The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said an estimated 31,720 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the first nine months of 2021, an increase of nearly 12 percent over the first nine months of 2020.
The agency’s projection is the highest number of fatalities during the first nine months of the year since 2006, as well as the highest percentage increase during the first nine-month in the history of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The agency said 28,325 people died in the first nine months of 2020.
“This is a national crisis. We cannot and must not accept these deaths as an inevitable part of everyday life,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The good news is we now have a strategy, as well as the resources and programs to deliver it, thanks to the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The National Roadway Safety Strategy is America’s first-ever national, comprehensive plan to significantly reduce deaths and injuries on our roads.”
The announcement comes just days after the U.S. Department of Transportation released its first-ever National Roadway Safety Strategy that addresses roadway fatalities and serious injuries.
The early estimate provides a first look at state-level traffic fatality estimates during the pandemic. When compared to numbers from 2020, the agency said fatalities increased in 38 states, remained flat in two, and decreased in 10 states and the District of Columbia.
Vehicle miles traveled during the first nine months of 2021 also increased by about 244 billion miles – a nearly 12 percent increase over the same time in 2020. The increased miles and fatalities resulted in a slightly increased fatality rate of 1.36 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled, up from 1.35 fatalities per 100 million miles. However, the NHTSA noted that fatality rates in the second and third quarters of 2021 declined compared to the same time frames in 2020.