The raw number of deaths logged in the agency’s Fatal Analysis Reporting System remained relatively flat last year, dropping by 0.1 percent to 32,675 lives lost, while the rate of deaths, measured per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, dropped to a record low of 1.07.
The numbers are not continuing to trend downward for 2015, however. The fatality tally in the first half of the year is up by 8.1 percent from the same period last year, while the rate rose by 4.4 percent.
Under new leadership of administrator Mark Rosekind, an expert in fatigue management, the agency is taking a more comprehensive approach to death reductions, rather than focusing solely on single issues that contribute to accidents.
The agency will launch a cross-country program of regional meetings, culminating in a national gathering in Washington, DC, to gather ideas and engage new partners to address the many human behavioral issues that contribute to road deaths.
“Behavioral safety programs are the heart of NHTSA’s safety mission,” Rosekind said in a statement. “While great public attention is focused on safety defects and recalls, and rightfully so, it is time as a nation to reinvigorate the fight against drunk and drugged driving, distraction and other risks that kill thousands every year, and time for State and local governments to reassess whether they are making the right policy choices to improve highway safety.”
Data suggests some trends are remaining “stubbornly constant” from year to year. A third of fatalities are still associated with drunk driving, while half of all occupants killed were not wearing seat belts. Unsurprisingly, deaths of motorcyclists without helmets continued to remain far higher in states without strong helmet laws.
Despite the fear-inducing warnings, the NHTSA admits that the 2015 numbers have not been corrected for several statistical factors including gasoline prices, increased job growth, more driving by young people and increased leisure driving.
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