US highway deaths decline in 2018 for second straight year

October 2019

The USA government’s road safety agency says traffic deaths has fallen for the second consecutive year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attributed the 2.4% drop due to the road safety technology included in new vehicles. A total of 36,560 people died on the nation’s roads in 2018, the latest full-year statistics available.

The agency believes that this drop in US highway deaths is set to continue in 2019. First-half estimates show fatalities down 3.4%.

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“This is encouraging news, but still far too many perished or were injured, and nearly all crashes are preventable, so much more work remains to be done to make America’s roads safer for everyone,” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, whose department oversees NHTSA, said in a statement.

However, pedestrian deaths rose by 3.5%, cyclist (and other pedalled transport) went up by 6.3% whilst people killed in large-truck crashes rose just under 1%.

The overall fall in 2017 and 2018 came after 2 years of large increases blamed on people driving more as the economy improved.

The agency also stated that alcohol-impaired fatalities dropped 3.6% in 2018, while fatalities attributed to speeding fell 5.7% whilst motorcycle deaths fell by 4.7%.

Most of the pedestrian deaths, 76%, and half the bicyclist deaths occurred after dark, and the some pedestrians and cyclists had some alcohol in their systems. Roughly half of the pedestrian deaths occurred outside of intersections, the agency reported.

NHTSA said in a statement that it’s studying changes in its five-star crash assessment program and will consider new technologies related to pedestrian and bicyclist safety. It’s also working with the Federal Highway Administration to reduce bicycle and pedestrian deaths.

_{Source: https://apnews.com/60113d3260aa44ecb4284925a95af7e7}

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