A sigh of relative relief might be heard across Michigan as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported a downturn in traffic fatalities. In a silver lining to a still-dire situation, statistics reveal a drop from 1,124 traffic deaths in the state in 2022 to 1,040 last year. This decline mirrors a greater nationwide trend of shrinking numbers, with total US road deaths decreasing from 42,514 in 2022 to 40,990, CBS News Detroit analyzes.
Despite, the reduction, the reality is stark – thousands continue to lose their lives on our roads annually. In Michigan, the NHTSA points out an uptick in fatalities during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent figures have stayed troublingly high. WZZM 13 details that as April ushers in, law enforcement will intensify their focus on distracted driving – an offense made all the more illegal by Michigan's hands-free law enacted on June 30, 2023.
Even while driven miles saw a 2.1% surge, amounting to an additional 67.5 billion miles year-over-year, the instances of tragedy per 100 million miles driven dipped to 1.26 in 2023. This is a drop from 1.33 the previous year. The period marked the seventh consecutive quarterly decline since Q2 of 2022.
In a bid to combat the persistent plight, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has been proactive, heralding a strategy punctuated by $1.7 billion funneled into local, regional, and Tribal safety improvements through grants. These measures were a part of an all-hands-on-deck approach by USDOT in 2023, as outlined by their National Roadway Safety Strategy Progress Report, according to Repairer Driven News. This suite of initiatives has included expanded deployment of automatic braking systems, rulemaking advancing non-impaired driving technology, and encouraging the use of federal aid for roadway rehabilitation.
Despite the efforts of authorities and organizations, it is a harrowing truth that such interventions are battling a surge in fatalities that noted their crescendo during the strange, pandemic-wracked days. Across the US, about 20% of those who died in distracted driving crashes were not inside a vehicle, but rather on foot, on bikes, or otherwise outside, echoed Sophie Shulman, NHTSA Deputy Administrator. The NHTSA is digging in with a pointed awareness campaign, "Put the Phone Away or Pay," ready to roll out this month in conjunction with sterner enforcement on distracted driving.
