With fewer Americans on the road, you could forgive us for assuming traffic fatalities would have been rare in 2020. But, as the COVID-19 crisis kept many of us off the roads, those still on them took new risks. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, between March and September of last year, highway deaths rose 4.6 percent, even as the number of cars on American roads plummeted.
Fewer Seat Belts, More Alcohol
The data show other disturbing trends as well. Seat belt use declined among both drivers and passengers. Between March and July, 71.6 percent of drivers in traffic stops were wearing their seat belts, compared to 78.1 percent a year before. Passenger seat belt use fell even further – 59.2 percent during the pandemic, compared to 75.4 percent before.
About two-thirds of drivers with severe or fatal injuries had alcohol in their systems, the report says, compared to 50.6 percent during the same months in 2019. Average speeds were 22 percent higher than a year before in a selection of metropolitan areas studied.
“We think the big culprit is speeding,” says Governors Highway Safety Association head Jonathan Adkins. “We are hearing from many states that traffic stops have declined during COVID-19. Drivers feel like they can speed and get away with it.”
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