Traffic Fatalities Down 10% This Year

Perhaps we can thank the escalated gas prices of the not so distant past for the decrease in traffic fatalities. After all, who could really afford to fill up some of those SUVs when gas prices were over $4 a gallon. Or, as some people believe, now that gas prices have dropped well below the $1.90 per gallon mark, maybe we can attribute the decline in traffic fatalities to the notion that low gas prices mean more people are out of work and staying at home which means less traffic and less gas being purchased.

Whatever the case may be, traffic fatalities are down 10% this year and heading towards reaching the absolute lowest percentage since traffic fatalities became of interest to the Transportation Department 42 years ago in 1966. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters comments, “Our focus on safety has led to one of the safest periods in our nation’s transportation history. Every American can be more confident than ever they will arrive at their destination safe and sound.”

This by no means suggests that traffic fatalities have been eliminated or that there isn’t still much work to be done in continuing to decrease fatalities due to traffic scenarios. There is evidence however, that does support that, once again, the failing economy has something to do with what’s happening with the decrease in fatalities.

According to the Department of Transportation, this year in October Americans drive 8.9 billion less miles than the same time last year. There is no data or evidence that the decrease in fatalities directly correlates with less driving but University of Texas Professor Chandra Bhat says that when people drive less and there are fewer drivers on the road, there is a connection to fewer fatalities.

So, whether you’re one of the ones who has cut back on driving or just noticing fewer cars on the road, there may be something to the saying about safety in numbers; smaller numbers that is. Another source that is a viable consideration for the decrease in fatalities can be placed with the law and targeted enforcement along with removing those who drive drunk from the roads and highways before they can cause an accident or worse yet a traffic fatality that kills someone else.