Chart of the Month: U.S. motor vehicle traffic deaths rise

While the cause behind the increase in deaths is not definitive, distracted driving is certainly a contributor. In fact a recent study found that, over a 30 day period, almost 90 percent of drivers ages 19 to 24 admitted to speeding, running a red light or texting while driving.¹ Distracted driving is a nation-wide issue, but there are a number of solutions that attempt to curb this problem such as laws banning texting while driving, automatic text-feature disablement while operating vehicles, sound alerts for lane swerving, and more. Within the trucking industry, fleet tracking solutions have the capability to capture and play back unsafe driving events to aid fleet owners and managers in training and coaching their vehicle operators to improve driving behavior. Real-time feeds within tracking systems also allow managers to course-correct poor performance before an accident occurs. Additionally, HOS features in the solutions enable fleets to track driver hours and notify drivers in violation, preventing driver fatigue

SOURCES: *National Safety Council Motor Vehicle Fatality Estimates; ¹AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety - Feb 2017 Report