Number of traffic fatalities since pandemic began rises again
The number of traffic deaths in Alabama has risen 6% over the past several years, a national transportation research nonprofit reported.
In Alabama, 989 people died in vehicle crashes in 2022, up 6% from 2019, according to TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit. Traffic fatalities numbered 983 in 2021, 934 in 2020 and 930 in 2019.
Nationally, traffic deaths increased 19% from 2019 to 2022, from 36,096 to 42,795.
The Alabama Legislature has passed laws to protect motorists. In 2023, lawmakers prohibited the use of hand-held telecommunications devices while driving. In 2021, lawmakers passed a law "prohibiting the use of left lanes on interstate highways to vehicles that have not completely passed another vehicle within 1.5 miles," according to TRIP's news release. The Legislature in 2021 also approved doubling fines to $250 for traffic violations in work zones.
In early 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation created the National Roadway Safety Strategy to address the rise in traffic fatalities since the pandemic. The plan was designed to educate people, design roads that mitigate human mistakes, support safer vehicles, encourage slowing speed limits and help people after crashes.
“The approaches to transportation safety that got us to this point are clearly not delivering the impact they once did,” said Jake Nelson, the AAA director of traffic safety advocacy and research, in the news release. “With record-setting investment in our nation’s transportation system, we have a real-time opportunity to leverage it to turn the tide on traffic deaths and serious injuries among road users.”
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Lawmakers can also reduce fatal crashes by investing in roadway safety improvements.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety created a report in 2017 that showed the nation has a "$146 billion backlog in needed roadway safety improvements," according to the news release. The report found that improving roadway safety would save about 63,700 lives and lower the number of serious injuries as a result of traffic crashes by about 350,000 over 20 years.
“Making a commitment to eliminating fatal and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways will require robust investment and coordinated activities by transportation and safety-related agencies in providing the needed layers of protection for the nation’s motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists, including safe road users, safe roads, safe vehicles, safe speeds and high-quality post-crash care,” said Dave Kearby, TRIP’s executive director.
Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Number of traffic fatalities since pandemic began rises again
