Road deaths spiked in the U.S. after the death of George Floyd, as police pulled back from police stops of motorists (especially black motorists), leading to big increases in reckless driving and crashes, especially among black motorists. But in the rest of the world, it was a different story, with a steady fall in road deaths in every year since 2010:
The annual number of road traffic deaths fell slightly to 1.19 million per year, according to the latest WHO report. Yet with more than 2 deaths occurring per minute and over 3200 per day, road traffic crashes remain the leading killer of children and youth aged 5–29 years.
The latest WHO global status report on road safety 2023 shows that, since 2010, road traffic deaths have fallen by 5% to 1.19 million annually…Among UN Member States, 108 countries reported a drop in road traffic-related deaths between 2010 and 2021. Ten countries succeeded in reducing road traffic deaths by over 50%: Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Thirty-five more countries made notable progress, reducing deaths by 30% to 50%.
The report shows that 28% of global road traffic deaths occurred in the WHO South-East Asia Region, 25% in the Western Pacific Region, 19% in the African Region, 12% in the Region of the Americas, 11% in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and 5% in the European Region.
Nine in 10 deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and fatalities in these countries are disproportionately higher when set against the number of vehicles and roads they have. The risk of death is 3 times higher in low-income than high-income countries, yet low-income countries have just 1% of the world’s motor vehicles.
Fifty-three per cent of all road traffic fatalities are vulnerable road users including: pedestrians (23%); riders of powered two- and three-wheelers such as motorcycles (21%); cyclists (6%); and users of micro-mobility devices such as e-scooters (3%). Deaths among car and other 4-wheeled light vehicle occupants fell slightly to 30% of global fatalities….
Pedestrian deaths rose 3% to 274 000 between 2010 and 2021, accounting for 23% of global fatalities. Deaths among cyclists rose by nearly 20% to 71 000, accounting for 6% of global deaths. Meanwhile, research indicates that 80% of the world’s roads fail to meet pedestrian safety standards and just 0.2% have cycle lanes, leaving these road users dangerously exposed. And while 9 in 10 people surveyed identify as pedestrians, just a quarter of countries have policies to promote walking, cycling and public transport.
In the U.S., in contrast, the motor vehicle fatality rate went up 7.1% in 2020, and 10.5% in 2021, before falling 0.3% in 2022, according to Wikipedia. There were 3,230 fatalities in 2021, compared to only 2,967 fatalities in 2010. Road deaths have increased both as an absolute number and as a fraction of America’s population since 2019, and — to a lesser extent — since 2010.
As the progressive website Vox noted about the recent increase in U.S. traffic deaths:
According to a 2021 survey of over 1,000 police officers, nearly 60 percent said they were less likely to stop a vehicle for violating traffic laws than they were prior to 2020, when the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police inspired nationwide protests……traffic stops are decreasing while deaths are rising….Some experts…think there’s an obvious link. Enforcement efforts that are high-visibility and focused on safety are shown to reduce risky driving.
