Photo: NHTSA
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released its early estimates on traffic fatalities in 2021, and the things don’t look good. Nearly 43,000 people lost their lives last year in car crashes, a 10.5% increase over the 39,000 deaths recorded the year before.
Suppose you want a better picture of how many people lose their lives on the roads in car crashes every year. In that case, divide the 43,000 figure by 200, the number of seats in a medium-sized airliner. That’s more than 200 airline crashes that people don’t even talk about every year in the U.S. alone. Yes, it’s horrendous, nothing short of a national tragedy.
According to NHTSA’s data, the increase in traffic deaths stretches across all regions of the U.S. and all drivers and crash types. The most significant increases were recorded for the number of fatalities in multi-vehicle crashes (16%), on urban roads (16%), and among drivers 65 and older (14%). Many other categories saw a double-digit increase in 2021.
Texas recorded the most traffic-related fatalities, at 4,573, marking an 18% increase over 2020. It was followed by California at 4,258 deaths (+10.7%) and Florida at 3,753 (+12.7%). The most significant percentage change (+33.6%) was recorded in Idaho, with 286 fatalities. With the notable exception of Maine (-1.2%), Maryland (-4.4%), Nebraska (-6.4%), Wisconsin (-2.8%), and Wyoming (-11.0%), all other U.S. states recorded more traffic deaths compared to 2020.
One segment in the NHTSA’s report that sweetens the pill is related to the number of miles traveled in 2021. According to the report, the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) last year increased by 325 billion miles, or about an 11.2% increase compared to 2020. This covers the increase in traffic fatalities so that the number of deaths per 100 million VMT went down to 1.33 in 2021 from the 1.34 per million VMT the year before.
The NHTSA report shows that people drove more in 2021 but carried on with their risky driving behavior developed in 2020. Before that (2011-2019), the average number of fatalities per 100 million VMT was around 1,10. That’s another unwanted effect of the lock-ups during the pandemic.
According to NHTSA’s data, the increase in traffic deaths stretches across all regions of the U.S. and all drivers and crash types. The most significant increases were recorded for the number of fatalities in multi-vehicle crashes (16%), on urban roads (16%), and among drivers 65 and older (14%). Many other categories saw a double-digit increase in 2021.
Texas recorded the most traffic-related fatalities, at 4,573, marking an 18% increase over 2020. It was followed by California at 4,258 deaths (+10.7%) and Florida at 3,753 (+12.7%). The most significant percentage change (+33.6%) was recorded in Idaho, with 286 fatalities. With the notable exception of Maine (-1.2%), Maryland (-4.4%), Nebraska (-6.4%), Wisconsin (-2.8%), and Wyoming (-11.0%), all other U.S. states recorded more traffic deaths compared to 2020.
One segment in the NHTSA’s report that sweetens the pill is related to the number of miles traveled in 2021. According to the report, the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) last year increased by 325 billion miles, or about an 11.2% increase compared to 2020. This covers the increase in traffic fatalities so that the number of deaths per 100 million VMT went down to 1.33 in 2021 from the 1.34 per million VMT the year before.
The NHTSA report shows that people drove more in 2021 but carried on with their risky driving behavior developed in 2020. Before that (2011-2019), the average number of fatalities per 100 million VMT was around 1,10. That’s another unwanted effect of the lock-ups during the pandemic.
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