Trafficking deaths in California rose 10.7 percent in 2021 from 2020, reflecting a grim upward trend across the country, according to estimates released this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The federal agency said approximately 4,258 people died in crashes in California last year – from 3,847 in 2020 – marking the second consecutive year in which deaths in the state are increasing. The total number represents about one-tenth of all deaths in the country in 2021 and is indicative, state transport officials said, of a “crisis on our roads.”
“It is extremely tragic that nearly 10% of all deaths in the country last year occurred on the roads of California – 4,258 lives were lost and countless families will never see a loved one again,” said the Secretary of State of the California State Transportation Agency. Tox Omishakin and California Traffic Safety Director Barbara Rooney said in a joint statement. (Californians make up about 12% of the United States population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau).
Across the country, trafficking deaths increased by 10.5% in 2021 compared to 2020, with 44 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico reporting an increase. Approximately 42,915 people – more than enough to occupy seats in Oracle Park – were killed on the road in 2021. This is the highest number of deaths in traffic in the United States in 16 years, according to NHTSA estimates.
“This crisis on our roads is urgent and preventable,” said Stephen Cliff, deputy administrator of NHTSA, in a statement. “We will redouble our safety efforts and we need everyone – state and local authorities, safety advocates, carmakers and drivers – to join us. Our whole life depends on it. “
NHTSA is still collecting traffic data from 2020 and 2021 and the figures are subject to change. The full annual report for 2021 will be published later this year.
According to preliminary findings, deaths across the country and the death rate per 100 million mileage (VMT) increased during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Homework policies have left many roads wide open for a while, and law enforcement and transport officials said some people may have developed a tendency to drive faster and therefore more dangerously as a result. In the Gulf region, despite more empty roads in 2020, most local counties are reporting increased trafficking deaths.
As these policies were repealed and many people returned to their travels in 2021, VMT overall jumped by about 11% across the country. Trafficking deaths and trafficking deaths per 100 million VMT increased by early 2021 and then declined in the second, third and fourth quarters of the year. Mortality rates per 100 million VMT were roughly the same between 2020 and 2021, NHTSA officials said.
Twenty-two states are seeing a greater increase in trafficking deaths in 2021 than California. Idaho led the way with a 33.6% increase, moving from 214 deaths in 2020 to 286 deaths in 2022. Puerto Rico reported a growth of 39.3%. Wyoming was the only state with a double-digit reduction in trafficking deaths, with 113 deaths last year down 11 percent, according to NHTSA data.
Early NHTSA findings show that between 2020 and 2021, nationwide deaths from multiple vehicle accidents increased by 16%, deaths on urban roads increased by 16%, and pedestrian deaths increased by 13% and deaths among cyclists have increased by 5%.
Public transport officials said Wednesday that the problem of growing deaths in California is not a “single solution” and that “multiple layers of protection” will be needed to reduce the number of accidents and the severity of accidents.
The state’s approach to a safe system of traffic safety seeks to eliminate deaths and serious injuries as a result of accidents. It is similar to the Vision Zero approach that some cities, including San Francisco and San Jose, have adopted. Both methods are committed to reducing damage from accidents through education and access, enforcement of road traffic law, improvements in infrastructure and design, and a focus on targeting areas that are particularly deadly.
Over the next five years, California will receive $ 9.45 billion for public transportation and $ 25.3 billion for highways from the $ 1 trillion infrastructure bill passed last fall. The law also increases funding for the federal highway safety program, which will provide the state with $ 242 million to pay for projects that help reduce fatal and severe accidents, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D.C., said in December. -San Francisco.
“We need to create a more forgiving transport system and add more layers of protection that together will reduce the number and severity of accidents,” Omishakin and Rooney said in a statement Wednesday. “We will work tirelessly to make this happen, and we will not be happy until the annual death toll in California is zero forever.
Andy Picken (he / she) is a freelance writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon
Add Comment