The NHTSA has released its traffic fatality report for 2010. Traffic fatalities have been declining for several years and have continued to do so. This is great news for everybody on the road. http://www.cardealexpert.com/news-information/auto-news/traffic-fatalities/
Drinking and driving killing
There are few things more dangerous than an individual behind the wheel who's under the influence of alcohol. Probably the most recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report came out and showed information on traffic fatalities. It showed that many fatalities are still coming from drunk driving.
The Wall Street Journal explains that several traffic fatalities come from alcohol. About 31 percent were alcohol-related last year. A 4.9 percent drop was shown in traffic fatalities from 2009 to 2010. They went down from 10,759 to 10,228 deaths.
Another problem is distracted driving. There were 3,092 traffic fatalities from “distraction-affected” crashes, though NHTSA criteria for what constitutes distracted driving has been changed for this year. In 2009, there were 5,474 fatalities which were distracted related.
Not as many individuals dying
The amount of yearly traffic fatalities has been declin-ing, according to the Wall Street Journal, since the 1980s. Deaths from drunk driving decreased probably the most rapidly. There has been a 41 percent decrease in deaths from drunk driving since 2000. It has gone down to 10,228 from 17,380.
MSNBC explains that 2010 was the smallest rate of total traffic deaths, at 32,885, since 1949. That is a 2.9 percent decrease from 2009. According to USA Today, Americans have really driven 1.6 percent more miles last year, which equates to an extra 46 billion miles. Throughout the nation, Americans traveled around 3 trillion miles. That is a lot of driving.
Deaths declined most sharply among the under-21 set. A 39 percent decrease was shown very well from 2006 to 2010. It went down 39 percent. Traffic fatalities overall dropped by 23 percent in that peri-od. The amount of fatalities in light trucks and vehicles for passen-gers went down also. There were more fatalities with pedestrians, heavy trucks and motor-cycles when it came to passengers though.
Pay attention whenever you drive
According to Automobile Magazine, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-tion is concerned with the volume of distracted-driving related accidents and deaths, specifically those caused by using a phone behind the wheel.
Whether there was a cell phone at the crash scene or not was recorded in 2009 while 2010’s recorded whether the phone was being used at all during the ride. The NHTSA is worried that phones are causing more fatalities than they need to. There are more and more mobile phone-related fatalities occurring.
In order to test how driving is affected by distractions such as phones, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is going to do a brand new study. This one will consist of sensors and cameras in a car. People’s reactions to distractions in the vehicle will be looked at with the data that is collected. By 2014, that study should be finished.
Sources
Wall Street Journal
USA Today
MSNBC
USA Today
Automobile Magazine
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