As we end one of the busiest driving weekends of the year, new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed a sharp increase in motor vehicle traffic deaths in 2015. Estimates show that 35,200 people died in traffic accidents in 2015, a 7.7 percent increase over the 2014 number.
In this era where vehicles are safer than ever, with better design, multiple airbags and the like, it is a stunning rise after a decade of decreasing traffic deaths.
So, why the increase last year? Experts point to a combination of causes including lower gas prices and lower unemployment which led to more miles driven.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, we drove a total of 107.2 billion miles in 2015, an increase of 3.5 percent when compared to 2014. So, even though we drove more miles that doesn’t fully account for the 7.7 percent increase in deaths.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data show that with the increase in motor vehicle traffic deaths in 2015, an estimated 35,200 people died in 2015, up from 32,675 in 2014.
“The upticks we’re seeing correlate to lower fuel prices, but we don’t want to give ourselves that excuse so we are digging into different areas where we can have an impact on this,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
“As the economy has improved and gas prices have fallen, more Americans are driving more miles,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind in a statement.
Rosekind also added that 94 percent of crashes can be “tied back to human error or choice.”
The biggest jump in roadway fatalities came from bicyclists and pedestrians involved in crashes. Deaths among bike riders jumped 13 percent between 2014 and 2015 and pedestrian deaths rose 10 percent.
I can only imagine that distracted driving was a major reason for this increase. With more and more people using their smart phones while driving, less visible bicyclists and pedestrians are probably at a greater risk of being struck by a vehicle.
“Every American should be able to drive, ride or walk to their destination safely, every time,” Foxx said. “We are analyzing the data to determine what factors contributed to the increase in fatalities and at the same time, we are aggressively testing new safety technologies, new ways to improve driver behavior, and new ways to analyze the data we have, as we work with the entire road safety community to take this challenge head-on.”
No one wants to see gas prices rise or the economy to slow down, so how can we reverse this one year jump in roadway fatalities? Stricter penalties for distracted drivers, better education on the dangers of distraction driving would be a start.
Anyone that drives on Atlanta roadways can attest to the fact that way too many people are looking at their phones while driving. I personally see people on interstates, driving at top speed, constantly texting or using their phones in a way that distract them from driving. I witness this every day.
The more our smartphones can do, the more we want to use them, no matter where we are or what we are doing. Until we can reverse this trend of smartphone addiction, I’m afraid we will see another rise on roadway deaths in 2016.
About the Author
