The United States has recorded nearly 43,000 traffic-related deaths in the region in 2021, the highest number seen in the last 16 years, based on data released on Tuesday by the Department of Transportation.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the record number represents a 10.5% increase from the year prior when 38,824 deaths were reported. Compared to the number of fatalities in 2019, which was recorded at 36,355, last year's statistics showed an 18% increase.
US Traffic Deaths
The NHTSA found that in 44 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, were all projected to have had increases in the numbers of traffic-related deaths. Texas was estimated to have had the highest number of fatalities at 4,573, followed by California and Florida at 4,258 and 3,753, respectively.
In a statement, the senior director of policy and government relations for the Governors Highway Safety Association, Russ Martin, said that an increase in dangerous driving, speeding, distracted driving, drug- and alcohol-impaired driving, and not buckling up, during the coronavirus pandemic were factors in the current situation. He added that roads being designed for speed instead of safety has wiped out a decade and a half of progress in reducing traffic crashes, as per Axios.
The report of the death toll comes in the same week that a $6 billion grant program to support local road safety programs was announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. NHTSA's deputy administrator, Dr. Steven Cliff, said that the crisis on the roads is considered to be urgent and preventable.
The official said that the agency will double its safety efforts and was urging everyone, including state and local governments, safety advocates, automakers, and drivers, to join them in making sure that roads are safe for the people.
According to Fox News, the new DOT program will make funds available for a variety of projects that include the construction of new turning lanes and pedestrian walkway protections as well as lowering speed limits and installing traffic cameras.
Traffic-Related Deaths
MADD National President Alex Otte said that the United States has taken a dangerous and deadly step backward in regard to traffic safety and impaired driving. He also urged strong public-private efforts similar to the seatbelt and airbag public safety campaigns of the 1990s in order to stem reckless driving.
"More families and more communities are feeling the crushing magnitude of this crisis on our roads," said Otte. Americans were found to have driven roughly 325 billion more miles last year, an increase of 11.2% compared to 2020, which is believed to have contributed to the rise in fatalities.
Every last year, it was found that nearly 118 people died in the United States, based on the agency's data. The NHTSA also reported that deaths last year increased in almost all types of crashes. Incidents occurring during out-of-state travel jumped by 15% compared to the prior year. Many of the crashes happened on rural interstate roads or access roads off city highways.
Furthermore, fatalities in urban areas and deaths in multi-vehicle crashes each surged by 16% and pedestrian deaths rose by 13%. By age, fatalities among drivers aged 65 and older rose by 14%, which is a reverse in the declining trend observed in 2020, the Associated Press reported.
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