More people are dying on U.S. roads, even as cars get safer. Here’s why it’s a tough problem to solve.

“It looks like the major component of this rising fatalities is very behavioral, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stop it. We just have to be willing to,” Michael Brooks, Acting Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety said.

By Michael Wayland
May 22, 2022

New vehicles on sale in the U.S. today are the safest and most advanced ever made, yet roadway fatalities last year reached their highest level in 16 years.

The problem is complex: It’s a combination of reckless or distracted driving, largely due to cellphone usage; increased sales of trucks and SUVs; and higher performance of vehicles, among other factors. Plus, the expected proliferation of electric vehicles, with weighty batteries and record performance may not help the issue going forward.

“We have a conflicting culture in America around cars,” said Michael Brooks, acting executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer-advocacy nonprofit. “People want these flashy, big ticket items and we want to be able to do what we want in our cars, but at the same time, we’re killing each other at a rate (nearly) higher than ever before, and something needs to be done.”

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