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

  • Europe’s road safety targets at risk
    July 10, 2015
    This new analysis has been published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). According to the ETSC data, 2014 showed the lowest annual reduction in EU road deaths since 2001. In all 25,845 people were killed in road crashes in the 28 nations of the EU during 2014. This represented a decrease of just 0.6% compared to 2013. EU member states now need to cut deaths by almost 8% each year until 2020 to meet the target set in 2010 to halve deaths within a decade.
    Read More
  • Thailand’s major road safety problem
    October 23, 2015
    Thailand has a serious problem with regard to road safety, which needs to be addressed. This is leading to a high number of deaths and serious injuries, with a draining effect on the country’s economy as well as carrying a social impact. The 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that Thailand has the second-highest road-fatality figures globally. There were 14,059 people killed in road crashes in Thailand in 2012, with the country having a death rate
    Read More
  • India’s new expressway link
    April 12, 2021
    Accelerated road construction methods are being used to build an expressway link in India, setting records along the way
    Read More
  • Road safety is an EU priority
    March 2, 2012
    The preparation of the new EU Road Safety Policy for the next decade will take place during Spain's presidency of the EU. Patrick Smith reports. An the past 10 years, half a million people have been killed on European Union roads, with road crashes costing an annual €160 billion or 2% the EU's GDP.
    Read More

Highlighted Content