Motor vehicle crashes and deaths are on the rise. Despite advances in safety technology, driving has become more deadly. The reason? Operator error. The National Safety Council found that 40,200 people across the country died in traffic crash deaths in 2016, a 6 percent increase since 2015, and the first time the total number of deaths has exceeded 40,000 since 2007.
This is the second year in a row we’ve seen a substantial jump in motor vehicle deaths. The total for 2015 was 37,757, a 7 percent increase from 2014, while the 2014 figure was less than half a percent higher than the 2013 total. The last two years represent the largest increase in traffic crash deaths in over 50 years.
Nearly 10 percent of these deaths are attributable to distracted driving. In 2015, 3,477 people died as a result of distracted driving – an 8% increase from the previous year according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA). Distracted driving can be deadly but it can also cause serious injury. In 2015, 391,000 people were injured due to distracted driving.