Louisiana among deadliest states for highway fatalities, data shows
Louisiana has one of the country's highest annual rates of highway fatalities, according to federal data.
Why it matters: April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, where advocacy groups hope to bring attention to a leading cause of crashes — cellphone use.
The big picture: Louisiana averaged about 20 highway fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2022, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the St. Louis Federal Reserve.
That's much higher than the national average of 13.
Other Southern states — Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee — also ranked among the deadliest.
By the numbers: In 2023, 811 people were killed in crashes, and 22% of those crashes involved inattention or a distraction, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission says.
New Orleans keeps a dashboard of local crash data.
Zoom in: Louisiana has laws banning texting for all drivers and requiring hands-free cellphone usage in school zones, the commission says.
Another law bans cellphone usage (unless hands-free) for drivers holding a learner's or intermediate license.
Gov. Jeff Landry and insurance commissioner Tim Temple are backing another bill this legislative session that would increase cellphone restrictions while driving, WRKF reports.
Zoom out: Around 3,300 people died nationwide in crashes attributed to distracted driving in 2022, while another 289,000 were injured, according to the latest available National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
More than 62,000 crashes involved distracted cellphone usage in 2022 alone, the NHTSA says.
These stats likely underestimate the problem because crash data often relies on drivers self-reporting their distractions to law enforcement, National Safety Council executive VP of safety leadership and advocacy Mark Chung tells Axios.
The big picture: U.S. traffic deaths per 100,000 people peaked in the 1930s and total deaths peaked in 1972, then gradually declined thanks to vehicle improvements, better infrastructure and public safety campaigns.
But the rate of crash deaths started rising again about a decade ago, spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 was still in the late pandemic era, and it's unclear whether things have changed since then.
Flashback:"How much longer will a civilized nation endure such mass mayhem?" the NSC asked in 1955 after 602 Americans died on roadways over a single Christmas weekend.
It took 13 more years for seatbelts to be required in all new vehicles — and the NSC now wants similar action to curb distracted driving.
Nearly all U.S. states ban texting while driving, per the Governors Highway Safety Association, though their enforcement rules differ.
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