The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration monitors the trends in traffic fatalities by analyzing accident reports. In the first nine months of 2014, there were 23,796 traffic deaths, and in the first nine months of 2015 the agency has estimated there were over 26,000 deaths. This means that traffic fatalities were up 9.3 percent nationwide for the first time after years of declining steadily.
The regional breakdown of traffic deaths showed that the mid-Atlantic and South-Central areas experienced an increase of 2 percent, while the Southeastern region was up 16 percent. The Northwestern region had a traffic fatality increase of 20 percent.
The national percentage may be relatively low, but the NHTSA is not willing to wait for it to get any higher. It has taken immediate action by planning a series of regional summits to examine the factors that have led to this increase. Its previous research has shown that 94 percent of accidents are caused by human factors, and the NHTSA is hoping to correct unsafe behaviors such as driving under the influence and not wearing seat belts.
These measures will be very beneficial in reducing traffic fatalities, but it is impossible to completely eliminate them. Car accidents can be caused by a variety of factors like drunk driving and distracted driving. These accidents can cause serious injuries and leave their victims with costly medical expenses. A person who has been injured in a car accident caused by the negligence of another driver may want to have the help of legal counsel in filing a lawsuit against such party seeking compensation for the losses that have been incurred.