Traffic Crash Deaths In 2023 Remain At ‘Devastatingly High Level’

27.02.2024 - 15:59 / forbes.com

More than 44,000 lives were lost in traffic crashes in the United States in 2023. The number marks a 4% decline from 2022, but compared to pre-pandemic 2019, it’s a 13.6% spike, demonstrating “the seriousness of this public health crisis.”

Those are the main findings of new preliminary estimates released on Monday by the National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit advocacy group, that showed that motor vehicle fatalities remain at a “devastatingly high level.”

“The most dangerous thing most people in our country do in a single day is use the U.S. roadway system,” Mark Chung, executive vice president of roadway practice at NSC, said in a statement. “This public health crisis is an atrocity that must continue to be addressed.”

According to the safety group’s analysis, seven states as well as the nation’s capital experienced increases of 10% or more in motor vehicle fatalities in 2023 compared to 2022 preliminary estimates: District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, North Dakota, Maryland and Kentucky.

On a positive note, decreases of 10% or more were experienced in 12 states during that same period: Alaska, Maine, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah, Georgia, New York and Louisiana.

Speeding, distracted and impaired driving are among the factors contributing to the jump in roadway deaths.

To address those and other risk factors, the National Safety Council supports the adoption of national, state and local level policies that reflect the Safe System Approach to road safety to eliminate traffic fatalities in the U.S.

The Safe System Approach to road safety and design, also called Vision Zero, first put into effect in Sweden in the 1990s and now embraced by many cities globally, takes human error into account. The goal is to eliminate all road deaths and serious injuries by creating multiple layers of protection, so if one fails, the others will create a safety net to lessen the impact of a crash.

Improvements are designed to result in: safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and better post-crash care.

“No one should die getting to or from their homes, schools and workplaces, but the current system was not designed with the safety of all road users in mind,” Chung added. “This is why we must continue to speak, act and cooperatively work together across public and private sectors to prioritize the safe travel of all road users; this is our focus when visiting with lawmakers in the spring, to continue advocating for the safety of all road users and ultimately save lives.”

For more information, including estimates for each state, click here and here.