Why are U.S. traffic deaths increasing again? (The New York Times)

In 2024, 39,345 drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists died in crashes caused by motor vehicles in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It was the first time that road fatalities fell below 40,000 since 2020, when virtually all travel for both business and pleasure was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks in part to the advent of airbags and seat belt laws, driving is much safer today than it was in 1975, but the numbers began trending in the wrong direction about a decade ago. In 2021, there were 42,939 deaths, the highest figure since 2005.

This is a uniquely American problem not shared by the country’s global peers. In the U.S., the rate of vehicular death is more than four times higher than it is in Britain and Germany and about 1.5 times higher than in Romania, which has the most dangerous roads in the European Union, according to the European Commission.

A study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year found that traffic deaths increased by about 22% in the United States between 2013 and 2022. In 27 developed countries, traffic deaths fell by about 19% during that same period.

Car crashes are dangerous for everyone involved, but they have become even more hazardous for pedestrians and cyclists. Deaths among these groups have gone up at a “much higher rate than the number of driver and vehicle occupants,” said Laura Sandt, a co-director of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.

According to the CDC, car crashes are also a leading cause of death for children younger than 13. In a study of nearly 900 crashes in 2021 that had a child under 15 as one of the victims, “some 40% were unrestrained,” according to the traffic safety administration.

Why are more people dying in car wrecks?
According to a Pew poll last year, Americans recognize that there’s a problem. Forty-nine percent said they believed people in their communities were driving either somewhat or much less safely than before the COVID-19 pandemic. They cited speeding, cellphone distractions and aggressive maneuvers as the biggest problems.

Sandt attributes the increase in fatalities to a confluence of factors:

• Bigger cars: American consumers are flocking to trucks and sport utility vehicles that are only getting larger.
• Higher speed limits: Today, 41 states have speed limits of 70 mph or higher in some places.
• Smartphones: According to NHTSA, 3,275 people were killed in 2023 by distracted driving.
• The opioid crisis: A 2023 study found that people with prescriptions for moderate opioid doses were the most likely to be involved in a car crash, relative to other dosages, though all opioid prescriptions were associated with an elevated crash risk.

Read “Why are U.S. traffic deaths increasing again?” to learn more.