Traffic fatalities are up 14% so far in 2015, according to new data from the nonprofit National Safety Council.
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Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council says, “Follow the numbers: the trend we are seeing on our roadways is like a flashing red light – danger lies ahead”.
During the first six months of 2015, almost 19,000 people were killed on the nation’s highways, an increase of 14 percent since 2014, the NSC reports. The increases began in the last quarter of 2014 and have been recorded consistently through each month of this year, Hersman said.
The nation’s driving steadily increased for 15 consecutive months through May, the Transportation Department said in July.
The council also reported that serious traffic injuries were up nationwide by 30 percent during the same period to 2.2 million, and costs from injuries and property damage were up 24 percent to $152 billion. On average, gasoline prices are down 30 percent from 2014.
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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.
“For many years people have said, ‘If distraction is such a big issue, why don’t we see an increase in fatal crash numbers?’ Well, we’re seeing increasing fatal crashes numbers, but I think it’s complicated to tease out what that is due to”, Hersman tells the AP.
Jonathan Adkins, government director of Governors Freeway Security Affiliation, which represents state freeway security workplaces, confirmed that states have taken word of the development as properly.
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NSC reports the higher death and injury toll could be caused by many factors, including an improving economy, lower gas prices and lower unemployment rates. “However after such historic declines in recent times, it isn’t sudden to see an upswing”.
