Last year deaths from traffic accidents involving large trucks, as well as bicyclists, jumped dramatically, even as overall highway fatalities dove to their lowest level since 1949, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported Monday.
In its analysis, the NHTSA said that that highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011, a 1.9 percent decrease from the previous year. The updated 2011 data shows the continuation of the “historic downward trend” in recent years of traffic fatalities, representing a 26 percent decline since 2005.
“The latest numbers show how the tireless work of our safety agencies and partners, coupled with significant advances in technology and continued public education, can really make a difference on our roadways,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “As we look to the future, it will be more important than ever to build on this progress by continuing to tackle head-on issues like seat belt use, drunk driving, and driver distraction.”
But the numbers for trucks and bicyclists took a surprisingly upturn. Fatalities increased among large truck occupants 20 percent and among pedal cyclists 8.7 percent.
“NHTSA is working with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to gather more detailed information on the large truck occupant crashes to better understand the increase in fatalities in 2011,” the NHTSA said in a press release.
Deaths for of pedestrians rose 3 percent, and were up 2.1 percent for motorcycle riders.
Although Americans drove fewer miles in 2011 than in 2010, the nearly 2 percent drop in roadway deaths significantly “outpaced the corresponding 1.2 percent decrease in vehicle miles traveled,” according to the press release.
And the updated Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) information showed that last year also saw the lowest fatality rate ever recorded, with 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2011, down from 1.11 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2010.
Other statistics included:
- Fatalities declined by 4.6 percent for occupants of passenger cars and light trucks (including SUVs, minivans and pickups).
- Deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers dropped 2.5 percent in 2011, taking 9,878 lives compared to 10,136 in 2010.
- The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes rose to 3,331 in 2011 from 3,267 in 2010, an increase of 1.9 percent. NHTSA believes this increase can be attributed in part to increased awareness and reporting.
An estimated 387,000 people were injured in distraction-affected crashes, a 7 percent decline from the estimated 416,000 people injured in such crashes in 2010, according to the press release.
Thirty-six states had fewer traffic fatalities, led by Connecticut (100 fewer fatalities), North Carolina (93 fewer), Tennessee (86 fewer), Ohio (64 fewer) and Michigan (53 fewer).
“In the past several decades, we’ve seen remarkable improvements in both the way motorists behave on our roadways and in the safety of the vehicles they drive, and we’re confident that NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings Program and nationwide collaborations like ‘Click It or Ticket’ and ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ have played a key role in making our roads safer,” NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said in a statement.
“Even as we celebrate the progress we’ve made in recent years, we must remain focused on addressing the safety issues that are continuing to claim more than 30,000 lives each year.”