US traffic deaths continue to rise, hitting 20-year high in early 2022

FILE - NYPD officers investigate a fatal crash where a bicyclist and pedestrians were struck when two cars raced and crashed on June 25, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Bachner/NY Daily News via Getty Images) U.S.

traffic deaths, once in decline, have continued to climb over the past couple of years and hit a two-decade high in early 2022.

In the first three months of the year, 9,560 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, a 7% increase from a year ago, according to estimates shared Wednesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.It was the highest number of first-quarter traffic deaths since 2002.RELATED: Speeding driver identified in collision that left 6 dead, including pregnant womanTraffic deaths have risen ever since COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns eased in 2020 as people returned to work and started taking more road trips.

People drove about 40 billion more miles in the first quarter than a year earlier, a 5.6% increase, the agency said. But the rate of traffic deaths per 100 million miles traveled also increased during the quarter from 1.25 deaths to 1.27, according to the agency.Before 2020, the number of fatalities had fallen for three consecutive years.The government has blamed the increase on speeding, impaired driving and other reckless behavior, and it has pledged to fund investments in speed enforcement and to build safer roads.Officials at the scene said the crash was fatal, though few other details were released concerning victims.