U.S. Roads Are Deadlier than Ever

The number of traffic fatalities in the U.S. jumped by eight percent last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which is not only the sharpest increase in the last 50 years, it means Americans suffer the highest highway death toll among the world’s 19 highest-income countries. While some of this increase can be attributed to more cars and trucks on the nation’s roadways due to a healthier economy, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Alexandria, Virginia, points a finger at the nation’s need for speed. An IIHS report determined that higher speed limits enacted over the last two decades - now as high as 85 mph - have claimed at least 33,000 lives, which essentially negates auto-safety advancements made over the same period. “Although fatality rates fell during the study period, they would have been much lower if not for states’ decisions to raise speed limits,” says Charles Farmer, IIHS vice president for research and statistical services.