United States—US motor vehicle traffic deaths fell by 3.6% in 2023 and for two years straight, but they are still higher than the pre-pandemic figures revealed by automotive safety officials on Monday.
Declining Trend Traffic Deaths Continues
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was believed that 40,990 people passed away because of vehicle accidents in the year 2023 while the year 2022 numbered 42,514. The persistency of such admirable figure as 36,355 eliminated people in 2019 shows the road ahead would not be horizontal. At the time deaths from car crashes had been continuously decreasing for the past three consecutive years, as reported by Reuters.
The figure was particularly high with 2023 being higher than the pre-pandemic year since 2008. Total number of miles driven this past year spiked over pre-pandemic levels for the first time ever.
With the increasing freedom on the roads during the coronavirus crisis, few motorists saw police less likely to give tickets. It’s likely the above drove them to commit dangerous behavior.
Vulnerable Road Users at Risk
With the fatality rate increasing by 10.5%, highest since 2005. A sum of 42,915 Americans died in traffic accidents in 2021.
NHTSA said in a separate report on Monday that the number of pedestrians killed climbed by 0.7% to 7,522, the highest since 1981, in 2022. Cyclist deaths increased by 13% to 1,105 in 2022, the worst year on record.
NHTSA also said that during 2022, traffic crashes involving people 65 or older years of age increased by 4.7% to 7,870, which was the highest number of fatalities in traffic crashes involving older drivers ever recorded by this agency since 1975.
Pandemic’s Impact on Driving Behavior
The number of cases involving speeding, driving while drunk or under the influence of any drugs or any other chemical, or riding without a seatbelt showed an increase during the pandemic, even with a significant decline in the number of road users.
The agency’s acting administrator stated, through Reuters last year, that the rise in some cases of traffic deaths was because of almost empty roads during the pandemic, which caused more speeding and also led to more terrible driver behavior.
The authorities opine that alcohol- and drug-impaired driving is still a huge challenge. Moreover, a considerable number of people are inconsiderate and do not wear seat belts. NHTSA will require drivers to install rear seat belt reminder systems in future vehicles.