Unsafe roads in the US in 2021

The US is seeing unsafe roads in 2021.
By MJ Woof November 9, 2021 Read time: 1 min
The US has a serious issue with road crashes that it desperately needs to address – image © courtesy of Tom Schwimmbeck

The US desperately needs to address its road safety problem. The first six months of 2021 has seen an increase in US road traffic deaths of 18.4%.

The US Transportation Department says that this is the highest six-month increase in the history of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests that there were around 20,160 fatalities in road crashes in the first six months of 2021. This was a shocking increase of 3,140 from the figure for the first six months of 2020.

Traffic volumes grew 13% on US roads for the first six months of 2021 compared with the low levels seen for 2020.

The figures are of serious concern. While traffic volumes were low at the height of the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, US road deaths actually grew compared with 2019. The fatality rate was high during this period due to increased levels of DUI and speeding amongst US drivers. Now that the threat from COVID-19 is being addressed, it is of key concern that road safety in the US continues to decline.
Highway & Network Management

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Better road safety reduces Europe’s casualty figures
    October 2, 2014
    Improving road safety in the EU has resulted in a drop in the fatality rate. Official figures just released show that the number of people killed on Europe's roads fell by 8% in 2013. This follows on from the drop in fatalities of between 2011 and 2012 and Europe is on track to halve road deaths in the 2010-2020 period Figures released by the European Commission provide grounds for optimism and Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) said, “We welcome the reductio
    Read More
  • US pedestrian deaths are a cause for concern
    March 3, 2020
    The increase in US pedestrian deaths is a cause for concern
    Read More
  • Safety improvements in developed nations
    August 20, 2013
    At a time when road safety is posing a significant threat to both human health and economic development around the world, it is worth noting that in many developed nations the situation is improving. The United Nations has identified road safety as a major problem and established its Decade of Action for Road Safety for the 2010-2020 period, in a bid to cut the growing death toll. But while developing nations are seeing a vast growth in vehicle numbers and road fatalities, the improving road safety situ
    Read More
  • Road safety gain for Argentina
    July 1, 2024
    Argentina is benefiting from a road safety gain.
    Read More

Highlighted Content