The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released essential traffic data for the first half of 2022. The dataset includes early estimates of traffic fatalities, which show an interesting trend, especially in recent month of the semester this year.
According to the first estimates of road deaths for the first half of 2022, around 20,175 people died in road accidents. This represents an increase of around 0.5% from the 20,070 deaths estimated by the agency for the same period in 2021.
However, the NHTSA notes that the second quarter of 2022, from April to June, reflects a decline in road deaths. This is the first time this has happened after seven consecutive quarters of annual increases in the number of deaths which began in the third quarter of 2020.
“Road traffic deaths appear to be falling for the first time since 2020, but they are still at high levels that call for urgent and sustained action. These deaths are preventable, not inevitable, and we must act on them,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. . “Safety is our guiding mission at the Department of Transportation, and we will redouble our efforts to reduce the tragic number of fatalities on our nation’s roads.”
It is important to note that NHTSA data goes hand in hand with Federal Highway Administration data from USDOT. It shows a 2.8% increase in vehicle-kilometres traveled in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year. The data also shows that the mortality rate for the first half of 2022 fell to 1.27 deaths per 100 million VMT – a decrease from 1.30 deaths per 100 million VMT in the first half of 2021.
NHTSA also noted that the National Traffic Safety Strategy was introduced in January this year, which outlines a comprehensive approach to significantly reduce serious injuries and fatalities on highways, roads and streets. President Biden’s bipartisan Infrastructure Act also provides additional funding for safety to meet the long-term goal of zero road deaths.
