US grants $1 billion for road safety projects as traffic deaths remain high

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Thursday it is providing $1 billion for a series of projects aimed at reducing road crashes as road deaths remain far higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The separate department estimated on Thursday that 18,720 people died in road accidents in the first six months of 2024, down 3.2 percent from 19,330 deaths in the first half of 2023.

While traffic deaths have fallen for nine consecutive quarters, they remain well above pre-pandemic levels, when just over 17,000 people were killed in the first half of 2019.

Among the 350 new awards that are part of a five-year, $5 billion program funded by the $1 trillion infrastructure act of 2021 is $29.8 million for Los Angeles to implement improvements to safety at 77 intersections, especially near schools and shopping areas.

Many projects are aimed at making it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, including $10 million for Savannah, Georgia, to upgrade 15 intersections, including dedicated left turns, sidewalks, crosswalks and expanded bike lanes. Another $20 million is earmarked for Chicago to boost safety efforts in the North Avenue corridor.

Traffic deaths have increased since the onset of COVID-19 and remain high. The death rate at the start of 2024 declined, but was still higher for the three-month period in any pre-pandemic year since 2008.

As U.S. roads became less congested during the COVID-19 pandemic, some drivers perceived police as less likely to issue tickets, experts said, leading to more risky behavior on the roads.

US traffic deaths rose 10.5% in 2021 to 42,915, the highest number of deaths on US roads in a single year since 2005.

In 2022, the number of pedestrians killed increased by 0.7% to 7,522, the most since 1981. The number of cyclists killed increased by 13% to 1,105 in 2022, the most since 1980.

(Reporting by Shepardson; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)