Spike in Traffic Fatalities Puzzles Experts

InsideLine: Spike in Traffic Fatalities Puzzles Experts

Just the Facts:

• Traffic fatalities in the U.S. increased 9 percent in the first half of 2012 compared with the same six months last year in a trend that has experts puzzled.
• Crashes killed 16,290 people from January through June, the most since 2009, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a new report.
• "It is too soon to speculate on the contributing factors or potential implications of any increase in deaths on our roadways," the report said.

WASHINGTON — Traffic fatalities in the U.S. increased 9 percent in the first half of 2012 compared with the same six months last year in a trend that has experts puzzled.

Crashes killed 16,290 people from January through June, the most since 2009, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a new report. An estimated 14,950 fatalities occurred in the first half of 2011, the report noted.

"It is too soon to speculate on the contributing factors or potential implications of any increase in deaths on our roadways," the report said.

A final report that could provide an explanation will be released in late fall 2013, NHTSA said.

The rise could be linked to a variety of factors, including distracted or drugged driving, the economy or the weather, experts say.

Federal safety regulators have called for increased steps to combat distracted driving, including regulating the technology in vehicles.

In the meantime, the Governors Highway Safety Association, an advocacy group, is calling for tougher distracted driving and drugged driving policies.

The group is calling for bans on handheld cell phones for all drivers. It is also calling for states to adopt "an enhanced penalty" for driving under the influence of multiple drugs, such as a combination of alcohol and another drug or the combination of multiple drugs other than alcohol.

Edmunds says: It's anybody's guess what's behind the increase in deaths at this point. But you've got to wonder what role distracted driving plays in the disturbing trend.