This year, the US will reach a total four million deaths on the road since 1899, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA).
To mark this 'grim and tragic milestone', the organisation's chief executive, Jonathan Adkins, is calling for a renewed sense of urgency to tackle this "safety crisis". He says more enforcement and better road design are key areas in which improvements can be made.
"This year, the US will mark a grim and tragic milestone: four million roadway deaths since 1899,” said the GHSA in a written statement. “Every single one of these people left behind countless family members, friends, colleagues and neighbours. It’s impossible to fully comprehend the grief and tragedy caused by a single death, let alone four million. Something must change."
The US Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy provides a roadmap for preventing crashes, injuries and deaths by using a holistic approach of interconnected countermeasures. While roadway fatalities have declined slightly in the past year, this modest progress pales in comparison to the large increases we saw at the start of and during the height of the pandemic, noted the GHSA. “The road to zero traffic deaths is long, but we know how to get there – doubling down on the strategies that improve safety.”
The GHSA wants to see a more equitable enforcement focused on dangerous driving behaviours, infrastructure that slows down speeding drivers and protects people outside of vehicles, community outreach and engagement programmes, improved vehicle technology and better post-crash care.
"We also must renew our sense of urgency in addressing this safety crisis,” said the association. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been without a confirmed leader for much of the past seven years. Since January 2017 – a span of more than 2,500 days – the agency has had a Senate-confirmed Administrator for a total of only 96 days. GHSA continues to call for the swift confirmation of a proven safety leader to help guide the agency during this critical time for roadway safety."
The GHSA said it continues to prioritise equity in traffic safety and the need to address the risky driving behaviours that kill people on our roads every day.
Over the past year, the association has updated its Policies and Priorities to reflect GHSA’s support for lower state Blood Alcohol Content limits for impaired drivers, commitment to advancing equity in every aspect of traffic safety and dedication to the Safe System approach. Last year, GHSA formed an Equity and Engagement Committee to address key barriers to greater equity, promote outreach and engagement in underserved communities, and guide efforts to prioritize equity in all association initiatives.
Meanwhile, the GHSA has raised public awareness of the pedestrian safety crisis and how to make roads safer for people on foot. Drivers struck and killed more than 7,500 people walking in 2022 – the most since 1981 and an average of 20 deaths every day – according to GHSA’s data analysis. GHSA will release a preliminary look at pedestrian fatality data for the first half of 2023 later this month.
The GHSA has also offered competitive grants to State Highway Safety Offices to support access to safe, equitable mobility and youth active transportation safety projects in underserved areas, prevent alcohol and drug-impaired driving during the holidays (when ‘driving under the influence’ rates rise) and throughout the year and combat the widespread but preventable problem of distracted driving.
