The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently reported that 2010 marked the lowest rate in traffic fatalities since 1949. What they failed to emphasize was that the last 6 months of 2010 reported an increase in the number of traffic fatalities by almost 2 percent — the first increase since the beginning of the economic downturn.
New York Personal Injury Attorney Nicholas Rose doesn’t want New Yorkers to get too caught up in celebrating the nationwide news since this region, which consists of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey reported an increase of almost 2.5% in traffic fatalities for 2010.
In fact, we posted previously on our New York Injury Lawyer Blog that New York accidents are on the rise. The economic recovery has put New Yorkers back on the streets. As a result, 269 fatalities were reported in the five boroughs in traffic crashes for 2010.
The U.S Department of Transportation finds the preliminary statistics on traffic fatalities a positive considering the number of miles traveled by Americans increased by 21 billion miles from 2009 to 2010. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled decreased from 1.13 in 2009 to 1.09 in 2010.
“Last year’s drop in traffic fatalities is welcome news and it proves that we can make a difference,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Of course the government would like to take most of the credit for the reduction in fatalities based on the safety laws and campaigns they have put so much emphasis on the last year or so. They feel the decrease in traffic fatalities is in large part due to national campaigns like “Click It Or Ticket”, “Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” or the development of an anti-distracted driving awareness website Distraction.gov.
“Too many of our friends and neighbors are killed in preventable roadway tragedies every day,” states LaHood. “We will continue doing everything possible to make cars safer, increase seat belt use, put a stop to drunk driving and distracted driving and encourage drivers to put safety first.”
The fact still remains that traffic fatalities rose during the final 6 months of 2010 according the early data provided by NHTSA. It is pretty much a given that New York will become more and more populated in the months to come as unemployment rates continue to improve. New Yorkers will need to exude a tremendous amount of patience and better driving behaviors in order to keep the number of traffic fatalities from continuing to rise in the future.
If you have been injured in a serious car accident, or know someone else who has injured, contact New York Personal Injury Lawyer Nicholas Rose for legal advice. To discuss your rights, call for a free appointment at 1-877-313-ROSE (7673).
