Figures released by the USDOT on October 6, 2017, show that 37,461 lives were lost on U.S. roads in 2016, an increase of 5.6 percent from calendar year 2015. This followed an inaccurate estimation earlier this year by the National Safety Council [NSC] that the figure would be approximately 40,200.
In the context of the NSC’s miscalculation, the lower, more recent, and obviously more accurate figure from the USDOT and NHTSA is a relief but the situation is still very bad news. Apart from the 5.6% increase in fatalities from 2015-2016, the fact is that since 2014 the number of deaths on America’s roads and highways has soared swiftly upwards from 32,744 to 37,461, a two-year increase of 14.4 percent, representing almost 5,000 “extra” deaths in 2016 alone.
To put this into even greater perspective, the most-recent road-death toll represents the same number of deaths — God forbid — as having an atrocity the scale of the World Trade Center massacre here in the USA every single month.
See how the USA performs in road safety by comparison with other developed nations.
For lists of more facts regarding the USA itself, see USDOT Releases 2016 Fatal Traffic Crash Data
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