The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its projections for traffic fatalities in 2022, estimating that 31,785 people died in traffic crashes in the first nine months of the year. While this was a slight decrease from the number of fatalities from car accidents in 2021, it is still too high.
With the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic receding, Americans are driving more. There was a 1.6% increase in vehicle miles traveled in the first nine months of 2022. This means that the traffic fatality rate decreased slightly.
Just as troubling, if not more troubling, than the continued elevated level of traffic fatalities, pedestrian, motorcyclist and bicyclist traffic deaths increased. These increases included an 8% increase among bicyclists, 5% among motorcyclists and an increase of 2% in pedestrian deaths. Here is a link to the NHTSA report: https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813406
Every death and injury on our roadways is a tragedy. Almost all injury accidents can be avoided by more careful driving. Slowing down, driving defensively, obeying traffic laws, and abstaining from drugs and alcohol are things we all must do to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads.
Attorney Polich is a partner at LawtonCates. He has been representing injured victims of car and truck collisions throughout Wisconsin for over 20 years. Call Attorney Polich now at (608) 282-6200.