If you had to guess, would you say that car accident deaths went down last year? Maybe you’ve been studying the trends, so you know that they have been falling for decades. Maybe you just realize that people traveled far less in 2020, so it makes sense that the fatal accident stats would have dropped.
While all of that is true, what is concerning is that fatal accidents actually spiked last year. People drove fewer miles, and there were fewer cars on the roads — you probably saw how far gas prices fell and how they’re now coming back as driving increases again — but accident rates went up. In total, more than 42,000 people lost their lives on the road.
What contributed to the increase?
It is hard to know why this increase took place. Were people who still drove a lot in 2020 simply more reckless than those who did not? Were young people more likely to keep traveling, and did that increase the stats since that age group always has a higher fatal crash rate?
It may be difficult to pin down, but some have noted that people may have driven faster, on average, since they were rarely stuck in traffic. Greater speed on the same roads means that the odds of death in an accident are higher. The lighter traffic may have made the total number of accidents go down, but those that still happened were more likely to be fatal.
Have you lost a loved one?
If you have lost a loved one in an accident, it’s important to look into all of the legal rights you have to seek the compensation you need to protect your family’s future and obtain some measure of justice.
