The number of traffic fatalities in the United States rose in 2021 to the highest level seen in 16 years, according to data released by the Department of Transportation on Tuesday.
"We face a crisis on America's roadways that we must address together," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement released with the report.
"With our National Roadway Safety Strategy and the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are taking critical steps to help reverse this devastating trend and save lives on our roadways," he added.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 42,915 people died in 2021 from motor vehicle crashes, an increase of 10.5% from the year before when there were 38,824 reported deaths. In 2019, 36,355 motor vehicle fatalities were reported.
"An increase in dangerous driving — speeding, distracted driving, drug- and alcohol-impaired driving, not buckling up — during the pandemic, combined with roads designed for speed instead of safety, has wiped out a decade and a half of progress in reducing traffic crashes, injuries and deaths," Russ Martin, senior director of policy and government relations for the Governors Highway Safety Association, said in a statement.
The NHTSA previously allocated $740 million to help "implement programs" that aim to reduce dangerous driving.
"This crisis on our roads is urgent and preventable," said NHTSA deputy administrator Steven Cliff.
"We will redouble our safety efforts, and we need everyone — state and local governments, safety advocates, automakers, and drivers — to join us. All of our lives depend on it."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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