In this regular publication featuring our team of talented Directors of Business Development, long time industry veteran Carol Fowler shares some of the recent highway safety statistics that have caught her eye, and not for the right reasons.
As a fleet professional for over 30 years, safety has always been a
passion. Unfortunately, in my quest to stay abreast of this topic, I
recently found some shocking statistics that – frankly – disappoint me:
- INCREASING FATALITIES: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 42,915 people were killed on American roadways, a 10.5% increase from 2020.
- TROUBLING DISTRACTIONS: According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 80% of accidents are caused by distracted driving. While this includes many “distractions” – the most dangerous by far is talking on your cell phone or texting.
- DISABLING SAFETY FEATURES: I was surprised to learn in an interesting analysis by Erie Insurance and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) that in 2020, a percentage of drivers stated they were disabling safety features on their vehicles because they found them to be “annoying or distracting.”
- TROUBLING TRUCK BEHAVIOR: The most deadly type of roadway accidents in the US involved large trucks. (NHTSA reported 5601 fatalities involving at least one large truck in 2021) – up 13% from the prior year.
- SPEEDING and AGGRESSION: Speeding, or “driving too fast for roadway conditions” is a major factor in traffic deaths and injuries. According to the National Safety Council NSC, speeding was a factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities in 2020 – nearly 30 people per day.
- WORK ZONE CRASHES: In 2020, work zone fatalities reached a 16 year high despite lower traffic volumes. Over 102,000 work zone crashes were estimated to have occurred resulting in over 45,000 injuries and 857 deaths.
And be sure to follow me on Twitter at @FLDFrankly to get actionable
insights and useful tips on important happenings across the fleet world!
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At FLD, we know our clients, partners and friends can’t attend every trade show or fleet event, so we like to keep them in the know by sharing insights and perspective gleaned by our expert staff, and our roving observer — “Frank” — who’s always got his ear to the ground and his eyes focused on what’s coming next!