Nationwide roadway deaths reached a 15-year excessive final yr, a brand new federal report exhibits, with deaths rising in all however six states.
Near 43,000 individuals died on the roads in 2021, in line with the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration report, up from about 39,000 deaths in 2020.
These figures weren’t surprising, as a preliminary NHTSA report launched in October previewed the lethal enhance, prompting the Division of Transportation to announce a number of initiatives to fight rising highway deaths.
Whereas deaths elevated 10 % nationally from 2020 to 2021, the charges amongst places diverse considerably. In Puerto Rico, deaths elevated almost 40 %, from 242 deaths in 2020 to an estimated 337 in 2021. Different states with important will increase embrace Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey and Vermont.
In a information launch asserting the figures, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg referred to as the nationwide loss of life toll a “disaster” and added that funds from the infrastructure invoice President Joe Biden signed into regulation in November can be found to fund state and native efforts to enhance visitors security.
