Researchers and officials are sounding the alarm: Statistics show that traffic fatalities in Albany and New York’s Capital Region are going up even as they are declining in the rest of the state.
Good news and bad news
Six or seven years ago, U.S. traffic safety researchers were optimistic. While traffic accidents were still a problem, statistics showed a downward trend in traffic accident fatalities. Some of this may have been due to public awareness campaigns about the hazards of texting while driving. Some of it may have been due to effective enforcement of drunk driving laws. But researchers found that one of the biggest factors involved the safety features in newer automobiles.
Even when people did get into accidents, airbags and other newer technologies were saving lives.
This promising trend appeared to come to an end in 2020. The global health emergency kept more people off American roadways, but the ones who did go on the road were engaging in riskier behavior — speeding and otherwise being careless. Fatalities suddenly increased because, even though there were fewer drivers on the road, those accidents that did occur tended to occur at higher speeds.
The good news is that, over the past couple of years, traffic fatalities have started trending downward again nationwide.
For New Yorkers, the bad news is that New York appears to be bucking that trend. Traffic fatalities have been going up in New York. The North Country and the Capital Region have seen some of the largest increases.
Comptroller’s report
Last year, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report that showed worrying statistics about our state.
The report looked at the years 2019-2022 and found that New York traffic fatalities went up by 25.8% during that time. In fact, 2022 was the worst year for New York traffic fatalities in a decade, with 1,175 people killed. During the same years, the increase in traffic fatalities nationwide was much lower, at 16.9%.
North Country
The comptroller’s report found that six out of 100,000 New Yorkers died in traffic accidents in 2019-2022.
Looking at the statistics by county and region showed that this fatality rate was lower in New York City, where fewer people drive cars, and higher in the North Country and the Capital Region. In fact, the fatality rate across the North Country counties was 12.9 per 100,000 people, more than twice the statewide rate.
Albany County pedestrian accidents
Another report showed trends looking especially bad for pedestrians in Albany County.
According the Institute for Traffic Management and Safety Research, 10 pedestrians were killed in Albany County traffic accidents in 2023. That represented a 400% increase from 2019.
Staying safe
The key takeaway from all these statistics is that everyone should be careful on New York roads. There are still a lot of drivers who are not exercising the care they should.
If you have been injured due to a careless driver, you can be left with enormous medical expenses, lost income and other damages. Pursuing compensation through a personal injury lawsuit can help you tackle these expenses and encourage other drives to be more careful.