Traffic fatalities were up 9 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year, continuing a surge in deaths that began two years ago as the economy improved and travel picked up, according to preliminary estimates released Tuesday by the National Safety Council.
An estimated 19,100 people were killed on U.S. roads from January through June, said the council, a congressionally chartered nonprofit that gets its data from state authorities. That’s 18 percent more than two years ago at the six-month mark. About 2.2 million people also were seriously injured in the first half of this year.
The council estimates the cost of these deaths and injuries at about $205 billion.
At that rate, annual deaths could exceed 40,000 fatalities this year for the first time in nine years, the council said. More than 35,000 people were killed on U.S. roads last year, making it the deadliest driving year since 2008, when more than 37,000 were killed.
“Our complacency is killing us,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, the safety council’s president and CEO. “Americans should demand change to prioritize safety actions and protect ourselves from one of the leading causes of preventable death.”
U.S. drivers have also put in a record 1.58 trillion miles on the road in the first half of this year, a 3.3 percent increase over the same period in 2015, the Federal Highway Administration said this week.
States with the biggest increases since the upward trend began in late 2014 include Vermont, up 82 percent; Oregon, 70 percent; New Hampshire, 61 percent; Idaho, 46 percent; Florida, 43 percent; Iowa, 37 percent; Georgia, 34 percent; Indiana, 33 percent; California, 31 percent and Wisconsin, 29 percent.
“While many factors likely contributed to the fatality increase, a stronger economy and lower unemployment rates are at the core of the trend,” the council said in a statement. Another likely factor: Average gas prices for the first six months of this year were 16 percent lower than in 2015.
The council also predicts that 438 people will be killed on the nation’s roads over the three-day Labor Day weekend that begins Sept. 2, which would make it the deadliest Labor Day weekend since 2008.
Historical data show that after peaking in the 1970s, traffic deaths have generally trended downward, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Large dips in deaths have corresponded to shocks to the economy — the oil embargo of the mid-1970s, the recessions of the early 1980s and early 1990s and the more recent downturn that began in late 2007 with the subprime mortgage crisis.
During the Great Recession triggered by the housing crisis, the number of miles Americans put on the road each year plunged and fatalities dropped to levels not seen since Harry Truman was president.
The council’s tallies of traffic fatalities differ slightly from those of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because the council includes motor vehicle deaths that take place in parking lots, driveways and other nonpublic roadways.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
I wonder how many of these fatal traffic accidents are caused by distracted driving (cell phone).
Agreed! I think the claim in the article is misleading. The causes of the accidents would be more revealing, example, drinking and driving, texting, racing, heart attack, playing with the radio, etc.
You are exactly right. However, something that we seldom hear about is the fact the cars have been getting smaller and lighter in order to meet the fuel efficiency standards. Everytime I see a “smart car” pass me on the highway, I ask myself: “how could anyone survive in a major crash if they are in that type of vehicle?” Perhaps we will begin to see statistics on that part of the equation. People do not slow down when they purchase the small cars and they are purchased by the young people who like to text, race, and drink.
EXACTLY….
Increases in anything is because of something systemic within the problem. The legalization of Marijuana in the State of Colorado has dramatically increased traffic fatalities in that State and spreading to the surrounding States. The state of the economy is directly proportional to the consumption of alcohol and drug use. It is a fact, that when things are bad, there is an increase in the consumption of alcohol… ask your local bartender! Our predominate cell phone technology is a huge factor in this equation along with the irresponsible use of texting while driving and I see this all the time, taking note when viewing this behavior that if an accident occurs, I will be a witness to the fact that at least one person in the accident was texting! Even before texting while driving became vogue, I know of two friends who were in accidents because they were talking on their cell phones.
Emphasis is being placed on building “smarter” cars and gadgetry even going so far as to think that “self-driving” cars should be introduced. Besides the increasingly complex and distracting communication and control devices that are dependent on visual rather than tactile initiation, automated systems like lane change departure, radar cruise control, stability control, automatic braking, traction control each serve to isolate the driver from the important skills necessary to command the vehicle on roadways crowded with other fallible drivers.
Rather than focusing on the impractical “smarter” cars, there must be an awareness and training given to make “smarter” drivers.
99% of all traffic accidents are driver related,speeding,tailgating,road rage,cell phones etc
More cars on the road and more texting…..
There is no way to fix stupid.
At large.
Common sense is in short supply and road rage is up.
I’m going to be coming out with cars that will detect alcohol on your breath. The result, I won’t start.
Any possibility that more people are driving in order to avoid the idiots of the TSA?
I drive an f350, it sits up a little higher than most vehicles. What amazes me is the number of people passing me Reading or texting on smart phones. One cannot do both(drive and text) the very least experienced drivers(young people) are also the ones that seem to have a phone permanently attached to their hand……and we wonder why there are more wrecks. They are not accidents. Somebody was willfully stupid.
Time to ban motor vehicles!