U.S. Traffic Fatality Decline Levels Off
The Washington Post reported last month that big jumps in Maryland and Virginia traffic fatalities were consistent with a recent upswing in traffic deaths nationwide. Experts and police officers the Post interviewed suggested that safety measures like seat belts, air bags, and better car design had saturated the car market and were now being overcome by increasing vehicle miles of travel and a more congested driving environment. National statistics checked by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign found conflicting evidence regarding a change in trend. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports for the first four months of 1995, fatalities are up 6.7% over the same period in 1994; for the 12 months ending April 1995, the increase is .6%. Yet the National Safety Council (NSC), a non-governmental organization whose figures are usually higher than NHTSA's because they include all fatalities resulting within a year of a traffic collision (NHTSA uses a 30-day window), reports that first-quarter motor vehicle deaths are down 3% compared to 1994. The NSC's projected death toll for the year is slightly below their 1994 total of 41,300. NHTSA's figures show a 1994 increase over 1993 and 1992. Prior to that, U.S. traffic deaths had been falling steadily since 1988. In New York and New Jersey the 12-month period ending in April, 1995 shows fatalities up .7% from comparable 1993-1994 numbers. New Jersey, however, has just reported its lowest traffic death count in the last 30 years, and credits rigorous drunk driving enforcement. Any future reductions in our region may be difficult to obtain, thanks to the recent push to raise highway speed limits. Two weeks ago, NY's Gov. Pataki signed a bill raising non-urban interstate highway speed limits to 65 mph. The Governor suggested a fatality increase could be avoided by strict enforcement and "improved safety conditions" that he did not describe Elected leaders like NJ's Sen. Lautenberg have spoken out against relaxing federal rules, saying 55 mph is fast enough. Talk of an increase to 65 mph has also been heard in Hartford.
