Traffic Deaths Surged During Pandemic
The United States is in grip of a record increase in traffic deaths unseen since the 1940s, and the COVID pandemic made it worse, says David Leonhardt in article published in the New York Times Morning Newsletter.
Vehicle safety improvements, lower speed limits, and drunken driving awareness have caused a steady downward trajectory in traffic deaths from vehicle crashes since the late 1960s. But the arrival of the COVID pandemic saw a change in that trend.
Vehicle crashes and deaths spiked in the summer of 2020, when fewer people were out driving. But aggressive driving and road rage incidents offset the expected decline. And crashes increased once people started driving again.
On average, vehicle deaths rose 17.5 percent from the summer of 2019 to the summer of 2020, according to analysis of federal data, the largest two-year jump since just after World War II.
Traffic fatalities are much more common in low-income neighborhoods and among Native and Black Americans: New York Times
Data From National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
According to data from the National Highway Safety Administration, data analysis from 2021 showed large increases in the following categories compared to 2020:
- Fatalities in multi-vehicle crashes up 16%
- Fatalities on urban roads up 16%
- Fatalities among drivers 65 and older up 14%
- Pedestrian fatalities up 13%
- Fatalities in crashes involving at least one large truck up 13%
- Daytime fatalities up 11%
- Motorcyclist fatalities up 9%
- Bicyclist fatalities up 5%
- Fatalities in speeding-related crashes up 5%
- Fatalities in police-reported, alcohol-involvement crashes up 5%
The region of the country including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut saw a 12% increase in vehicle-related fatalaties.
African-Americans More Likely To Be Involved in Fatal Crashes
According to the Times article, low-income residents, the majority of whom are Black and Native American, are more likely to be involved in fatal vehicle crashes than other groups such as Asian Americans. According to experts, some of the reasons for this are vehicle quality, road conditions, social habits, and lack of public infrastructure such as sidewalks and crosswalks.
During the pandemic, most of the essential workers who could not work remotely were Black.
Driver Training and Education is the Solution
Professional driver education and training are effective approaches to reducing crashes, injuries, and deaths. Much improvement has been made in improving training methods and education content to improve driver awareness and skills by focusing on safety and accident-avoidance techniques, such as those taught in defensive driving courses offered at Tri-City Driving Academy.
Why not sign up for one today? Safe drivers can earn a 10% discount on their insurance premiums by completing a defensive driving course once every three years.
