While the issue might or might not be related to the coronavirus pandemic, the solution to a sharp increase in traffic fatalities is obvious: Drive carefully.
The state Traffic Safety Commission released a report in January indicating a clear rise in fatalities and serious injuries on Washington roads in recent years. That disturbing trend appears to be continuing into 2022, calling for a reminder that we all are responsible for traffic safety.
Throughout Washington in 2021, at least 634 fatalities were reported. That number could change as belated reports are delivered.
In a state with about 7.6 million people, that might not appear to be a crisis. More than 11,000 Washington deaths, after all, have been attributed to COVID-19 in the past two years. And firearms annually lead to about 800 deaths in the state. And nearly 1,200 people died from opioid overdoses in 2020.
But 634 traffic fatalities is the highest number reported in Washington since 2005; and from 2009 to 2015, there were fewer than 500 deaths each year. Meanwhile, Portland last year reported its highest number of fatalities in three decades, amid reports of a spike in reckless driving.
Those increases mirror national numbers. In 2020, fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled jumped to 1.37 from 1.10 the previous year. Preliminary statistics show an additional increase in 2021.
This might be due, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. As reported by Axios, a study from The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found: “While most drivers reduced their driving during health-related shutdowns, a small proportion drove more, and those were younger and disproportionately male — a statistically riskier driver group than the average population. Those drivers also were more likely to report engaging in risky behaviors like speeding, texting, intentionally running a red light and changing lanes aggressively.”
In addition to risky driving, there has been a decline in traffic enforcement, particularly during the pandemic. With that combination of factors, the state Traffic Safety Commission reports, “Crashes are more severe and there are more fatalities per crash (more vehicles/persons involved).”
As we have learned in the past, traffic fatalities are largely preventable through wise public policy and strong enforcement. In 1981, the U.S. saw 3.18 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles. But seat belt requirements, stricter laws against driving while impaired, and vehicle safety measures — often the result of federal laws — have gradually cut that rate by two-thirds.
If we choose as a society to reduce traffic fatalities, we can succeed. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in January announced a national initiative to improve safety on the roads, saying, “every driver, passenger, and pedestrian should be certain that they’re going to arrive at their destination safely, every time.”
Getting to that point will require dedication from every driver every time they get behind the wheel. Drivers should focus on safety rather than hurrying to reach their destination, meaning they should adhere to speed limits and cut out distractions such as cellphones and fiddling with radio controls. Washington lawmakers in recent years have enhanced penalties for distracted driving, but making those efforts effective depends on reliable enforcement.
Experts have called an increase in traffic fatalities a “crisis” and an “epidemic.” But it is one that can be addressed through paying attention to the road.
