Nearly half of fatal crashes occur on rural roads despite only 19 percent of the U.S. population living in rural areas, according to a recent Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) report funded by State Farm.
The report, “America’s Rural Roads: Beautiful and Deadly,” examines the extent of the rural road safety problem, who dies in these crashes, and what risky driving behavior contributed.
For 2016 and 2020, the five most recent years of data, 85,002 people died in crashes on rural roads. The risk of dying in a crash on a rural road compared to an urban road for the same trip length was 62 percent higher in 2020.
Deaths on rural roads grew in 2021, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
The cause has been attributed to risky driver behavior such as not wearing a seat belt, impaired driving, speeding and distraction; simpler roadway infrastructure; poor emergency medical services; and lack of safety resources.
“Roads are the backbone of rural America, connecting far-flung communities and families. While cities and urban areas have alternatives to driving, that’s not the case for people in rural areas,” GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins said. “Unfortunately, the dangerous and deadly driving behaviors that have increased during the pandemic have taken an oversized toll on rural residents. Making rural roads safer is essential for achieving the national goal of zero fatalities.”