Us Traffic Deaths Dropped to new Low in 2010
American roads may be getting safer, if recently released highway data indicates a trend. A Transportation Department report quoted byReuterssays that during 2010, only 32,788 people died on U.S. roads.
A lot of people
One thing is for sure: almost 33,000 people can make a pretty big crowd. In fact, that number is larger than the population of many American towns. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood seems to agree, saying that too many people are dying and that many accidents are preventable.
Young drivers, drunk drivers and distracted drivers continue to be at the forefront of causes of highway fatalities in the United States.
It’s still good news
Nobody likes it that so many people die while driving, but at least the number is going down. According to government data, traffic deaths have been reduced by 25%, a figure that’s not to be laughed at, especially when the total distance driven on American roads has increased by 20 million miles.
Although Reuters suggests that the .7% increase in miles driven signifies that the economy is building momentum, it does not seem to account for other factors such as more drivers, or people driving further to get to their jobs.
The government suggests that the decline in deaths is due to safer cars, more seatbelt use and a tighter rein on young drivers. Action at the state and national level on all three of these major factors seems to be well underway as laws to toughen penalties for drunk driving put in place and new laws against texting while driving are implemented.
It is unclear how many of the distracted driving deaths are caused by phone use, but smoking, eating, and changing the radio station are often viewed as risk factors.
More on the data
Government statistics measure highway fatalities in deaths per million miles. In 2010, that statistic reported 1.09 deaths per 100 million miles. Put that way, the death rate on the highways doesn’t seem to be too bad. 100 million miles is a lot of driving.
States on decline
Alaska, Oregon, Montana and Idaho are among the leaders in the decline of highway deaths. Each of those states saw a reduction in fatalities of 12 percent. States came in second place for fatality reductions included Hawaii, Arizona, and California.
Insurance rates
Drivers in the safest states and those with the steepest declines in fatalities probably hope that the statistics will prompt a decline in car insurance rates. Although insurance companies reportedly consider the traffic environment where a driver lives while calculating premiums, it is unclear whether the latest statistics will drive down prices.
