Drivers Down, Traffic Deaths Up In PA

PENNSYLVANIA —Speeding, careless driving, and drug and alcohol impairment contributed to a recent rise in traffic deaths in Pennsylvania and across the nation, according to a new report by the nonprofit States Newsroom.

Pennsylvania saw a 12 percent increase in traffic fatalities from 2019 to 2022, according to an analysis from the nonprofit States Newsroom. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 1,191 people died in Pennsylvania traffic crashes last year, compared to 1,059 people in 2019.

Nationally, traffic deaths spiked 18 percent since 2019 – even as people are driving less than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows a 3 percent decrease in vehicle miles traveled from 2019-2022.

Most of the increase in traffic deaths was in cities, suburbs and small towns, States Newsroom found - and rural areas were less affected. And, most of the increase in fatal accidents has been caused by speeding, careless driving and drug or alcohol use, according to federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System data from 2019 to 2021, the news network reported.

“It seems like there was something going on with people that was leading to this riskier behavior, and we really don’t know what was causing it,” said Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, to States Newsroom.

“Even when people weren’t driving that much, the people who were driving were doing it in a more risky way,” Cicchino said.

Municipalities and state legislators in Pennsylvania have put forth various ideas to reduce the number of driving deaths.

Pennsylvania is one of the states considering more speed cameras, after a pilot program put speed cameras on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia and in work zones statewide. Officials said speed cameras cut fatal accidents in half on the 14-mile stretch of road after they were introduced in 2020.

A bill making the program permanent, and expanding it within Philadelphia, passed the state House and is now pending before a Senate committee.

Some critics of red-light and speed cameras, such as driver advocacy group the National Motorists Association, say they infringe upon due process rights.