According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2022 highway fatalities had a slight decline from 42,939 fatalities in 2021 to 42,795 in 2022. It is a 0.3% drop from the previous year.
In a statement put out by the NHTSA, the estimated fatality rate decreased to 1.35 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled or VMT in 2022. That is down from 1.37 fatalities per 100 million VMT in 2021. The agency noted this is from people driving more compared to the Covid pandemic.
It is projected that traffic fatalities declined in the fourth quarter of 2022. The agency also estimates that 27 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico witnessed decreases in fatalities in 2022 as compared to 2021, while 23 states experienced increases.
A new analysis of 2021 fatal crash data was released, and highlighted the risk of distracted and other forms of risky driving. Fatalities in distraction-affected crashes increased by 12 percent from 3,154 in 2020 to 3,522 in 2021, a total of 8.2 percent of all fatalities reported.
“[This] data tells us just how much harm distracted driving can cause and why a nationwide campaign is more important today than ever,” explained NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman.
“We need to use all the tools we have to reduce distracted driving: state laws, education and outreach, and disabling of phones while driving can all work to save lives,” she said.
----------------------------------------
Source: NHTSA
