Traffic security

Traffic Deaths Climb By Largest Increase In Decades

Newly released government data paint a sobering picture of safety on the nation's roads and highways.

In 2015, the number of people who died in auto accidents reached 35,092, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a 7.2 percent increase over 2014. The last time there was such a large single-year increase was back in 1966 when Lyndon Johnson was president.

"Despite decades of safety improvements, far too many people are killed on our nation's roads every year," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a press release announcing the new data. "Solving this problem will take teamwork, so we're issuing a call to action and asking researchers, safety experts, data scientists, and the public to analyze the fatality data and help find ways to prevent these tragedies."