SoylentNews

MostCynical [soylentnews.org] writes:

Wired [wired.com] has an article detailing the increased death rate on US roads during the pandemic. While the total number accidents and deaths decreased,

more people died per mile traveled—1.25 per 100 million miles in the first half of the year, compared with 1.06 in the same period in 2019, [which is] the highest rate since 2008.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which tracks traffic fatalities, says 16,650 people died on US roads from January through June, compared with 16,988 in the same period a year earlier, a 2 percent dip

From April through June, the figures were even more dire: Deaths per mile traveled jumped by 31 percent compared with 2019, a figure that usually staid government researchers called "striking."

A government analysis this month found that deaths during those first few months of pandemic were more likely on rural roads, involving male drivers, passengers, and pedestrians age 16 to 24, and among those not wearing seatbelts. A report by Inrix finds that the majority of big US metros saw 25 percent fewer collisions from April through October, but drops were less pronounced in places such as Chicago, Miami, Seattle, and St. Louis.

Police have turned their efforts away from traffic enforcement [theiacp.org] (pdf), since there's no financial incentive with fewer people to fine with fewer people on the road. There have been some spikes in drug and alcohol use [nih.gov], especially early on in the pandemic. One study found that 65% of people killed in crashes in the first four months of the pandemic tested positive for at least one drug. [bts.gov]
 

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