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US traffic deaths spike even as pandemic cuts miles traveled

FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2020, file photo provided by the Corvallis Police Department is the scene where an Oregon man crashed a Tesla while going about 100 mph, destroying the vehicle, a power pole and starting a fire when some of the hundreds of batteries from the vehicle broke windows and landed in residences in Corvallis, Ore. Dylan Milota, who survived the crash, was driving the 2019 Tesla S when he lost control. Pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders kept many drivers off U.S. roads and highways in 2020. But those who did venture out found open lanes that only invited reckless driving, leading to a sharp increase in traffic-crash deaths across the country. (Corvallis Police Department via AP, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2020, file photo provided by the Corvallis Police Department is the scene where an Oregon man crashed a Tesla while going about 100 mph, destroying the vehicle, a power pole and starting a fire when some of the hundreds of batteries from the vehicle broke windows and landed in residences in Corvallis, Ore. Dylan Milota, who survived the crash, was driving the 2019 Tesla S when he lost control. Pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders kept many drivers off U.S. roads and highways in 2020. But those who did venture out found open lanes that only invited reckless driving, leading to a sharp increase in traffic-crash deaths across the country. (Corvallis Police Department via AP, File)

By TOM KRISHER / AP Auto Writer 3 min read

DETROIT (AP) – Pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders kept many drivers off U.S. roads and highways last year. But those who did venture out found open lanes that only invited reckless driving, leading to a sharp increase in traffic-crash deaths across the country.

The nonprofit National Safety Council estimates in a report issued Thursday that 42,060 people died in vehicle crashes in 2020, an 8% increase over 2019 and the first jump in four years.

Plus, the fatality rate per 100 million miles driven spiked 24%, the largest annual percentage increase since the council began collecting data in 1923.

And even though traffic is now getting close to pre-coronavirus levels, the bad behavior on the roads is continuing, authorities say.

“It’s kind of terrifying what were seeing on our roads,” said Michael Hanson, director of the Minnesota Public Safety Department’s Office of Traffic Safety. “We’re seeing a huge increase in the amount of risk-taking behavior.”