Roadway Fatalities Level Off After Two Years of Increases

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently issued a press release about early estimates of roadway fatalities for the first nine months of 2022. According to the data, roadway deaths appear to be leveling off after two years of dramatic increases. Recent projections show that an estimated 31,785 people were killed in traffic crashes in the first nine months of 2022. That is a 0.2 percent decrease when compared to the 31,850 estimated fatalities during the same time frame in 2021.  

Increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled 

Other important information from the report shows that there was a 1.6 percent increase in vehicle miles traveled, or about 39 billion miles, driven during the first nine months of 2022. With that data factored in, the estimated fatality rate for the first nine months of 2022 decreased to 1.30 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, which was down from the projected 1.32 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled during the same time period in 2021.  

The projected data showed that fatalities declined slightly during the third quarter of 2022, which means that was the second quarterly decline in fatalities after seven consecutive quarters of year-to-year increases in fatalities. The increases began in the third quarter of 2020. 

Cyclist and Pedestrian Fatalities Are Up  

Although overall roadway fatalities appeared to decline, deaths amongst cyclists and pedestrians continued to increase. Some areas where fatalities decreased in the first half of 2022 when compared with the first half of 2021 were in children younger than 16, in speeding related crashes, in vehicle rollover crashes and a few other categories.  

Some areas where fatalities increased in the first half of 2022 when compared with the first half of 2021 were on rural interstates, in crashes involving at least one large truck, among cyclists, among motorcyclists and among pedestrians.  

If you have been injured or if you have lost a loved one in a car accident caused by a dangerous or distracted driver in San Diego or anywhere in Southern California, contact the skilled and proven team at Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, Inc. at 1.800.GO.HARRIS for a free case consultation today.