TakingTheHill.com: NSC releases preliminary semiannual estimates for road safety

By Madi Hawkins / ASA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Safety Council (NSC) released their preliminary semiannual estimates for road safety today, and the results show a slight 1 percent increase in total motor-vehicle deaths in 2020 compared to 2019.

However, total number of vehicle miles travelled have decreased by nearly 17 percent since 2019, which means the death rate per mile travelled has increased significantly.

Overall, these preliminary estimates suggest that total motor vehicle deaths are on the rise, even people are driving less. In the report, the NSC stated that “the riskier roads threaten to reverse traffic safety gains made over the last few years.”

Already in 2020, there have been approximately 18,300 deaths, and $206.4 billion in motor-vehicle deaths, injuries, and property damage costs.

Madi Hawkins serves as a Legislative Analyst in the Automotive Service Association’s Washington, D.C. office.  She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a major in Public Policy Studies.  Madi is originally from Austin, Texas, where she was born and raised, but now resides in Washington, D.C.