalities, eventually undermining all the progress made in 15 years of trying to reduce accidents. The fatality rate for 2021 was 118 deaths per day, a rather disturbing figure.
It was noted that all types of crashes recorded an increase in deaths over the previous year. Deaths among pedestrians increased by 13 percent, while those resulting from multi-vehicle crashes went up by 16 percent. Accidents happening on interstate roads or access roads rose by 15 percent.
Cyclists’ and motorcyclists’ deaths increased by nine percent and five percent, respectively. The increase in overall road accidents has resulted from reckless driving, which involves speeding and neglecting to use safety belts.
Ironically, an increase in the number of traffic deaths was still reported in 2020, even though Americans traveled less during the pandemic. States like Tennessee are taking the ongoing crisis quite seriously as drunk drivers who kill parents will now be required to pay for child support.
The NHTSA also revealed that the rate of fatalities per 100 million miles traveled dropped slightly from 2020. Although the number of deaths was high for the first quarter of the year, it continuously declined for the remaining part of the year.
The Deputy NHTSA Administrator has promised to double their efforts in an attempt to help reduce these rising figures. During his statement, he urged both state and local governments to get on board with the fight against traffic accidents. Similarly, plans are underway to lower some speed limits and improve the state of the roads by providing better lighting and dedicating lanes to specific users.
The Transportation Department has now opened applications for a program aimed at cutting the rising numbers of road crashes and deaths. The NHTSA is also working on approving an automatic emergency braking system on vehicles, including trucks.
Conclusion
It is necessary to reverse the increasing road accident trend in the US. Although this may not happen instantly, everyone is required to put in some effort to ensure it happens sooner. As the government continues to make the roads safer, motorists and pedestrians have a role to play by following the simple rules and guidelines provided.
