Increase in fatal traffic accidents seen across country

 Posted on May 20, 2013 in Firm News

Car accidents continue to kill drivers in the U.S. every day. Despite safety efforts to reduce fatal car accidents, a new report found that fatal car accidents have increased during the last year. A total of 34.080 deaths due to traffic fatalities were reported in 2012, which is a 5.3 percent increase. 

Traffic safety experts say that this is the first time traffic fatalities have increased in the U.S. during the last seven years. Due to the significant increase in fatalities in just one year, experts are trying to figure out why more people are being killed in car accidents. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that traffic fatalities increased in every category they analyzed. They reported that fatal accidents increased in every season as well as in every region in the U.S.

In addition to fatal car accidents increasing last year, the report also noted that more bicyclists and pedestrians were killed in accidents last year too. The NHTSA reported that fatal bicycle accidents increased by nine percent last year, and fatal pedestrian accidents increased by four percent.

The number of car accidents, pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents that resulted in fatalities last year does not compare to the drastic increase in fatal motorcycle accidents in the U.S. Reports show that an estimated 5,000 motorcyclists were killed in accidents in 2012, making motorcycle fatalities the highest out of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. last year.

The NHTSA report did not specify why fatal traffic accidents increased last year. However, safety advocates are blaming the increase in distracted driving as well as drowsy and drunk driving as some of the main reasons for the increase.

Source: Aol Autos, "More Americans Dying On U.S. Roads," Pete Bigelow, May 7, 2013