With some of the most dangerous roads in the nation, traffic accidents and road fatalities continue to plague the state of Georgia. Three of the most dangerous roads in the state can be found in and around the Atlanta metropolitan area.
However, a drop in road fatalities show a positive trend in the state.
Traffic deaths drop in 2018
The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety reported 1,504 roadway deaths in the state in 2018. This represents a 2.3% decrease from 2017. A further breakdown of the statistics shows that passenger car deaths fell to 994, a significant drop from the 1,056 deaths recorded in 2017.
These statewide trends mirrored national data which saw 36,560 deaths across the U.S., a decrease from the 37,473 reported in 2017. Pedestrian deaths, however, did increase in Georgia, growing to 261 fatalities in 2018 from 253 in 2017. One spokesperson attributed this increase to more pedestrians using phones while walking and not paying attention to the roadway.
Traffic was down in 2020
In 2020, vehicle miles traveled in the U.S. went down from 2019. According to the Federal Highway Administration, travel trends on roadways decreased by about 23 billion miles in the month of September alone. In the South Atlantic region, to which Georgia belongs, the decrease in travel amounted to a reduction of over 8% from 2019. The Northeast region saw the greatest decrease in traffic from 2019: Miles traveled in this area decreased by more than 10%.
When estimated for the entire year of 2020, estimates for vehicle miles traveled remained down by about 14%. This data represents an estimated decrease of some 355 billion miles traveled from 2019 to 2020.
