Study Finds Fewer American Automobile Fatalities Linked to Decreased Driving

A new study released by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine concludes that Americans drove less from 2003 to 2014. This decrease in road activity correlated directly with a decrease in automobile fatalities. However, less time spent behind the wheel did not mean that people became more active or switched to other modes of transportation. Rather, the study concludes that Americans traveled less, and chose to stay at home more often than in previous decades.

Per capita automobile travel declined roughly 600 miles per year from 2003 to 2014. Young adults, particularly males aged 20-29, saw the largest per capita decrease. Car crash deaths across the board dropped significantly as well. Which makes sense, as fewer cars on the road means fewer opportunities for fatal accidents to occur.

Dr. Noreen McDonald, the study’s author, is a city and regional planning expert at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She wanted to see how American driving reduction impacted changes in both physical activity and motor vehicle fatalities.

“My analysis shows a drop in automobile travel from 2003 to 2014 with the largest decreases among young adults, particularly men,” she wrote. “Despite predictions to the contrary, a substantial decline in auto use has not been accompanied by an increase in time spent in active travel nor in reallocating travel time to exercise.” She explained further that, “Fatalities to motor vehicle occupants dropped significantly during the study period, particularly among millennials.”

Why Have Automobile Fatalities Declined?

Fewer car crash deaths is certainly an encouraging development. However, it is also important to look at why this is the case.

“Safer cars and better driving training could explain this decline,” McDonald wrote. However, her analysis seems to show that the “nearly unprecedented decade-long decline” in U.S. car crash deaths through 2014 was connected to less driving. This, of course, is good for overall public health and the environment, but is also an indicator of how well the economy is doing.

Dr. McDonald listed high gas prices, rising debt, stagnant incomes and increases of unemployment as the primary reasons for less driving. If this is the case, then a brighter economic future could mean more traffic-related deaths. This is an issue that we must face going forward, according to Dr. McDonald. “The challenge that we must all now work toward,” she concluded, “is how to maintain the safety record on American roads as population growth, low gas prices, and an improving economy lead to more travel.”