Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is demanding that U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officials do what’s needed to curb a trend that has resulted in the largest six-month increase ever recorded in Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.
“Solutions that can reverse tragic surges in crash fatalities like we are now experiencing are known and available,” Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety officials posted on Twitter. “@SafeRoadsNow urges @USDOT to issue minimum performance standards on lifesaving vehicle safety technology to protect all road users.”
An early estimate of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for the first half of the year found that 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes over the first six months of 2021, up 18.4% over 2020 and representing the largest number of projected fatalities over that same timeframe since 2006.
“This is a crisis,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on the department website. “More than 20,000 people died on U.S. roads in the first six months of 2021, leaving countless loved ones behind. We cannot and should not accept these fatalities as simply a part of everyday life in America.”
Government authorities are preparing to produce the department’s first National Road Safety Strategy, which seeks to identify action steps for everyone working to save lives on the road.
“No one will accomplish this alone,” Buttigieg added. “It will take all levels of government, industries, advocates, engineers and communities across the country working together toward the day when family members no longer have to say goodbye to loved ones because of a traffic crash.”
In addition to the traffic fatality data, NHTSA also released behavioral research findings over the same period, with data showing that incidents of speeding and traveling without a seatbelt remain higher than during pre-COVID-19 times.
“The report is sobering,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Steven Cliff said. “It’s also a reminder of what hundreds of millions of people can do every day right now, to combat this. (That is) slow down, wear seat belts, drive sober and avoid distractions behind the wheel. All of us must work together to stop aggressive, dangerous driving and help prevent fatal crashes.”
Early analysis shows that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the first half of 2021 increased by about 173.1 billion miles, or about 13%, according to the Federal Highway Administration. At the same time, the fatality rate jumped to 1.34 fatalities per 100 million VMT, a significant uptick from the projected rate of 1.28 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first half of 2020.
“Safer roads and safer speeds are key parts of addressing this crisis of fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways,” Acting FHWA Administrator Stephanie Pollack said. “FHWA is committed to a Safe System Approach and to working closely with local and state transportation agencies to make every road that is designed or built with federal funds safe for everyone who uses it.”
The new strategy is set to be released in January.
