Traffic Deaths in U.S. Decline while Motorcycle Fatalities Increase
Posted on August 18, 2008 by Scott Pearce | Discuss this article
Last week, several articles were written detailing the new report released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The report is newsworthy for several reasons. Traffic deaths in the United States declined last year, reaching the lowest level in more than a decade. However, there are still more than 41,000 fatalities on the roads. And 2007 was the 10th straight year deaths of motorcyclists increased. Last year motorcycle fatalities surged 6.6 percent, to 5,154.
Two prominent articles, one in the New York Times and the other on Yahoo! News call attention to the very real epidemic of death and carnage on the road.
For example, the Yahoo! News story headline reads, Highway crashes kill more than 41,000 in 2007. This is significant because, even though this is a decrease, it is still a ridiculously high number.
The New York Times provided an interesting graph showing the current trends in road related fatalities. (click on the image below to view larger size)
One reason some give for the increase in motorcycle deaths is the increase in motorcycle riders. According to the New York Times article:
Experts say the trend is most likely to continue, as high gasoline prices will encourage some travelers to use their bikes more often, getting 50 miles for the $4 gallon of gasoline instead of 20 in their cars.
“We have seen the total motorcycle participation in vehicle miles traveled go up,” said Mary E. Peters, the secretary of transportation and a longtime Harley-Davidson rider.
“We might see more people moving to that mode of transportation,” Ms. Peters said. “We might see that data skew.”
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