Highway Deaths Take a Turn for the Worse

April 2006

Highway deaths have been on the decline since 1986, but in 2005 the number of fatalities rose. In a preliminary report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 43,200 people died while on the road in 2005 compared to 42,636 in 2004.

The reason for the increased number of highway deaths is under dispute. The U.S. Transportation Secretary feels that wearing safety belts in cars, using motorcycle helmets, and never driving while impaired could have helped prevent these tragedies. Others contribute the rise to commercial truck and bus drivers falling asleep, cell phone use, drowsy driving, and speeding.

Other findings from the report:

• Motorcycle fatalities rose again for the eighth straight year.
• 55% of the people killed in passenger vehicles were not wearing a seat belt.
• Passenger car fatalities dropped 1.8%, but light truck occupants killed increased by 4.3%.
• Drunk driving deaths increased 1.7% in 2005 from 16,694 to 16,972.

NHTSA data is collected from police at accident scenes. The final report should be released last this summer.

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