After reaching sad record last year, Washington traffic deaths trend higher

Following the deadliest year on Washington’s roads since 1990, traffic deaths this year are trending even higher, an alarming sign that the recent spike in road fatalities is continuing apace.

Through July, 417 people were killed in a vehicle collision, four higher than the number of deaths through July 2022, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and the Washington State Patrol. Last year, 750 people died — 75 more than the year before and up by more than 200 since 2019, all of which far outpaces population growth in the state.

The state has seen fewer total deadly crashes this year, but each collision has killed more people, on average. A stark example came in July when six people were killed in a two-car collision in Tacoma.

The state doesn’t usually release fatality numbers midyear, so many of the details of the crashes’ circumstances are still not known.

“We are announcing these very preliminary figures because we need everyone’s help right now,” said Shelly Baldwin, director of the safety commission. “Driving sober, driving focused, respecting speed limits, and buckling up are the four best ways to save a life.”

After dropping in the early 2000s, traffic deaths began increasing again in the United States around 2015. They then jumped significantly nationwide beginning in 2020, correlating with the pandemic, when some hoped a silver lining of the lockdowns would be fewer road deaths. The opposite was true, and many suspected the empty roads were allowing for faster driving and deadlier collisions.

Last year, deaths plateaued nationwide, but continued to increase in Washington state.

The pandemic-effect narrative has been complicated by the continued rise, despite traffic levels returning to something close to normal.

In reality, it’s likely a mix of factors, including more speeding, heavier vehicles, dense development concentrated around multilane roads, and a decrease in traffic enforcement. In Washington, 75 percent of deadly crashes in 2022 involved one or more of the “fatal four”: impairment, distraction, speeding, and not wearing seat belts.

Motorcycle deaths, in particular, have risen quickly, said Mark McKechnie, spokesperson for the safety commission. In 2021, 92 motorcyclists died; last year, 132. This year, 98.

Approaches to improving safety on the roads have been some mix of targeting individuals and more structural shifts on the roads.

The safety commission and State Patrol launched an education campaign this year, warning that the summer months tend to be the most dangerous and urging caution. Additionally, lawmakers in Olympia this year approved new signing bonuses to try to help the State Patrol recruit officers and increase traffic enforcement. And automated traffic enforcement has become more ubiquitous as the state has expanded its use into work zones, bus lanes, near schools and in high-risk areas.

Some broader changes have been slower. A proposal to ban right turns on red failed in the Legislature as did a proposal to lower the legal blood alcohol limit.

However, the state has made more money available to local jurisdictions to improve the safety of school routes and pedestrian or bicycle projects. The 16-year, nearly $17 billion transportation package approved by the Legislature in 2022 included a mandate that street-level projects incorporate improved facilities for walkers and bicyclists, not just drivers.

In Seattle, the Department of Transportation recently conducted a review of its policies for eliminating traffic deaths by 2030, as well as its long-term transportation plan. Both called for quicker progress on safety improvements as well as a willingness to swap vehicle speed for pedestrian safety.