NHTSA: Highway Deaths Rise Again, Including Those Involving Trucks
Photo: FMCSA
“>
Photo: FMCSA
“>
The latest traffic crash data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 37,461 lives were lost on U.S. roads in calendar year 2016— marking a significant increase of 5.6% over the same period in 2015.
NHTSA also found that the number of vehicle miles traveled on U.S. roads increased by 2.2% last year. That resulted in a fatality rate of 1.18 deaths per 100 million VMT – equating to 2.6% increase from the previous year.
As to fatalities resulting from crashes involving large trucks, the agency recorded a 5.4% jump in those over 2015, the highest since 2007. Of those 4,317 fatalities, 16.7% (722 persons) were occupants of large trucks, 10.8% were “non-occupants,” and 72.4% were occupants of other vehicles.
Another key finding was a drop in overall fatalities tied to distracted and drowsy driving. Distraction-related deaths fell 2.2% (3,450 fatalities) and drowsy-driving deaths dropped 3.5% (803 fatalities).
On the other hand, deaths related to “other reckless behaviors – including speeding, alcohol impairment, and not wearing seat belts – continued to increase.”
Also of interest: Motorcyclist and pedestrian deaths together accounted for more than a third of the year-to-year increase in total highway fatalities.
Here are the categories that saw increases in the rate of fatalities for 2016:
Drunk-driving deaths (10,497 fatalities) increased 1.7%Speeding-related deaths (10,111 fatalities) increased 4.0%Unbelted deaths (10,428 fatalities) increased by 4.6%Motorcyclist deaths (5,286 fatalities – the largest number of motorcyclist fatalities since 2008) increased 5.1%Pedestrian deaths (5,987 fatalities – the highest number since 1990) increased by 9.0%Bicyclist deaths (840 fatalities – the highest number since 1991) increased 1.3%
NHTSA stated that some 94% of serious crashes involve drivers who make “poor choices.”
The agency noted in a statement that it will continue to promote vehicle technologies that “hold the potential to reduce the number of crashes and save thousands …Read the rest of this story
