According to federal traffic safety data, the number of deaths on U.S. roads has decreased significantly in recent years. However, the decline in fatal car accidents is not due to safer and more conscientious driving habits, but to innovative safety features in new vehicles.
In fact, speeding and other aggressive driving behaviors are responsible for about one-third of traffic fatalities in the U.S., indicating that more needs to be done to encourage safe driving in New Jersey and throughout the country.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that about 33,000 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2010, which figures out to about 1.1 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled during the year. Those numbers are the lowest traffic death statistics on record in the U.S.
However, about 10,500 of those fatalities – roughly 1/3 of the total number of car accident deaths – occurred in crashes caused by speeding and aggressive driving. According to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the reason for this high number is a general public indifference to the issue of speeding and a lack of sufficient laws and police personnel to enforce them.
The GHSA advises that states adopt stricter laws against aggressive driving and add additional police enforcement of speed zones near schools and construction sites. It remains to be seen whether states will comply with this request.
If you or a family member has been injured in a car accident caused by speeding or aggressive driving, please contact Breslin & Breslin for a free consultation.
Source: The Car Connection, “Speeding, Aggressive Driving Still Cause 1/3 Of Fatal Accidents,” Richard Read, Mar. 9, 2012
