US highways are getting deadlier, with fatalities up 22%
March 14, 2023 | Filed under: Safety
A must-read article on how crashes, injuries and fatalities are on the rise in the US.
The wreckage of a 2019 Buick Encore after a January 2020 crash. The car smashed into a tree, and the driver had to climb out of the burning wreckage. She admitted she was texting with her sister. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
In 2022, there were 46,000 fatalities nationwide. How many of those were distracted driving related? The NHTSA says, less than 10%.
But experts in the field say these numbers are gross underestimates. The National Distracted Driving Coalition estimates the actual numbers lie between 25% to 30%.
“It’s much bigger than the data show,” said Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Data collection methods are so riddled with problems, he said, that reliable estimates are difficult if not impossible.
Read more about it out here and, for those who prefer watching rather than reading, scroll down to the bottom of the page for a 5m49s video on the subject.
The wreckage of a 2019 Buick Encore after a January 2020 crash. The car smashed into a tree, and the driver had to climb out of the burning wreckage. She admitted she was texting with her sister. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
In 2022, there were 46,000 fatalities nationwide. How many of those were distracted driving related? The NHTSA says, less than 10%.
But experts in the field say these numbers are gross underestimates. The National Distracted Driving Coalition estimates the actual numbers lie between 25% to 30%.
“It’s much bigger than the data show,” said Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Data collection methods are so riddled with problems, he said, that reliable estimates are difficult if not impossible.
Read more about it out here and, for those who prefer watching rather than reading, scroll down to the bottom of the page for a 5m49s video on the subject.
Source: Los Angeles Times
