According to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an estimated 31,720 people died in traffic crashes across America in the first nine months of 2021, an increase of 12 percent over 2020 figures. The projection is the highest number of fatalities during the first nine months of any years since 2006, and the highest year-to-year increase recorded in the history of the NHTSA reporting system.
Calling the alarming number of deaths both preventable and unacceptable, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently announced an ambitious new federal plan for reducing traffic fatalities.
The new plan, the National Roadway Safety Strategy, is a multi-pronged approach to increasing traffic safety, drawing on billions in funding from the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Components include programs to make roads and vehicles safer, to review speed limits and implement features to better protect pedestrians and cyclists, as well as to address risky driver behavior and post-crash care. Expect more details in coming weeks regarding specific initiatives, such as requiring automatic emergency braking technology in new vehicles and working with local agencies to incorporate new safety features in road improvement projects. Funds designated by the Infrastructure and Jobs Act include:
- $6 billion for the Safe Streets and Roads for All
- $4 billion in additional funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program.
- $4 billion for improved crash data and vehicle, behavior, and truck safety programs.
THE CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS AT FDAZAR
For more than thirty years the attorneys at Franklin D. Azar & Associates have helped thousands of injured people obtain complete and timely compensation for their losses. Our proven track record and expertise have allowed us to grow into the largest personal-injury law firm in Colorado, with offices in Denver, Aurora, Thornton, Fort Collins, Greeley, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. If you’ve been injured in a bus, car, truck, or motorcycle accident, you may be entitled to compensation. Please call the car accident attorneys at FDAzar day or night at 800-736-9032 or contact us here for a free consultation and no-obligation evaluation of your case.
