The number of people killed on U.S. roads in 2005 climbed to a 15-year high of 43,443, the U.S. Department of Transportation concluded last month in its final report.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attributed the rising death toll primarily to an increase in the number of motorcyclists and pedestrians killed in crashes. Last year, 4,553 motorcyclists died on the roads, up 13 percent from the previous year. Last year also marked the eighth consecutive year in which the number of motorcyclists killed on the roads increased.
In addition, 4,881 pedestrians were killed last year, up 4.4 percent from the previous year.
The large number of motorcyclists and pedestrians killed in crashes highlights the fatal flaw in our nation's road safety strategy. The government's strong emphasis on safe crashing as a substitute for safe driving creates the false impression that what motorists do behind the wheel doesn't matter (as long as we are sober, of course). We have been assured that our seatbelts, airbags, and "crashworthy" vehicles will protect us if we crash.
This strategy omits pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists from the traffic safety equation altogether, since they have no seatbelts, airbags, or crashworthy vehicles to protect them. Incidentally, it also fails to ensure protection for occupants of even the largest, most fortified vehicles. Occupants of those vehicles have continued to suffer serious injury and death in crashes even at relatively low speeds.
Upon reporting the 2005 road fatality data, Acting Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino released a statement repeating her agency's calls for motorcyclists to wear helmets (again, to try to make motorcycle crashes safer rather than prevent them) and for all motorists to buckle up and drive sober.
Cino was noticeably silent on the need for sober motorists to stop speeding, running red lights and stop signs, tailgating, weaving and out of traffic, talking on cell phones and text messaging while driving, driving drowsy, driving under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs, driving when impaired by age, and improperly loading vehicles -- all of which are now significant factors in crashes.
Responding to the 2005 fatality report, NHTSA's new administrator, Nicole Nason, proclaimed, "We will not be satisfied until the fatality and injury numbers reach zero." Yet her agency refuses to promote even the most modest steps to deter dangerous driving and prevent crashes. (See About Us for details.)
Meanwhile, with gasoline prices reaching record highs in the U.S., and the era of cheap gasoline believed to be over, it seems inevitable that many Americans will soon be trading in their SUVs and mini-vans for smaller vehicles. This will further undermine the government's safe crashing agenda, since even with seatbelts and airbags, smaller vehicles are less able to protect their occupants in a crash and are particularly vulnerable in crashes with large vehicles, including trucks and buses.
Motorcycles likely will also continue to be popular, in spite of the risks. While persuading motorcyclists to wear helmets is sensible, helmets can reduce the risk of death in a crash by only one-third. They reduce the risk of serious, long-term disability by even less than that.
Thus, it seems inevitable that our nation will continue marching steadily backward on the road to road safety. The only question now is, "How far back will we go?"
Lisa Lewis is founder and executive director of the national non-profit Partnership for Safe Driving. She is also the author of "It's No Accident: The Real Story Behind Senseless Death & Injury on Our Roads." Visit http://www.crashprevention.org for details.
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