U.S. traffic deaths down, but pedestrian fatalities increase

Nearly 36,600 died on U.S. roadways last year, a decrease of 2.4 percent from 2017, according to data released Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Traffic fatalities fell for the second straight year in 2018, the agency said, and the downward trend continues, with traffic deaths down 3.4 percent in the first six months of this year.

The statistics should be reassuring to jurisdictions that have in recent years embraced new traffic safety programs targeted at making roads safer and lowering traffic deaths, which have been steadily increasing since 2014.

There also were fewer fatalities resulting from speeding and alcohol-impaired drivers. Additionally, there was a 10 percent reduction in the number of children killed in crashes.

“After worrying spikes of fatalities from 2013 to 2016, we are headed in the right direction,” acting NHTSA administrator James C. Owens said at a news conference.

But while overall traffic fatalities were down, more pedestrians and bicyclists were killed on U.S. roads last year, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all traffic deaths.

According to NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System data, 6,283 pedestrians and 857 people on bikes or similar nonmotorized vehicles were killed in 2018, increases of 3.4 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively. Federal officials said the rises were concentrated in urban areas.

The increase in pedestrian and bicyclist deaths is troubling, traffic safety advocates and experts say, because more people are biking and walking to work in metropolitan areas. Cities across the United States, including Washington and New York, are embracing lower speed limits as one way of reversing the trend. Some are considering slowdriving zones in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic, and many have embraced “Vision Zero,” program aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

“Certainly our roadways are not properly designed to accommodate growing numbers of pedestrians and bicyclists,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. “Enforcement of traffic laws must also be given greater priority.”

Federal transportation officials say they are working with states to identify resources and programs to address pedestrian and bicyclist safety. According to NHTSA data, about 76 percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred after dark. About 74 percent of the time, the pedestrian was crossing in the middle of a road, and nearly 40 percent of the time the pedestrian had been drinking alcohol.

“Those are two behaviors that are very risky,” Owens said. “That doesn’t change the fact that our drivers need to drive in a way that is not distracted. … But everybody has an obligation to share the road, and we have to make sure that everybody looks out for safety.”

Federal officials say the numbers show that Americans are making safer choices on the road and that safety programs and enforcement works. They also attribute the overall decline in fatalities to the technology in newer vehicles that prevents or reduces the severity of crashes.