Statement of ITS America President & CEO Shailen Bhatt on Increased Fatality Estimates

Statements & Press Releases

Issues:

Smart Infrastructure

March 4, 2021

Today’s preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council (NSC) on roadway fatalities and crashes are shocking and deeply disappointing. At a time when traffic volume was down, 42,060 people died on U.S. roads last year – an eight percent increase from the previous year. And the fatality rate increased by 24 percent, which is the highest increase in nearly 100 years, according to NSC’s calculations.

This loss of life is not only tragic – it is unnecessary and preventable. ITS America has said repeatedly that V2X technologies are the best tool in our toolbox to dramatically reduce fatalities – they can prevent or mitigate up to 80 percent of non-impaired crashes according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We are on the cusp of wide-scale deployment of these life-saving technologies – without it, we will only make incremental improvements. The FCC’s plan to give away a majority of the spectrum reserved for V2X technologies takes on even more importance in light of this staggering loss of life.

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Ramin Massoumi, Global Solutions Director – Mobility, arcadis
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Malcolm Dougherty, National Practice Executive, Transportation, Michael Baker International
At ITS America, our public, private and academic sector members are committed to deploying intelligent transportation technologies to save lives and improve mobility on our nation’s roads. While transportation constantly evolves, we will do all we can to ensure it continues to be the engine that drives our nation’s economy and contributes to improving our quality of life.
Carlos Braceras, Director, Utah Department of Transportation