Americans have driven less during Covid-19 pandemic, but crash fatalities rose in 2020, with more than half involving unbelted people, the highest rate in eight years
and driving under the influence, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Compounding the problem, safety officials say, these drivers often leave their seat belts unbuckled, raising the potential for deadly consequences.
More than half of all crash fatalities last year involved unbelted drivers or occupants, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s preliminary data on cases where seat-belt use is known. That is the highest level since 2012. An estimated 38,680 people died in car crashes last year, 7% more than in 2019, even though total miles driven dropped 13% as, federal data show. The number of unbuckled vehicle occupants killed in crashes jumped an estimated 15% from 2019, NHTSA figures show.
“It’s a reversal, and it’s concerning,” said Ken Kolosh, statistics manager at the nonprofit National Safety Council. He cited “the collective stress that the nation was facing and the risk-taking behaviors that fell out of that.” As summer travel rebounds after Covid-19 lockdowns, some states are trying various ways to persuade more people to buckle up. Since the mid-1980s, widespread adoption of state laws and public campaigns have increased seat-belt use from less than 50% in 1990 to 90% last year, according to NHTSA. Yet nationwide, that number has plateaued in recent years, and safety advocates would like to see universal adoption of the proven life-safer.
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