Less Driving Means Poor Road Conditions

July 2008

Jul 31 2008 UPDATE –The Transportation Department has reported that over the past seven months, Americans have cut back on their driving by more than 40 billion miles. Rising gas prices have led to a 3.7 percent decrease in miles driven in May, compared to miles driven last year. While this has reduced the number of car accidents, it also means more dangerous road conditions for those who do drive.

This is because consumers are paying less in federal fuel taxes, which go toward financing highway and mass-transit systems. Therefore, funds available to rebuild the country's deteriorating highway system are gradually decreasing. Currently, approximately 25 percent of U.S. bridges are either "functionally obsolete" or "structurally deficient," such as the Mississippi River bridge that collapsed last August, leading to the deaths of 13 people. Additionally, pavement is rated "not acceptable" in one out of every seven miles of the nation's roads.

Jul 22 2008 ORIGINAL ALERT – With the steady rise in gas prices, researchers with the National Safety Council are noticing another trend: a sharp decrease in traffic deaths. While it has not been proven that the two are directly related, fewer people on the road usually means fewer auto accidents.

According to researchers, there has been an overall 9 percent drop in motor vehicle deaths through May 2008 – including an 18 percent decrease in March and a 14 percent decrease in April – compared with the first five months of 2007. Some states, such as Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and New Jersey, have reported declines of 20 percent or more. Thirty-one states, including Washington and Florida, have cited declines of at least 10 percent.

Other factors that could be contributing to the decrease in deaths are more police pursuits of dangerous speeders, better teen-licensing programs, safer vehicles, and higher seatbelt use. The last time the United States saw a significant decrease in traffic deaths was during the Arab oil embargo from 1973-1974, when fatalities plummeted 17 percent. Also, when the national drinking age was raised to 21 in the early 1980s, traffic deaths fell 11 percent.