US traffic fatalities indicate an alarming upward trend
The figures from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released yesterday estimated that there were 31,720 fatalities from motor vehicle traffic crashes for the first nine months of 2021, compared to 28,325 fatalities for the corresponding period in the previous year, representing an increase of 12%.
Alarmingly, this is the highest percentage increase since records began in 1975 and could indicate an unexpected upward trend.
While the report doesn’t disclose the cause of crashes, a previous report on the first six months of traffic data suggest that distracted driving is major culprit in increased traffic deaths and injuries. The report cites a study suggesting cell phones were used in 16% of crashes in the five seconds before it occurred. In addition, the paper cites another study suggesting 7.6% of U.S. adult drivers were more likely to drive impaired during the pandemic than before. It is obvious that Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS), when ubiquitous in the US, could save thousands of lives each year by assessing the driver’s alertness and, if necessary, warn the driver or apply the brakes.
At Seeing Machines, our purpose is to get everyone home safely.
Click here to read the full press release from NHTSA.