John Townsend
Public Relations Manager, DC
O: (202) 481-6820 (ext. 4462108)
C: (202) 253-2171
jtownsend@aaamidatlantic.com
WASHINGTON, D. C. (Tuesday, October 23, 2018) –– October emerged as the deadliest month of the year, with the exception of July, on roadways across America during 2017, according to preliminary fatal crash data. Crashes involving pedestrians also skyrocketed in October in the Washington metropolitan region, as they did in 2016, as well as the overall number of collisions in Washington, D.C. Moreover, one of the deadliest days of the year for traffic incidents claiming the lives and mangling the limbs of pedestrians and children falls on next Wednesday, October 31, “Halloween.” October, the first full month of autumn, was also the deadliest month of the year for deaths from car crashes on public roadways during both 2014 and 2016.
Last October, 3,700 persons lost their lives nationwide in motor-vehicle related crashes, compared to 3,830 traffic fatalities in July 2017, according to preliminary estimates by the National Safety Council (NSC). If the estimates hold true, July has eclipsed October as the deadliest month of 2017 for traffic deaths by 130 fatalities. Why October? Researchers cite “systematic seasonal variation” and “the duration of darkness, which increases in the fall.” From October 1st to 31st, day-length drops from 11 hours, 46 minutes, 42 seconds to 10 hours, 34 minutes, 26 seconds, as we lose about 2 minutes and 30 seconds of daylight each day locally.
“October has seemingly become a star-crossed month for traffic deaths and injuries,” said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs. “During this decade, October has overtaken August as the second deadliest month of the year for the occurrence of fatal motor vehicle crashes on roadways in the United States. Historically, July and August were the most deadly months on the nation’s highways, as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) peaked during the calendar year. So far, there is no clear consensus among researchers and safety advocates as to why October is now deadlier than August on our roadways.”
Deadliest Months on The Roadway and Least Deadly Month 2010-2017 |
|||||||||
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017*** |
TOTAL |
August |
3,083 |
2,982 |
3,073 |
3,136 |
3,037 |
3,319 |
3,349 |
3,370 |
25,349 |
October |
3,056 |
3,086 |
2,849 |
2,987 |
3,068 |
3,271 |
3,526 |
3,700 |
25,543 |
July |
3,095 |
3,149 |
3,126 |
2,871 |
2,932 |
3,266 |
3,295 |
3,830 |
25,564 |
February |
2,016 |
2,037 |
2,325 |
2,100 |
2,056 |
2,153 |
2,661 |
2,248 |
17,596 |
Total Fatalities 2010-2017 |
32,885 |
32,367 |
33,561 |
32,719 |
32,675 |
35,092 |
37,461 |
37,133*** |
273,893 |
* Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2010-2016 **NHTSA ***National Safety Council 2016 Preliminary |
|
So far this decade an estimated 25,543 persons died in roadway crashes in October, compared to 25,564 persons in July during the eight-year period from 2010 to 2017, according to an analysis by AAA Mid-Atlantic. August now ranks as the third most deadly month of the year with 25,349 lives lost this decade.
One possible clue to October’s emergence as the second most deadly month on the nation’s road
system this decade lies in the fact that starting in 2013 the record for U.S. driving in October was shattered five years in a row. It reached 275 billion vehicle miles of travel (VMT) in 2017, the highest of any October on record, or since 1992, notes AAA Mid-Atlantic. That compares to 280.9 billion miles in June 2017, 283.6 billion vehicle miles in July, and Americans racked up 283.3 billion miles on their odometers in August, according to estimates by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
“Up jumps the devil,” as the old expression goes. Oddly enough, September 2017 was even deadlier than August. Preliminary estimates reveal September saw 3,600 traffic fatalities nationwide, compared to a highway death toll of 3,370 in August of 2017, according to NSC data analysts. Surprisingly, Americans traveled 12.5 billion more vehicle miles in October 2017, than they did in September 2017, when they drove 262.5 billion vehicle miles of travel (VMT), calculates AAA Mid-Atlantic. September marks the end of the summer driving season following the Labor Day holiday weekend.
All told, 37,133 persons were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes on U.S. roadways during 2017, a 1.8 percent decrease from the 37,806 people killed in traffic crashes a year earlier in 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced October 3, 2018. Preliminary data for 2018 suggest the downward trends continues into 2018. During 2017, 760 persons perished in traffic crashes on roadways in Virginia, compared to 523 persons in Maryland, and 27 lives were cut short in Washington, D.C. In the District, the “the highest number of crashes occurred in October while the lowest occurred in February.”
Equally troubling and ominous, pedestrian deaths start to rise in late summer and continue to steadily increase in the fall and throughout the rest of the year. October 31 (Halloween), when the number of pedestrian fatalities quadruples, and October 26, have historically ranked among the days of the year with the most pedestrian deaths. At least 314 persons lost their lives in traffic crashes across the Washington metro area during 2017, according to preliminary data from the spring 2018 Street Smart Public Education Campaign which operates under the aegis of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (MWCOG) Transportation Planning Board (TPB). The tally includes 79 pedestrians and six cyclists.
During 2016, more crashes involving pedestrians occurred in October, with its progressively shorter daylight hours, than any other month of the year across the Washington metro area, reports MWCOG. The region recorded 2,654 crashes involving pedestrians in 2016. Of that total, 309 crashes involving pedestrians occurred in October 2016 across the metro area, with December witnessing the second highest total of crashes involving pedestrians (249), and January with the third highest total of the year at 230 such crashes.
At the onset of this decade, July was deadlier than August and October, as was the case in 2010, 2011 and 2012. It reclaimed that deathly status a year ago, when it became the deadliest month of 2017 on all roads and streets. The year 2016 saw more persons dying in October (3,526 highway deaths) than in August (3,349 highway deaths), a difference of 177 persons, or in July (3,295 highway deaths), which witnessed 231 fewer traffic deaths than October. In contrast, from 1986-2002, October averaged 126 traffic deaths a day, compared to 132 per day in August and 129 each day in July. October emerged as an outlier in 2014 and 2016, supplanting July and August as the topmost deadly months. By contrast, in the period from 1975 to 2002, monthly crash fatalities peaked in July and August. This decade, fewer fatalities occurred in February.
Of note, NHTSA has not released, as of this date, an in-depth look at traffic fatalities by the month or day of the week for 2017. It will likely come later. However, in terms of overall fatality trends, “Every month except January, April and July saw decreases in fatalities from 2016 to 2017,” explains NHTSA. “The highest increase was in January, at 11.2 percent.” Typically, traffic safety fact sheets will be issued by NHTSA on a rolling basis over the next 12 months, notes AAA.
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Ragina C. Ali
Public Relations Manager, MD
O: (410) 616-1900 (ext. 4361152)
C: (443) 465-5020
RAli@aaamidatlantic.com