Nationwide, motor vehicle crash fatalities increased 7.2 percent in 2015, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The increase, detailed in 2015 Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview, is the largest percentage increase in nearly 50 years.
Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities increased by 3.2 percent, from 9,943 in 2014 to 10,265 in 2015. These crashes account for 29 percent of 2015 overall fatalities.
“The data tell us that people die when they drive drunk, distracted, or drowsy, or if they are speeding or unbuckled,” said NHTSA Administrator, Dr. Mark Rosekind. “While there have been enormous improvements in many of these areas, we need to find new solutions to end traffic fatalities.”
Other trends noted in the report are:
- Passenger car and light-truck occupant fatalities are at their highest since 2009.
- Motorcycle fatalities increased 8.3 percent.
- Pedestrian fatalities increased by 9.5 percent
- Bicyclist fatalities increased by 12.2 percent.
- Vehicle miles traveled increased by 3.5 percent.
The crash data comes from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
Read the full report at https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812318.
