A dramatic increase in road deaths reported in 2021, showing almost 43,000 people killed on U.S. highways, revealed how easily progress in making roads safer can be lost.1 This 10 percent increase in traffic-related deaths over the preceding year was a wake-up call for governments, front-line professionals, stakeholders, and advocates. Although the number of deaths began to decline again in the last half of 2022, a renewed focus on prevention supported by enforcement is paramount to regaining lost ground.
Moreover, while it has long been recognized that speed, impairment, and nonuse of seat belts remain the leading contributing factors to road crashes, new evidence from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests distraction, although widely acknowledged to be underreported in road crashes, also plays a significant role in fatalities.2 As a consequence, dozens of organizations representing government, industries, academia, educators, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations concerned about distracted driving came together to form the National Distracted Driving Coalition under the stewardship of the National Transportation Safety Board and chaired by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). The coalition established a National Action Plan to move the needle on distracted driving.3
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