The National Safety Council found they are up 14 percent in the first half of 2015, compared to the first half of previous year.
Advertisement
According to a release nearly 19,000 people have died in traffic crashes across the country in the first six months of the year, which is putting the United States on pace for its deadliest driving year since 2007. The tally does not embrace two of the traditionally highest months for visitors deaths, July and August. If the trend continues, the U.S. could see the roadway death toll rise to its highest level since 2007, according to the National Safety Council. But, she said, that’s not the whole explanation for the increase in deaths and injuries.
The nation’s driving steadily increased for 15 consecutive months through May, the Transportation Department said in July. Americans broke a record by driving 1.26 trillion miles from January to May this year.
Other factors are in play, Hersman tells the AP. On average, gas prices are down 30% from 2014.
Stay engaged in teens’ driving habits.
Learn how to properly use your cars safety features.
Then again, a rising variety of states are elevating velocity limits, and in all places drivers are distracted by cellphone calls and textual content messages. The NSC estimates 25 percent of all crashes involve cell-phone use. Besides fatal crashes, that includes injury-only and property damage-only crashes.
The council said that an improving economy, shrinking unemployment rates, and gas prices may be contributing to an increase in deaths because those elements all typically lead to more traffic, as more people commute to work and can afford to drive farther and take vacations.
Advertisement
“We have expected an uptick in travel and, sadly, deaths”, Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, reported to the AP. “But after such historic declines in recent years, it’s not unexpected to see an upswing”.
