More Americans were killed by distracted drivers in 2021 than the year before. More Americans were killed by drunk drivers in 2021 than the year before. More drivers died with their seatbelts unfastened. More bicyclists were killed by drivers. More pedestrians… there’s… there’s just nothing but horrific news here. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released its annual study of crashes on America’s roadways, and it’s a relentless parade of tragic and frustrating news.
It takes NHTSA more than a year to compile full statistics and check them for errors, so the latest report reflects car accidents in 2021, not 2022. That was a year of COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions, when police groups nationwide reported that the smaller number of drivers on America’s roads were acting more recklessly than normal. But putting numbers to the phenomenon brings the horror into focus. There were 42,939 people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes on U.S. roadways during 2021 … a 10% increase from 39,007 fatalities in 2020, the agency says. The total number of accidents rose by an astonishing 16%. Survivable injuries increased by 9.4%.Type of vehicle mattered little Americans buy more trucks and SUVs than sedans thes …