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U.S. officials
said lower gasoline prices combined with job growth increased
the number of miles driven last year by the highest rate in
nearly 25 years. Distracted driving was cited in about a tenth
of traffic fatalities in 2015, the U.S. DOT said.
Data "showed traffic deaths rising across nearly every segment
of the population," the department said in a statement.
The number of fatalities was near preliminary estimates issued
nearly two months ago.
The last time U.S. traffic fatalities rose at a greater rate was
in 1966, when they went up 8.1 percent. That was two years
before the federal government required seat belts in cars.
While the number of fatalities rose in 2015, driving is far
safer now in the United States than it was in the past. In 1966,
the fatality rate - measured as deaths per miles driven - was
five times higher than today. In that year, nearly 51,000 people
were killed on U.S. roads.
Almost half of passenger vehicle occupants killed last year were
not wearing safety belts, although the belts are standard
equipment in all cars and required to be worn in some U.S.
states, the DOT said.
“Solving this problem will take teamwork, so we’re issuing a
call to action and asking researchers, safety experts, data
scientists, and the public to analyze the fatality data and help
find ways to prevent these tragedies," said U.S. Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx.
Almost one in three fatalities involved drunk drivers or
speeding, the DOT said.
The number of vehicle miles traveled in the United States rose
3.5 percent in 2015 from a year earlier, the DOT said.
In 2005, U.S. traffic deaths were 22 percent higher, at 42,708.
(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham in Washington and Bernie Woodall
in Detroit; Editing by Chris Reese and Steve Orlofsky)
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