The National Safety Council estimates that financial spending on traffic accidents has risen 24 percent to $152 billion in the first six months of the year, according to NBC News.
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More than 18,000 people have lost their lives on the road this year.
That count doesn’t include deaths in July and August.
If the same fatality rate holds for the last six months of 2015, the annual number of highway deaths could top 40,000 for the first time in eight years.
Other safety experts say the death toll would be even higher were it not for the addition of new, high-tech equipment, such as electronic stability control, on today’s vehicles.
Americans have driven 1.26 trillion miles in the first five months of 2015.
Nevertheless, the cumulative improve in auto mileage this yr by way of Might is three.four %, far lower than the 14 % improve in deaths, Hersman famous.
Deborah Hersman, president of NSC, told the AP the increases can’t be accounted for by vehicle miles traveled. Deaths from crashes involving drunken driving have dropped from about 50 percent of fatalities to about 30 percent, Hersman said. CNN Money is reporting that part of the increase in traffic deaths is attributed to lower fuel costs, according to the NSC news release. This generally means an increase in traffic; more people can afford to drive, and many travel longer distances and take vacations. And cars have more safety technology than ever, although drivers sometimes don’t use it or don’t know how to use it, Hersman said. “The increase is definitely troubling, but after such historic declines in recent years, it’s not unexpected to see an upswing”.
More than 2.2 million people have suffered serious injuries in crashes. “Well, we’re seeing increasing fatal crashes numbers, but I think it’s complicated to tease out what that is due to”.
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“We have expected an uptick in travel and, sadly, deaths”, Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, reported to the AP.
