National Safety Council estimates traffic fatalities down

Preliminary data collected by the US National Safety Council indicates deaths from motor vehicle crashes during the first six months of 2013 are down 5 per cent, compared to the same six month period last year. In 2013, an estimated 16,620 traffic deaths occurred from January through June, compared to 17,430 in 2012. Definitive reasons behind the decrease are not known. "The Council will be keeping a close eye on our monthly traffic fatality estimates to determine if this decrease is just a blip on the rad
August 9, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Preliminary data collected by the US 4953 National Safety Council indicates deaths from motor vehicle crashes during the first six months of 2013 are down 5 per cent, compared to the same six month period last year. In 2013, an estimated 16,620 traffic deaths occurred from January through June, compared to 17,430 in 2012.  Definitive reasons behind the decrease are not known.

"The Council will be keeping a close eye on our monthly traffic fatality estimates to determine if this decrease is just a blip on the radar," said Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "We are encouraged to see this downward trend and will remain vigilant to keep our roads as safe as possible."

In addition to human loss, motor vehicle crashes present a significant national cost in lost wages and productivity, medical expenses, administrative expenses, employer costs and property damage. The preliminary cost of motor vehicle deaths, injuries and property damage through June was US$127 billion. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Phoenix renews Redflex Traffic Systems contract
    October 24, 2014
    The city of Phoenix, Arizona, has selected Redflex Traffic Systems, which has partnered with the city since 2009, to continue providing automated enforcement for its road safety program. Phoenix uses 12 red-light cameras at key intersections and deploys eight school-zone speed vans that rotate around the Phoenix schools to help enforce school speed limits, the release states.
    Read More
  • Study highlights weather effects on traffic
    July 17, 2012
    Extreme weather conditions cost the EU’s transport system at least €15 billion (US$18.44 billion) per year according to a a study carried out by the Finnish VTT Technical Research Centre. The study reveals that the greatest costs incurred are from road accidents, with the associated material and psychological effects. Costs arising from accidents are expected to decrease in volume, although time-related costs attributable to delays are projected to increase. In part, this last effect is due to climate chang
    Read More
  • New analysis finds speed cameras may create bad driving behaviour
    October 28, 2015
    Using more than one billion miles of driving behaviour data, collected over three years (2011-2014) and including 8,809 separate journeys in 5,353 vehicles, Wunelli, a LexisNexis company, has revealed the most frequent braking black spots across the UK created by speed cameras, based on motorists braking excessively just before speed cameras to avoid being caught. Eighty per cent of all the UK speed cameras investigated had hard braking activity, with braking increasing six fold on average at these loca
    Read More
  • Cost benefit: just $25 boosts pedestrian safety in Florida
    April 29, 2019
    A relatively straightforward change to the way that pedestrians cross the street in a Florida city has made a significant safety improvement. And what’s more, it was cheap, finds David Crawford Installing a lead pedestrian interval (LPI) system at 25 central business district signalised intersections in the Florida city of Lakeland has cut numbers of incidents involving pedestrians by some 60% - at a cost of US$25 for 30 minutes' work, according to traffic operations manager Angelo Rao.
    Read More

Highlighted Content