Alarming Highway Accident Trends

Alarming highway accident trends fill statistical reports and hospital emergency rooms.

Anyone who drives sees the worst in human conduct.

Cars weave in and out of lanes.

Drivers blow stop signs.

Traffic approaching yield signs play chicken, who can push past first?

“Lane Ends – Merge” signs goad bad drivers to sneak ahead to the last second then try to cut everyone else off.

In “the law doesn’t apply to me” mode, people text, chat and otherwise drive distracted.

These represent barely a few “get out of my way” obnoxious driving habits infecting the streets and highways of the U.S.  Such hazards go beyond everyday annoyances.  Actual traffic studies document a hastening degeneration of U.S. driving habits.  Here are five alarming highway accident trends:

Marijuana passes alcohol as a factor in fatal car accidents

Cannabis topped alcohol as a factor in serious car accidents in 2020 according to one major study.   The analysis of highway accidents and their causes showed high drug use among seriously and fatally injured car accident victims before COVID-19.  But during the height of the COVID pandemic, drivers in car accidents showed much higher drug use before.  Just over 64% showed positive drugs in blood test drugs as opposed to 50 % before.

Drivers testing positive for two or more drugs after car accidents represented 17 per cent of those before the pandemic.  That went up to 25 percent in preliminary 2020 nationwide accident reporting.  During the 2020 COVID shut-downs, active THC came up more often in blood tests than alcohol.  Of divers hurt in car accidents, over 32% had THC in their blood as opposed to 28 with alcohol in their systems before 2020.

Less traffic – more fatalities

During the COVID pandemic U.S. drivers pursued dangerous habits is a way unlike before.  Statistics showed increased speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and failure to wear seat belts. All increased during the pandemic.  These risky driving behaviors topped the list of factors that either cause accidents or heighten the severity of injuries when accidents do happen.

There’s no sign that speeding or drug and alcohol use on the highways will slow down.  No one can tell the future.  But the trend alarmed those who watch accident statistics enough to call for expert review and a look towards actions that can be taken to reduce such dangers on the highways.

We’ve actually written about the phenomenon of more fatalities when there is less traffic in a previous blog.

Motorcycle fatalities increased at a higher rate than other highway deaths

2020 accident numbers showed a 5% increase in vehicle occupant fatalities over the previous year.  But the number of those killed in motorcycle crashes went up 9%.

The year 2020 saw 23,395 fatalities in car accidents.  5,015 were killed in motorcycle accidents.  But the percentage rise among motorcycle fatalities, a full 9%, exceeded the 5% increase in other vehicle accident fatalities.

Motorcycles by their obvious nature provide less protection than closed vehicles in any crash scenario.  This exposes cyclists and their passenger to higher risks in an accident.  It also means cyclists and their passengers face higher vulnerability in rain, other bad weather and bad road conditions.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned in 2019 that motorcyclists were already 29 times more likely than closed vehicle occupants to die in a crash as measured in the risk per vehicle mile travelled.

Nearly two-thirds of drivers killed or seriously injured in car accidents tested positive for alcohol, marijuana, opioids or another drug

Finding hard numbers showing exactly how many car accidents are actually caused by drugged driving presents challenges.  At the same time experts say up to 44% of drivers in fatal accidents tested positive for one kind of drug or another.  For example, in 2018, 12.6 million people aged 16 and over drove under the influence of illegal drugs.

Emergency medical responders deal with accident victims all the time who are high on one substance or another.  Police measure alcohol impairment with blood and breath tests.  But scientists and law enforcement face much more difficulty in objectively quantifying marijuana impairment.  Further, no universal objective biological measurement exists to confirm impairment as a result of using other substances.

But the use of drugs on the nation’s highways has increased at an alarming rate.

Ignoring laws in many states most drivers still text or use hand-held cell phones while driving

The possibility of crashing while distracted increases to 90% compared to drivers who maintain full focus.

One study found three things drivers admit to despite legal crack downs in most states:

• 40% admit to reading a text or email while driving.
• 52% admit to talking on a handheld cell phone while driving.
• 32% admit to texting or sending an email while driving.

That doesn’t include the guy we see driving down the highway eating a hamburger while driving or the person reading the newspaper while commuting to work on the interstate.

Imagine being a passenger on a jet aircraft taking off from a major airport and you find out the pilot is texting or talking socially on their private cell phone.  Of course, no one wants that.  But one never knows what that driver in the oncoming lane is doing or thinking, or the other guy at the intersection, or the person passing you on the interstate.

Will alarming highway accident trends continue?

Dangerous driving behaviors increased during the pandemic.  Statistics support that conclusion.  Risky driving behavior like excessive speeding, failing to wear eat belts and driving impaired or distracted continue. The question presents itself whether any of this will subside or increase.

The author, attorney Andrew D. Myers practices personal injury law in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in an accident caused by the negligent or reckless behavior of another driver, give our office a call for a free consultation.   Think the insurance company will give you a fair shake?  Think again.  Here’s why they would rather minimize or deny your insurance claim.

Model Credit:  Breanna Glover

Sources:

2020 Fatality Data Show Increased Traffic Fatalities During Pandemic. NHTSA.  Study summary.  Press Release.

Despite Less Driving During 2020 Pandemic, Traffic Deaths Were Highest In 13 Years, Insurance Journal, June 4, 2021.

Drug and Alcohol Prevalence in Seriously and Fatally Injured Road Users Before and During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.  Transportation Research Board, Oct.  8, 2020.

Ultimate List of Driving Statistics for 2022. Driving-Tests.org.

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