Recent deadly crash data reveals that driving in Pennsylvania is becoming more dangerous. Statistics show that the number of fatal crashes within state lines rose sharply between 2020 and 2021 and the trend is also visible nationally.
According to Lehigh Valley Live, the number of fatal crashes in Pennsylvania rose 9% between 2020 and 2021.
Pennsylvania traffic death statistics
In 2021, 1,230 traffic deaths occurred within state lines. The year prior, there were 1,129 road deaths. The 1,230 fatalities figure is also the state’s highest number of road deaths since 2002 when 1,618 people died on Pennsylvania roadways.
National traffic death statistics
Road deaths are also steadily increasing at the national level. In 2020, there were 38,824 lives lost on the nation’s roadways, the highest number of traffic fatalities across the country since 2007. Data from the first nine months of 2021 revealed that as of September 2021, there was already a 12% uptick in road deaths from the year before. There were also more traffic deaths during the first nine months of 2021 than in any other year in the history of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
Many of the fatal car wrecks that took place across Pennsylvania and the nation during 2020 and 2021 involved similar circumstances. For example, speed was a frequent factor. So, too, were motorists engaging in dangerous driving behaviors, such as driving while distracted or under the influence.