U.S. road deaths reach a 'crisis level': Traffic fatalities soared by 10.4% in the first half of 2016

  • The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 17,775 road deaths in the first six months of 2016
  • Number was likely to be higher in the second half due to warmer weather and seasonal driving, according to NHTSA
  • The jump in the first half of the year follows a spike in 2015, when road deaths rose 7.2 per cent to 35,092, the highest increase since 1966

By Reuters

Published: 09:46 EST, 5 October 2016 | Updated: 13:35 EST, 6 October 2016

U.S. traffic deaths jumped 10.4 per cent in the first six months of 2016 to a 'crisis' level, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wednesday.

The NHTSA said there were 17,775 road deaths in the first six months of the year.

Officials added that the number was likely to be higher in the second half due to warmer weather and seasonal driving, prompting concerns the number of traffic fatalities could reach it's highest point in 50 years. 

The worrying statistics raised concerns that more drivers are being distracted behind the wheel.

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U.S. traffic deaths jumped 10.4 per cent in the first six months of 2016 to a 'crisis' level, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wednesday (stock)

U.S. traffic deaths jumped 10.4 per cent in the first six months of 2016 to a 'crisis' level, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wednesday (stock)

The jump in the first half of the year follows a spike in 2015, when road deaths rose 7.2 per cent to 35,092, the highest full-year increase since 1966. 

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind called the rising deaths a 'crisis' and urged swift actions to reverse the trend after years of declines.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said it believes it 'is now increasingly likely that the vision of zero deaths and serious injuries can be achieved in the next 30 years'.

The government agency said vehicle miles driven rose 3.3 per cent in the first half of 2016.

The fatality rate in the first half of the year has risen to its highest since 2009, NHTSA said. Last year, total U.S. traffic crashes rose by 4 per cent to 6.3million, while people injured rose 4.5 per cent to 2.44million.

Much of the increase in 2015 was driven by a jump in pedestrian, motorcycle, and bicycle deaths, NHTSA said. 

Rosekind and other policy makers at an event outside Washington called for a goal of reaching 'zero road deaths' within 30 years.

The NHTSA said there were 17,775 road deaths in the first six months of the year (file picture), prompting government officials to call for action to reverse the dangerous trend 

The NHTSA said there were 17,775 road deaths in the first six months of the year (file picture), prompting government officials to call for action to reverse the dangerous trend 

Many American cities have adopted similar 'Vision Zero' programs.

NHTSA plans to bring other federal agencies and safety groups together to work on more concrete plans over the next year or more to roll out a vision of zero road deaths, including addressing road design and speed limits.

With human error accounting for 94 per cent of crashes, officials acknowledge self-driving vehicles and other automated vehicle systems will be necessary to meet the goal.

Video courtesy of Local 15 TV 

NHTSA said in a study released in 2014 that the annual societal costs of U.S. traffic crashes is $836billion in economic loss and societal harm.

In April, the United Nations General Assembly backed a plan to create a Road Safety Trust Fund to support efforts to reduce traffic deaths. 

Road crashes kill more than 1.25million people and injure as many as 50million people a year globally, the United Nations has said.

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