UNTIED STATES – July 6, 2020 – According to an online news report from Prnewswire.com, the roads are emptier due to the pandemic, the rate of deadly crashes has increased in many parts of the country. The National Safety Council (NSC) writes that the light traffic did not benefit Americans by making the roads safer. […]
UNTIED STATES – July 6, 2020 – According to an online news report from Prnewswire.com, the roads are emptier due to the pandemic, the rate of deadly crashes has increased in many parts of the country. The National Safety Council (NSC) writes that the light traffic did not benefit Americans by making the roads safer. With a drop in miles traveled came a rise in fatalities per miles traveled. The rate actually increased by 36.6 percent while miles traveled declined by eighteen percent as compared to the same time period in 2019.
Last year, the nation had an average of 1.08 fatalities for every 100 million miles traveled. This year, that number rose to 1.47.
Some states have experienced drastic rises, such as Connecticut, which suffered an increase of 45 percent. Sadly, the NSC is projecting more deaths over the July 4th holiday weekend. Estimates state that 405 people are likely to be killed over the long weekend in traffic violence. Alcohol will play a role in 40 percent of those deaths if the NSC is correct.
Safety advocates are disturbed by the rise in fatal wrecks in spite of fewer cars being out on the road. One official pointed out that medical professionals should be allowed to focus on responding to the pandemic rather than treating patients injured in preventable accidents such as collisions.
Much of the reason for the rising death toll is that people are speeding more in many places around the nation. The light traffic seems to have served as an invitation for drivers to increase their speed, and the results are proving tragic. The NSC says it is important to follow speed limits even when there are few cars on the road, and that all drivers should pay attention, and stay sober.