Even as the federal road safety agency celebrated a decline in overall deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, the statistics pointed to increased dangers for pedestrians and cyclists in Texas and across the country. According to the NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 36,560 people were killed in auto accidents nationwide in 2018. This number reflects a 2.4% decline in accident fatalities, the second straight year of decreasing deaths. These positive signs come after several years of increasing deadly accidents as the economy recovered from the 2008-2009 financial crisis. However, pedestrian deaths did not show the same welcome trend with fatalities up 3.4%, reaching their highest point in 28 years.
According to the NHTSA, fatalities caused by motor vehicle accidents are continuing to decline, with first-half statistics for 2019 showing a decrease of 3.4%. Around 6,280 pedestrians were killed on the roads in 2018 while cyclist deaths also showed an upswing of 6.3%. In addition, fatal trucking accidents also showed a slight rise of 1%. Trucking safety advocates drew attention to the fact that 4,951 people lost their lives in crashes involving large trucks, especially as political figures are pushing to loosen safety regulations for truckers. They argue that deregulating safety in the trucking industry could increase truck driver fatigue and lead to even more deadly collisions.
The NHTSA said that it was looking into additional safety rules and standards that could keep pedestrians safer, such as encouraging the use of pedestrian detection technology. The agency attributed the decline in deaths largely to the use of technologies that aim to prevent accidents.
Car accidents can cause severe, lifelong injuries as well as fatalities. People injured in a motor vehicle collision caused by someone else’s negligent driving may work with a personal injury lawyer to pursue compensation for their damages.