According to a Smart Growth America report, pedestrian fatalities, excessive speeding, and overall traffic fatalities increased in 2020. The report aligns with findings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA).
“All highway safety approaches – infrastructure improvements, traffic enforcement, community engagement, and others – are needed to address the many highway safety threats that all road users face every day,” Jonathan Adkins, GHSA executive director, said in a statement following the report’s release. “No single approach will be completely effective. Even as we work towards better roadway planning and speed control, we will still need other safety countermeasures to fill the gap as we bring the built environment nationwide up to what it should be.”
To eliminate traffic fatalities, there must be a thoughtful, data-driven consideration of how all highway safety countermeasures must work together, Adkins said.
Drivers’ behavior also must be addressed, he said.
Impaired driving is the leading behavioral contributing factor in fatal crashes, according to the NHTSA, and results in nearly 10,000 deaths in the United States annually.
In September, GHSA issued four recommendations for criminal justice reform to fight racism in traffic enforcement. These must be used in addition to stopping impaired drivers and preventing recidivism, Adkins said.