Traffic Deaths Dropped Slightly in 2022 but Remain at ‘Crisis Level’

Heavy traffic moves along the 101 freeway in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 23, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Traffic deaths across the United States dropped slightly last year, but government officials said the 42,795 people who died is still a national crisis, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) projections released on April 20.

Estimates by NHTSA showed that the number of fatalities dropped 0.3 percent, compared to 42,939 killed in 2021.

Traffic deaths declined slightly in the fourth quarter, the third straight quarterly drop.

However, according to NHTSA, not every state saw a decline in road deaths, and 23 states are projected to experience increases.

These five states, in particular, represent 37 percent of the total road deaths in 2022: Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.

“We continue to face a national crisis of traffic deaths on our roadways, and everyone has a role to play in reversing the rise that we experienced in recent years,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

The department has adopted a strategy for reducing the deaths, including more than $800 million in grants to help communities with projects in high-crash areas, NHTSA said.

Earlier this month, NHTSA released a new analysis of 2021 federal crash data, which revealed that fatalities in crashes caused by distracted driving “increased by 12% from 3,154 in 2020 to 3,522 in 2021, a total of 8.2% of all fatalities reported.”

NHTSA defined a distraction-affected crash as “any crash where a driver was identified as distracted at the time of the crash.”

Agency officials said such cases are likely underreported by police.

The number of pedestrians killed rose 13 percent, and cyclist fatalities were up 2 percent for the year. The number of unbelted passengers killed rose 8.1 percent, while fatalities involving alcohol-impaired driving were up 14 percent.

Speeding-related deaths increased by 7.9 percent, while crash deaths involving large trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds were up 17 percent, the agency said.

NHTSA said in a statement that the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled also fell slightly in 2022 to 1.35, down from 1.37 in 2021.

Furthermore, more traffic accidents mean more insurance claims, and the total number of car insurance claims in a state can impact the price consumers pay for auto insurance.

For example, Florida has one of the highest average annual insurance rates for full coverage in the country at $4,326, according to Forbes. In comparison, Americans paid an average of $1,553 a year for auto insurance in 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.