According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 8,730 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents from January through March compared to the 7,900 deaths in the same time period in 2020.
Traffic fatalities are continuing to rise, a trend that began in 2020. The NHTSA reported in June that traffic fatalities rose by 7% to 38,680 last year, which is the highest number since 2007. Despite the fact that vehicles traveled 13% more than usual in 2019, this increase was due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the NHTSA, drivers are still exhibiting risky behaviors on the roads. This includes speeding, not wearing seatbelts and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The Federal Highway Administration has released preliminary data that shows that the number of vehicle miles traveled decreased by 2.1%, or roughly 14.9 billion miles, in the first three months 2021. According to the agency, there were 1.26 deaths for every 100 million miles of vehicle traveled in the first quarter of this year, as compared with 1.12 deaths in the same period in 2020.
The data for 2020 and 2021 are not final.
