The numbers are staggering and climbing every year. In 2022 there were 35,092 people were killed in car crashes in the US. Thirty Five Thousand!! To put it into perspective, that is like the whole City of Kennesaw being killed in car crashes!
The numbers are not any better for this year. So far in the first half of 2023 17,775 people were killed in auto crashes. That is staggering! It’s more than the population of the City of Fayetteville.
Of course there are many factors for the increase in roadway deaths. The largest spike is because of distracted driving by people looking at their smartphones! There’s also the increased number of drivers on the roads, as well as younger, more distracted drivers, the rudest generation of drivers ever, as well as more miles being driven.
In response the sharp increase in auto fatalities, the federal government announced recently that they have a goal of reducing roadway deaths to zero in the next 30 years! That is a very tall order to fill!
“Our vision is simple – zero fatalities on our roads,” US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “We know that setting the bar for safety to the highest possible standard requires commitment from everyone to think differently about safety – from drivers to industry, safety organizations and government at all levels.” So how can we reach this goal? Obviously automotive technology would play a gigantic part in this. From increased safety measures, air bags, etc. all the way up to self-driving cars.
“Reaching zero deaths will be difficult, will take time, and will require significant effort from all of us, but it is the only acceptable vision,” FHWA Deputy Administrator, David Kim said. “We’re not at zero now, but by working together, the day will come when there are no fatalities on the nation’s roadways, sidewalks or bicycle paths.”
There are so many people who have been impacted by a deadly crash. We all either know someone personally that was killed in a wreck or we know someone close to us that has lost someone. “Every single death on our roadways is a tragedy,” NHTSA Administrator, Mark Rosekind said. “We can prevent them. Our drive toward zero deaths is more than just a worthy goal. It is the only acceptable goal.”
So what can be done in the next 20-30 years to eliminate traffic fatalities? Step one has to be finding a way of eliminating distracted driving! Whether through tougher laws and stricter penalties or, better than that, some sort of technological advance that will prohibit cellphone use while behind the wheel!! That has to be the first obstacle to overcome!
The next step is to eliminate human error. Statistics show that 94 percent of roadway deaths are caused by human error. That, of course, means self-driving or autonomous vehicles.
“Working closely with our partners, both inside and outside of the department, we are committing significant resources to the serious efforts being put forth to make this ambitious goal of ‘zero deaths’ an eventual reality,” FMCSA Administrator, T. F. Scott Darling, III said recently. “While we work tirelessly every day to promote safer roadways, we understand that this coalition will only succeed if we all do our part and pledge to making safety our highest priority.”
“The really sad part is that in all of this is that in the US we have accepted 35,092 people dying on the roadways, and we seem to be okay with it!! There should be public outcries about this. Right? Well, we can all hope for this reality in years to come. But will we all commit to it?
That is the question!!