Well, North Carolina saw a 7 1/2% increase
in vehicle crashes from 2020 to 2021.
More than 1700 people died in the last year.
Preliminary data from the National
Safety Council shows that North
Carolina is on track to see even
more traffic crash deaths this year.
So far, 703 people have died compared
to 687 last year, 547 people in 2020.
So what we're doing is we're
digging into Traffic Safety.
When is it the most dangerous?
To drive and looking at how safe your car is,
giving you more context to the headlines
during the pandemic law enforcement
saw more instances of drunk driving.
New data shows that were continuing
to move in the wrong direction.
With those stats,
Deborah Alferon has more on the
government's latest numbers.
A teenage girl died in Texas this month
when a pickup truck plowed into her home.
Police say the driver was drunk.
In Michigan, a driver was charged
with killing college student Bailey
Broderick while under the influence
she was sunshine and amazing.
She was just amazing.
Traffic deaths are on the rise
for the third straight year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration estimates more than
9500 people died in crashes in the
first quarter of this year alone.
That's about 7% more than the
same period last year and the
highest number in two decades.
About 1/3 of all crashes are consistently
due to driving while impaired.
Almost everyone knows if someone killed in
an impaired driving crash. Administrator
Stephen Cliff says the trend worsened
in the first year of the pandemic
when more than 11,000 Americans
died because of impaired driving,
equivalent to the population of the
entire city of Cocoa Beach, FL.
When everyday life came
to a halt in March 2020,
risky behaviors skyrocketed
and traffic fatalities spiked.
We'd hoped these trends
were limited to 2020,
but sadly they aren't
starting now through Labor Day.
Safety officials are launching their
annual drive sober campaign and
increasing law enforcement to try
and cut down on impaired driving.
Megan Carter lost her twin brother and a
drunk driving crash when they were 19.
Jonathan's life was stolen that evening.
My parents were robbed of their son,
now with mothers against drunk
driving, she's working to create
a future with no more victims.
The North Carolina State Highway
Patrol mothers against drunk driving
and the Wildlife Resource Commission
are all working together for their
Labor Day public safety campaign.
Now this is what they'll be doing.
They're being increasing enforcement
during the on the road on the water.
Don't drink and drive campaign
over that holiday weekend.
The State Department of Transportation says
last year alone there were more than 1900
vehicle crashes over that Labor Day weekend,
and 23 people died.
It's not the holiday, though.
With the most accidents,
dot says Thanksgiving.
Comes in at #1,
now over the last five years there was
an average of about 2800 crashes over
that holiday weekend for Thanksgiving.
Now, when it comes to crashes,
how well does what you drive protect you?
That's the question we're asking.
Well, the Insurance Institute for Hwy
safety tested cars against a taller,
heavier barrier.
So what we're saying is that the
testing was meant to simulate trucks
and SUV's and the things that
you could run into on the road.
Now some of the United States
most popular cars did not.
Farewell in this testing.
Midsize cars struggled against
the Insurance Institute for Hwy
Safety's tougher side crash tests.
The Institute puts 7 popular
passenger cars to the test,
which is now a 4200 pound barrier.
It strikes the driver side at
37 mph. Part of our redesign of the
barrier was to emulate the pickup trucks
and the large SUV's that are out there
in the real world that are the striking
vehicles in many of these crashes
in this test group, only the Subaru
Outback earned a good rating.
Three cars received poor ratings.
Structure was particularly compromised
on two of those models, and in all
three there was likelihood of injury,
either one or both of the female dummies
heads slipped below the side curtain
airbag and struck the window seal.
The IHS says one reason for the
group's disappointing performance
is the lower ride height.
President David Harkey is
confident automakers will respond.
All of these vehicles had good
ratings in our original side test.
I have no doubt that they
will get to a point.
That they will get them
back to having a good rating
in our updated side tests.
The institute plans to test
smaller passenger cars and smaller
pickup trucks to see how well
they protect passengers.
You know it's one thing when
you're the one driving the car.
It's quite another.
When you're teenager is
the one behind the wheel.
Research shows teens are three times
more likely to be involved in a fatal
accident compared to older drivers.
Experts say parents really need to consider
the right kind of car for younger drivers.
Usually that's one with more safety features.
The Insurance Institute for Hwy.
Safety and Consumer Reports created a
list of recommended vehicles for teens.
There are 70 used and new cars on this list,
ranging anywhere from $6000.
All the way up to brand new of $39,000.
All the cars performed well during crash
tests have high reliability scores and can
break from 60 mph to 0 and 145 feet or less.
Now some of the cars on the
list include the Mazda 3,
the Chevy Trailblazer,
and the Honda CRV Subaru Outback
and the Toyota Highlander.
You can find the full list on our website.
Just search cars for teens.
A week from Monday,
get ready to slow down because
school and school zones they are
going to be back in full force.
High point police are increasing their
presence outside schools within city limits.
They're enforcing the speed
limit in school zones.
Drivers who are stopped for speeding
should expect a $250 fine plus court
costs and another safety reminder.
You have to stop for a stopped school bus.
All right.
Coming up,
we're going to take a look at how inflation
is impacting the price of school.
Supplies.