Traffic Fatalities Highest in 12 Years
The number of traffic deaths rose last year to its highest level since 1990, the government said, citing a variety of factors, including rollover crashes, heavy drinking and a greater number of baby boomers climbing aboard motorcycles.
An estimated 42,850 people -- 734 more than the previous year -- were killed in crashes nationwide in 2002, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
More than half the increase in deaths last year resulted from rollover crashes involving sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, both of which have been criticized for their propensity to flip over. The 10,626 deaths in rollover incidents accounted for about a quarter of all fatalities.
Traffic accidents remained the leading cause of death for ages from 1 to 65. The increase in fatalities came even though an estimated 75% of Americans now use seat belts, a record figure.
The dismal fatality statistics provoked an outburst of finger pointing: Federal officials said states and individuals have to take more responsibility, while safety advocates countered that Washington must lead more forcefully.
“Unfortunately, the federal government doesn’t have any of the cards in this deck,” said Jeffrey Runge, the top auto safety official in the Bush administration. “We’re held accountable for the central goal [of reducing deaths], but the states have all the cards.”
The government is working on a better system to rate the stability of SUVs in emergency situations, and regulators are considering requiring automakers to design SUVs and pickups that cause less damage in collisions with passenger cars.
Sue Ferguson, a senior researcher at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research and testing group funded by the insurance industry, said exhorting drivers to do better was no substitute for strong law enforcement and improved vehicle design.
The federal government “is not responsible for state laws, but they do have a role in providing funding,” Ferguson said. Encouraging individuals to take more responsibility “is a nonstarter for me,” she added. “The only way to get people to drive safely is to have good laws and enforce them.”
Familiar causes were behind many a personal tragedy captured in the data: A failure to use seat belts contributed to 59% of the deaths, while alcohol was a factor in 42% of the fatalities.
The average blood alcohol level in fatal crashes was 0.16, or twice the 0.08 level that most states consider the legal threshold for drunk driving.
“This is not a population of social indiscretion; this is a population of people drinking to get drunk and then getting behind the wheel,” said Runge. “Heavy drinking remains the root of the problem.”
Drunk-driving laws have gotten stricter in recent years, but getting the heavy drinker off the road remains a challenge. Some critics contend that drunk-driving enforcement is targeting social drinkers while missing the hard-core alcohol abusers.
Motorcycle deaths also rose for the fifth consecutive year, led by a trend in inadequately trained baby boomers getting on heavy, powerful bikes. A total of 3,276 riders died, a 3% increase from 2001. Deaths among riders 50 and older rose by 24%.
Contributing to the problem has been the repeal of mandatory helmet laws in many states, at the urging of motorcyclists. “Helmet use drops to about 50% when the laws go,” said Ferguson. “Here, we are clearly moving backwards.”
There were some bright spots. Deaths in crashes involving large trucks dropped 3.5%. And deaths of children 7 and younger were down 6.9%, to 980, their lowest recorded level.
Traffic deaths dropped in the 1980s and early 1990s with the introduction of air bags and stronger seat-belt laws, but in recent years the trend has reversed.
