Traffic Deaths Are Down So Far This Year But It's Still Bad News

Traffic deaths in the United States decreased by 3.3% during the first half of 2023, according to US auto safety regulators. As reported by Reuters, the large caveat to this news is that they remain substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 19,515 people died in traffic accidents so far this year compared to 20,190 deaths during the same period in 2022.

Unfortunately, both of those numbers are substantially higher than the 17,065 people killed during the same period in 2019. The numbers first started increasing in 2020 despite 13 percent fewer miles driven than the year prior and peaked in 2021 when we saw 42,915 deaths recorded over the year, the highest amount since 2007. A terrifying number, but at least it appears we're on the positive end of the situation.

There have been many reasons cited for why deaths increased despite there being fewer people on the roads. Many experts, like Acting NHTSA Administrator Ann Carlson, believe that with fewer cars on the road, many drivers decided to take more risks. "I do think people got in the habit of speeding more," Carlson said, adding that some drivers "got a sense they could get away with it probably."

There was perhaps a belief that there were fewer police on the roads too, so maneuvers and stunts people wouldn't have tried pre-pandemic were carried out with more frequency. Additionally, incidents of impaired driving and driving without seatbelts also rose at the time. Again, this may be due to the belief that there was less of a police presence, but we don't think you can discount the negative mental effects the pandemic had on the country as a collective.

The NHTSA says that impaired driving is still a major issue as well as the 10% of Americans that still refuse to wear seatbelts. The administration has already recommended that manufacturers implement technology in vehicles that would bar people who are under the influence from driving. Additionally, it also more recently recommended that seatbelt warnings be added to the rear seats in addition to the front ones.

Now whether you're driving in an Alfa Romeo Stelvio or a Honda Civic, we can get behind more safety. Public roads aren't playgrounds, they're meant to get everyone from point A to point B safely. Ann Carlson made a good point that it doesn't feel like a fatal car crash has the same effects as a fatal plane crash. Perhaps it's because we're so used to mundane car crashes and because cars are such a larger part of our lives, but it shouldn't be acceptable that thousands of people die every year in mostly preventable ways.