Nearly 43,000 traffic deaths last year, most in 16 years, U.S. agency says

The U.S. saw almost 43,000 traffic deaths in 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The estimated 42,915 fatalities represent a 10.5% increase over the year prior, when 38,824 deaths were reported, and was the biggest percentage jump since the agency began tracking the data in 1975.

“We face a crisis on America’s roadways that we must address together,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

The NHTSA said 44 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., are projected to have increased traffic deaths in 2022, with Texas, California and Florida making up the top-three.

A number of factors contributed to the increases — with no signs of a slowdown, though final figures will be released in the fall.

A man driving a white Toyota Highlander northbound on the Whitestone Expressway was killedafter he lost control and crashed into the guard rail near 141st Street in Queens on Dec. 11, 2021. (Theodore Parisienne/)

“An increase in dangerous driving — speeding, distracted driving, drug- and alcohol-impaired driving, not buckling up — during the pandemic, combined with roads designed for speed instead of safety, has wiped out a decade and a half of progress in reducing traffic crashes, injuries and deaths,” Russ Martin, senior director of policy and government relations for the Governors Highway Safety Association, said.

The NHTSA said several new regulations, such as requiring automatic emergency braking systems on new vehicles, will take years to start producing positive.

Steven Cliff, NHTSA’s deputy administrator described the rising deaths as preventable and needed to be addressed urgently.

“We will redouble our safety efforts, and we need everyone — state and local governments, safety advocates, automakers, and drivers — to join us. All of our lives depend on it,” Cliff said.

With News Wire Services