2020 Study: Driving Was Down While Traffic Fatality Rates Surged
We drove less in 2020 because of Covid-19 restrictions. The good news is that fewer miles traveled did translate into few car crashes. The bad news? The traffic fatality rate surged. A report by the National Safety Council (NSC) shows that deaths from motor vehicle accidents increased by eight percent last year, with as many as 42,060 people dying in motor vehicle crashes. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), hasn’t released its analysis of traffic accident deaths for 2020 yet, their preliminary results for the first nine months of the year support the trend in the NSC report.
When we compare the traffic deaths to the number of miles driven, the fatality rate rose by 24 percent in 2020; the biggest jump in almost a hundred years!
2020 Study: Driving Was Down While Traffic Fatality Rates Surged
Why did the accident fatality rate spike in 2020?
Experts aren’t ready to make a final determination on why the fatality rate rose so dramatically but most agree that fewer cars on the road created more open space and an increase in risky driving behaviors. Risky driving behaviors increase the risk of accidents and accident-related fatalities.
Risky driving behaviors that led to increased accident fatalities
Experts believe that the four major risky driving behaviors that led to an increase in accident fatalities in 2020 were:
Speeding
According to the WHO, speed is a known key risk factor in traffic accident injuries, as it impacts both the risk of motor vehicle crashes and the severity of the injuries. In fact, excessive and inappropriate speeding are responsible for 30 percent of traffic accident deaths in high income countries like the United States. A study by Arity, a mobility data analytics company, found that speeding at 80 miles an hour or more was up through most of 2020 and that speeding is still up even as driving has returned to more normal levels, especially during morning and afternoon rush hours.
Driving without a seatbelt
According to data from the NHTSA, of the 37,133 people who died in motor vehicle accidents in 2017, 47 percent were not wearing seat belts. By contrast, that same year, it is estimated that seat belts saved 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts. Experts believe that less drivers were wearing seat belts in 2020 and that would most certainly have contributed to an increase in collision fatalities.
Impaired driving
According to data from CDC.gov, in the United States alone, one person tragically dies every 50 minutes in a drunk driving incident. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 43.6 percent of drivers who were fatally injured in 2016 tested positive for drugs and over half of those drivers had two or more drugs present in their system. Impaired driving arrests increased in some states during 2020, despite a sharp drop in traffic stops during Covid-19.
Distracted driving
According to cdc.gov, in 2018, over 2,800 people in the U.S. were killed and an estimated 400,000 were injured in accidents that involved a distracted driver. The likelihood of being in a car accident increases with each distraction: you are three times more likely to crash with three passengers in the car, 12 times more likely when you reach for your phone to check a text message and 16 times more likely when you respond to the text. Experts believe that distracted driving was up in 2020, a very dangerous driving behavior that most certainly leads to increased fatalities.
Seek the help of a car accident attorney
If you or a loved one was injured because of the negligence of another, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights. Let an experienced car accident attorney fight for the full compensation that you deserve. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from the insurance company that is five to ten times larger with the help of a lawyer. Call the personal injury lawyers at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Bellingham, WA today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County and Snohomish County since 1979. You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
