Part, but not all, of the highway safety improvement is attributable to the depressed state of the U.S. economy.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA says that highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011, marking the lowest level since 1949 and a 1.9% decrease from the previous year. The updated 2011 data, the latest available, show the historic downward trend in recent years continued and represent a 26% decline in traffic fatalities overall since 2005.
“Even as we celebrate the progress we’ve made in recent years, we must remain focused on addressing the safety issues that are continuing to claim more than 30,000 lives each year,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, whose agency apparently did not eliminate any regulations during 2012. Early in 2011, you may recall, President Obama in a well-publicized bit of campaigning called for a government-wide review of regulations in order to identify those that needed to be changed or removed because they were unnecessary, out-of-date, excessively burdensome or overly costly. Little action came after the speech.
Surely, NHTSA can find some regulations to simplify and or eliminate.
Part, but not all, of the ongoing highway safety improvement is attributable to the depressed state of the U.S. economy because fewer miles were driven in 2011 than in 2010. However, NHTSA claims that 1.9% decrease in roadway deaths “significantly outpaced” the corresponding 1.2% decrease in vehicle miles traveled. New Fatality Analysis Reporting System or FARS data show 2011 also had the lowest fatality rate ever recorded, with 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2011, down from 1.11 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2010. (View the latest 2011 FARS data)
Other statistics include:
- Fatalities declined by 4.6% for occupants of passenger cars and light trucks, including SUVs, minivans and pickups.
- Deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers decreased 2.5% in 2011, taking 9,878 lives compared to 10,136 in 2010.
- Fatalities increased among large truck occupants (20%), pedal cyclists (8.7%), pedestrians (3.0%), and motorcycle riders (2.1%). NHTSA said it is working with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to gather information that is more detailed on the large truck occupant crashes to understand the increase in fatalities in 2011.
The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes rose to 3,331 in 2011 from 3,267 in 2010, an increase of 1.9%. NHTSA believes this distracted driving accident increase can be attributed in part to increased awareness and reporting.
An estimated 387,000 people were injured in distracted driving crashes, a 7% decline from the estimated 416,000 people injured in such crashes in 2010. Thirty-six states experienced reductions in overall traffic fatalities, led by Connecticut (100 fewer fatalities), North Carolina (93 fewer), Tennessee (86 fewer), Ohio (64 fewer) and Michigan (53 fewer).
Read AutoInformed on NHTSA Study Claims Better Design Reduced Crashes, Deaths and U.S. DOT Proposes Elimination of 46 Traffic Sign Regulations
