Data from the National Highway Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows a rise in traffic deaths in the U.S. since the commencement of the coronavirus pandemic. It was anticipated that 8,730 people will die in car accidents in the first three months of 2021, compared to 7,900 deaths in the same period last year, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Although Americans drove 13 percent fewer miles in 2020, the number of road fatalities in the United States grew by 7.2 percent to 38,680, the highest annual total since 2007. Also in the first quarter of 2021, the number of deaths was the greatest since 2007. Mr. Steven Cliff said the agency was “working closely with our safety partners to address unsafe driving behaviors such as speeding, drunkenness, and neglecting to strap up.” Drivers who stayed on the road following lockdowns participated in riskier behavior, according to NHTSA data from last year.
COVID-19 may have led some motorists to behave in an unsafe manner when the number of vehicles on U.S. highways decreased, according to some experts. Not wearing seatbelts caused 15 percent more deaths in 2020, while speeding-related deaths rose 10 percent and fatal crashes involving alcohol rose 9 percentage points. Drug or alcohol usage was implicated in a greater number of serious crashes last year than in the past. Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board Jennifer Homendy said in an interview on Wednesday, the rising number of road deaths in the United States was a “sad issue” that needed to be handled holistically.