In accordance with a brand new federal authorities examine, seatbelt use is down and fatality crashes are up, with the variety of deaths involving individuals thrown from a car rising by 20% nationally from 2019 to 2020.
Visitors fatalities no matter whether or not or not individuals had been utilizing seatbelts had been up 7.2% in 2020 in comparison with 2019.
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In accordance with Pemco Insurance coverage spokesperson Allison Leep, “Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) fatality statistics, which examine 2021 to 2020, present deaths elevated.” Listed below are the numbers:
- 16% enhance in multi-vehicle crashes
- 14% enhance amongst drivers 65 and older
- 13% enhance amongst pedestrians
- 13% enhance in crashes involving not less than one giant truck.
Leep says that final 12 months was the deadliest 12 months on our roads in 16 years right here in Washington state. The Pacific Northwest general was a lot worse for site visitors fatalities, which noticed a ten.5% enhance in 2021 in comparison with 2020. NHTSA launched these numbers in spring 2022 and famous they had been partially based mostly on statistical projections.
KIRO Newsradio requested Leep why drivers aren’t carrying their seatbelts, and he or she stated the examine finds that drivers are greater than possible impaired and simply don’t buckle up.
She reminds everybody that driving is a crew sport and to all the time buckle up when behind the wheel.