The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released new statistics that show that the total number of people killed in car accidents in the United States dropped last year compared to the previous year. However, it may be too early to celebrate.
According to the latest statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a total of 42,795 people were killed in auto accidents in the United States last year. That translated into a minute 0.3% drop from the previous year. In 2021, a total 42,939 people had been killed in auto accidents. However, the toll for 2022 still remains 18% higher than the figures in 2019.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg calls this a “national crisis of traffic safety” on our roads, and says that Americans need to do their part in helping reverse this rising trend of auto accident deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently conducted a comparison of the United States with at least 29 other industrialized countries and found disturbing results. The study found that the United States fares very poorly on traffic safety parameters, compared to other wealthy nations. In fact, most Western countries did not record dramatic rise in wrongful deaths in car accidents the way the United States did during the pandemic.
The state of Georgia recorded a total of 1,797 auto accident fatalities in 2021, and that number dropped to 1,786 deaths in 2022. Unfortunately, that was only a negligible drop of 0.6% .
The Department of Transportation has responded to the increase in car accident fatalities by announcing its National Roadway Safety Strategy. This is an initiative that focuses on safer roads, safer vehicles, safer persons, better post crash care and safer speeds. How effective the National Roadway Safety Strategy will be, however, remains to be seen.
The fact is that most American roads are designed primarily for motorists driving at high speeds. Auto accident deaths involving pedestrians and bicyclists, for example, have been on the increase. Most roadways prioritize motorists over other vulnerable users of the roads, leading to disastrous consequences. A stronger focus on safer vehicles by the federal administration is also welcome because the American appetite for large- sized pickup trucks and SUVs does not seem to be dropping. An explosion in the number of larger vehicles is also being blamed for a spike in the number of people being killed in pedestrian and bicycle accidents. A combination of all these factors is leading to continuous increases in auto accident deaths.
The Atlanta car crash attorneys at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons injured in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident, talk to a lawyer at our firm and determine if you have legal options to a claim for damages. You may be eligible for compensation that includes medical expenses, lost income and other types of damages. Talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your case.