DETROIT (AP) — U.S. traffic deaths fell 3.6% last year, but about 41,000 people still died on the nation’s roads, according to full-year estimates from safety regulators.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the number of deaths has decreased for the second year in a row. The agency also released final figures for 2022 on Monday, saying 42,514 people died in accidents.
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NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Schulman said traffic fatalities decreased in the fourth quarter of last year, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of decline starting in the second quarter of 2022.
This aerial photo shows rescue workers near wreckage in the aftermath of a multi-vehicle wreck on Interstate 55 in Manchac, Louisiana, on Oct. 23, 2023. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is scheduled to release estimates of traffic fatalities. For 2023 he will start on Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The decline comes even as people are driving more cars. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that Americans drove 67.5 billion more miles last year than the year before, an increase of 2.1%. The death rate per 100 million miles driven fell from 1.33 deaths in 2022 to 1.26 deaths last year, according to NHTSA.
Officials say the death toll is still too high, even though it has decreased. Shulman said part of the problem is distracted driving. In 2022, an estimated 3,308 people died and 289,310 people were injured in crashes caused by distracted drivers.
He said nearly 20% of people killed in distracted driving accidents were people outside the vehicle, such as pedestrians or cyclists.
“Distracted driving is extremely dangerous,” she said while launching a rebranded anti-driving campaign called “Put the Phone Away or Pay.” The agency will launch an advertising campaign this month, and law enforcement officers will use the campaign from April 4th to 8th to crack down on the practice.
Traffic fatalities soared in 2021, increasing by 10.5% compared to 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to ease and people drove more. This was the highest number since 2005 and the largest increase since 1975.
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At the time, authorities blamed the increase on speeding, reckless behavior and distracted driving.
Part of the increase in crash deaths at the time was due to people driving more as the coronavirus pandemic subsided. NHTSA reported a 2.2% increase in fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles to 1.37 in 2021.
