Deaths on U.S. roads have decreased slightly, but the toll remains higher than two years ago, according to a Tuesday report from the National Safety Council.
The report said 18,680 people have been killed and 2.1 million seriously hurt on roads in the U.S. since January, 1 percent fewer than the same period in 2016 and 8 percent higher than that period in 2015.
The past two years have seen the largest increase in traffic deaths since 1964, and the deaths and injuries have cost the U.S. around $191 billion this year, the report said.
"The price of our cultural complacency is more than a hundred fatalities each day," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, National Safety Council president and CEO. Hersman called for ramping up of improvements to technology and infrastructure that could save lives.
Improving economy and lower prices of gas could have affected the increase in deaths, the report said.
The council recommended buckling up, avoiding fatigue, and designated drivers as some ways to help reduce traffic deaths.
Opioid involvement in traffic deaths is also on the rise, increasing sevenfold according to a July report.
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