Traffic death rate up sharply in first 9 months of 2015

Traffic death rate up sharply in first 9 months of 2015

Continuing a theme that NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind addressed in his U.S keynote address at The Washington Auto Show, the agency announced a steep 9.3 percent increase in traffic deaths for the first nine months of 2015.

NHTSA estimates that more than 26,000 people died in traffic crashes in the first nine months of 2015, compared with 23,796 deaths in the first nine months of 2014. Different regions across the country showed increases ranging from 2 percent to 20 percent. The region that includes Maryland, Virginia and DC (also Delaware, Kentucky, North Carolina and West Virginia) saw a 12 percent increase.

–Itês time to drive behavioral changes in traffic safety, and that means taking on new initiatives and addressing persistent issues like drunk driving and failure to wear seat belts,” said Rosekind.

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