2020 Saw More Traffic Deaths Than 2019

2020 was a year for the books. Aside for the worst pandemic in a century and all the other infamous statistics the last year brought us, we can add another disappointing statistic to the mix: A 13-year high in the number of traffic fatalities in the United States.

Last week, the National Safety Council released its traffic fatality statistics for 2020. More than 42,000 people lost their lives last year in this country in traffic collisions. The Council doesn’t break the numbers down to vehicles, pedestrians, or bicyclists—instead it just lumps them all together. The exact number reported was 42,060. This is an 8% increase over 2019.

The Council is calling for federal intervention. We’ll see what happens, but overall this is not good news. It follows 2019 which also saw bad news in this category: More than 6,500 pedestrian deaths in this country. We discussed that issue here.

Researchers believe that even though more drivers were stuck at home in 2020 (especially in the early days of COVID-19), many of those who were on the road were speeding or engaged in riskier driving. I know this from personal experience: During the first week of COVID, a street race in my neighborhood resulted in three deaths.

We can hope for better news for 2021 on all fronts. You can read more of the National Safety Council’s traffic fatality report here.

And of course, if you or someone you know were injured in Los Angeles as a result of another driver’s negligence, my office is ready to assist, 24/6.