Who or What Is To Blame for the Record Number of Road Deaths in 2021?
U.S. road deaths reach the highest numbers in 16 years. Experts believe an increase in risky driving behaviors are to blame.
Written by Allison Stone
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
With rising inflation and record-breaking gas prices, many drivers are under more stress than ever to make every second count when they’re on the road, but that’s never an excuse for
risky driving
. Sadly, data on automotive fatalities
suggests that road deaths are also reaching new highs, and the trend started long before the past few months. The number of road deaths climbed by over 10% last year
According to the
Associated Press
(AP), nearly 43,000 people were killed on U.S. roads last year—the highest it has been in 16 years. 2021’s numbers were a 10.5% jump from 2020, but what exactly is to blame for the staggering number of road deaths?Incidentally, this peak happened at the same time Americans began to return to the roads following a year of work-from-home, travel restrictions, and other lifestyle changes related to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s hard to pin down what exactly lead to all of these new deaths, but experts point to a few possible causes.
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A closer look at the data
Preliminary figures released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that total traffic deaths were 42,915, an increase from the 38,824 that occurred in 2020.
Americans drove approximately 325 billion more miles than the previous year. From 2005, when total deaths were 43,510, there was a gradual decline in traffic fatalities until 2011, when they had dropped all the way to 32,479.
From 2012 onward, deaths reminded under 40,000 and had even been slowly decreasing for three years before 2020. In 2020, however, there was a sudden increase in spite of fewer people being on the roads.
The NHTSA reported that deaths increased last year in almost all types of crashes including during out-of-state travel, in urban areas, in multi-vehicle crashes, and in pedestrian deaths.
The pandemic led to riskier behavior on the road
Traffic deaths first began to spike in 2020, and the NHTSA blamed riskier behavior related to the pandemic for the increase in fatalities. Behavioral research showed that risky driving behaviors such as speeding or driving without a seatbelt were higher than in previous years.
Both the Department of Transportation and the NHTSA has acknowledged the increase and are determined to combat it. “We will redouble our safety efforts, and we need everyone—state and local governments, safety advocates, automakers and drivers, to join us,” said Deputy NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff in a statement. “All of our lives depend on it.”
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg echoed similar sentiments and cited a national strategy implemented to decrease traffic deaths. Billions in grants have been pledged with the Biden administration’s new infrastructure law to encourage states to lower speed limits, create safer road designs, and increase the use of speed cameras.
MORE: Safety Is Becoming the Focal Point of Electric Cars
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