National traffic deaths spike
Speeding, other factors take toll despite less driving during pandemic
Shortly after the pandemic started last March, traffic safety officials sounded a warning when they saw an increase in the rate of traffic deaths per 100 million miles driven despite less traffic on the roads.
Wednesday, they went into near panic mode when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that estimated actual traffic deaths for the third quarter increased by 13.1% or 11,260 deaths for the third quarter of 2020. That’s the highest quarterly increase in deaths since at least 2008 and occurred despite traffic levels remaining about 15% below the previous year’s pre-pandemic level.
“We got a sense from [NHTSA] that these numbers when they came out weren’t going to be great,” said Pam Shadel Fischer, spokeswoman for the Governors Highway Safety Association. “But wow. It’s a combination of frustrating, mind-boggling, etc. We were just flabbergasted.”
Through the first nine months of the year, traffic deaths are projected to increase by 4.6% after three years in a row of declines in traffic deaths. The fact that this occurred during a substantial decline in driving is particularly troubling, Ms. Fischer said.
“We were very hopeful back in March that with the reduction in driving we would have less deaths again,” Ms. Fischer said. “We sounded the alarm back in April when we saw the death rate increasing. It’s frustrating because this stuff is preventable.”
In a previous report, NHTSA reported more drivers were clocked driving more than 100 mph, fewer were wearing seat belts and the rate of impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes was increasing. Traffic initially dropped by more
than 50% at the start of the pandemic, clearing space for drivers to speed, but last week the Insurance Information Institute reported that many drivers have not slowed down as traffic has increased, leading to accidents with more severe injuries.
“This is our other national pandemic,” Ms. Fischer said. “I almost feel like we’re taking some steps backwards [in traffic safety]. We have the vaccine. It’s us.”
Ms. Fischer said the solution to growing traffic death rates is the same one the association has been trumpeting for years: more police enforcement.
“This certainly gives us pause to say we need more enforcement,” she said. “But every study shows more police visibility reduces speeding. It makes a difference. There is a negative impact on traffic deaths when there are more police on the roads.”