Double Trouble in 2022

Driving home from the Mid America Truck Show with my wife this year, I saw an overhead sign that stated the fatality rate had doubled, or more than doubled, for the same time period in relation to the previous year. I’ve written on this subject in the past, and the conditions on the highway don’t seem to be improving. I think the stretch of highway we were on was something like 32 deaths in 2021 and about 60 deaths in 2022. I was driving, so my priority wasn't remembering the exact numbers.  

I’ve done several blogs on the subject of highway safety in the past. One of the best indicators I’ve found, in terms of identifying areas of highway that need extra vigilance while you drive, is when the roadway begins to be covered with skid marks from emergency braking. What I’m noticing today, is that there are sections of highway that have more skid marks than a race track. There are also tire marks and scrapes all over the Jersey barriers on off-ramps and mangled guard rails nearly everywhere. Quite literally, the walls and guardrails on a race track are in better shape than the ones I’m noticing on our nation's highways.  

But, let's get back to the subject of double the number of highway fatalities in 2022 vs. 2021. This subject stayed in my mind as we made our way back to our home in Laredo, TX. There were crashes North of Temple on I-35, so we exited the highway to find an alternative route. There are crashes on this section of highway all the time, and it’s loaded up with construction zones with lower posted speed limits. My observation is that most of these lower speed limits are largely ignored by the public. This is why I refer to these incidents as crashes and not accidents. When things go wrong at 75 or 80 miles per hour in a construction zone, it’s not an accident, in my opinion.  

After exiting the highway, we pulled over to chart an alternate course home. After looking at a couple of mapping sources on our phones, we discovered that there were multiple crashes between where we were and San Antonio. At this point, we decided to take an alternate route home using the old US highway system instead of the crash-ridden interstate highway. I must say, US-281 was a nice, pleasant, and scenic drive without vehicles jockeying for position as if they were on a race track.  

As we drove and got closer to San Antonio traffic, I came upon an area where two vehicles were pulled off to the shoulders on both sides of the highway. I slowed down to go through, and noticed that they had all stopped to offer help to a pickup that had gone off the side of the road. It had apparently rolled over several times. I thought to myself, “so much for finding a quieter alternative to the interstate”.  

Next, we merged back onto the interstate in San Antonio and before we exited the city limits, there was another crash that involved two pickup trucks and a sedan. The sedan appeared to have hit the wall so hard, that it knocked half off the front end of the car. The whole time I’m remembering the sign I drove under in Arkansas that stated “Highway fatalities double...”.  

This morning, upon preparing this article, we did some research by Googling keywords pertaining to the subject. It turns out, that there has been not only a steady increase in highway fatalities, but also an increase in the fatality rate per hundred million miles traveled. In 2020, the fatality rate per 100 million miles traveled increased to 1.34, which was a 21% increase over the same time frame in 2019. Another observation I made, is that it appears that many people are driving as though they’re on a race track.  

There are two problems with the people who are driving in this aggressive manner. The first problem is obvious, our nation's highways are not race tracks. Secondly, if they’re driving like a racer, they’re making rookie mistakes. A good race car driver only takes chances where there’s a good risk-reward benefit. I see people constantly darting from lane to lane trying to advance their position, where there’s nothing but a sea of other vehicles ahead of them. Do they really think they can maneuver their way in front of hundreds of other vehicles? Any good racer knows that you have to take in the big picture to win a race. Drive in a safe, courteous manner and look beyond the end of your own hood. Read the highway traffic signs to make sure that you’re in the proper lane for your vehicle type, along with the exit or entrance that you’ll need in advance. Observe things like solid lines meaning for you to stay in your lane. Above all, drive with caution, not aggression.

In closing, the best way to “win this race” is to arrive at your destination safely, and with today's fuel prices, efficiently. Let's turn the tide and reverse the direction of our nation's highway fatality rate.