Traffic deaths nationally jumped 9% in the first six months of 2016 compared to the same period past year, according to preliminary numbers from the National Safety Council.
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The National Safety Council says one thing we can all do is buckle up.
Traffic deaths were up 9% in the first half of this year. Last winter, the National Safety Council issued its largest year-over-year percentage increase in 50 years, when it estimated fatalities had jumped 8 percent in 2015 compared to 2014.
“While many factors likely contributed to the fatality increase, a stronger economy and lower unemployment rates are at the core of the trend”, the council said in a statement.
(21Alive) -Traffic fatalities seem to be on the increase across the United States. It seems even some of them are texting while behind the wheel.
An economic turnaround has led to more driving for work and travel, and the council estimates the number of miles driven has increased 3.3 percent. It is the council’s highest estimate since 2008, when the group predicted 439 deaths and 473 people actually died.
“Our complacency is killing us”, said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and chief executive officer of the National Safety Council.
Also on the rise are the number of people texting behind the wheel.
The NSC estimated about 438 people will be killed in traffic crashes during the Labor Day holiday weekend, from September 2 to September 5. “One hundred deaths every day should outrage us”.
States with the biggest increases since the upward trend began in 2014 include Vermont, Oregon, New Hampshire, Idaho, Florida, Iowa, Georgia, and Indiana.
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The figures released Tuesday by the National Safety Council suggest a second year of increasing fatalities.
