A new report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that traffic fatalities in 2021 increased 10.5 percent over the previous year, reaching a 16-year high.
According to early estimates of traffic fatalities last year, the NHTSA estimates that 42,915 people died in motor vehicle crashes, up from 38,824 in 2020. The increase represents the largest traffic fatality rate since 2005 and the largest percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.
“We face a crisis on America’s roadways that we must address together,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “With our National Roadway Safety Strategy and the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are taking critical steps to help reverse this devastating trend and save lives on our roadways.”
To combat this, officials said, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) includes funding for the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, which will invest up to $6 billion over five years to fund local efforts to reduce roadway crashes and fatalities. The BIL also includes Complete Streets policies and standards; updates to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, defining speeds, lane markings, and traffic lights on most roads; and increases funding to the Highway Safety Improvement Program to help states adopt data-driven approaches to safer streets roads.
“This crisis on our roads is urgent and preventable,” said Dr. Steven Cliff, NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator. “We will redouble our safety efforts, and we need everyone – state and local governments, safety advocates, automakers, and drivers – to join us. All of our lives depend on it.”
According to the NHTSA’s reports, which looked at state-level estimates during the pandemic, preliminary data shows that Americans increased their vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 325 billion miles in 2021, up about 11.2 percent over 2020. Data estimates also indicate the fatality rate for 2021 was 1.33 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from 1.34 in 2020.