U.S. Traffic Deaths Climb in Early 2016; Bad News After Deadly Year in Georgia

ATLANTA, GA — A projected 17,775 people died in U.S. car wrecks in the first six months of the year, according to national highway safety data — a 10.4 percent increase over the first half of 2015. The newly released national figures come as Georgia wrangles with its own spike in highway fatalities, suggesting 2016 may again be an increasingly tragic year on the state's roadways.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) uses police crash reports, among other sources, to determine fatality figures. Final data will be available next year, but the projected increase raises alarms for safety leaders who now say they're focused on zero traffic fatalities — a seemingly unobtainable goal as we head in the opposite direction.

The months of April-June 2016 represented the seventh consecutive quarter with an increase in national fatalities in a year-t0-year comparison. Likely contributing to the spike in deaths: the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) logged a 3 percent increase in miles traveled. It's a figure that has often been paired with wreck data, with an argument that more cars on the road means an increased likelihood of an accident.

In Georgia, the most recent data on traffic fatalities from 2015 showed 1,430 fatalities. It was the state's first annual increase since 2007, and more deaths than any single year since 2008. Nationally, 35,092 people died in wrecks in 2015. That marked the largest annual increase in U.S. fatalities since 1966.

As deaths continue to climb for the start of 2016, national highway safety groups are joining forces to launch the "Road to Zero" Coalition, with a goal of ending traffic fatalities within the next 30 years. The coalition includes the NHTSA, FHA, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Safety Council.

"Every single death on our roadways is a tragedy," said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind in a statement. "We can prevent them. Our drive toward zero deaths is more than just a worthy goal. It is the only acceptable goal."

Georgia is focused on an annual decrease of 41 vehicle deaths, which would push the "zero" goal line out to 35 years. Still, the first step would be to begin seeing a decrease in traffic fatalities, instead of an increase.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has committed $1 million in annual grant awards to organizations working on lifesaving programs.

Transportation officials are advancing new technologies, including self-driving cars. In the meantime, they'll focus on education campaigns that focus on safe-driving practices, roadway modifications like rumble strips to keep drivers alert and tweaks in vehicle manufacturing that make cars and trucks safer.

"We know that setting the bar for safety to the highest possible standard requires commitment from everyone to think differently about safety – from drivers to industry, safety organizations and government at all levels," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Images via Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services