While it’s difficult to find the upsides of $4 a gallon gas, a new study finds that record-high gas prices are actually having a positive side effect. Because most Americans are now reducing their time behind the wheel to save money, traffic deaths are now down to the lowest levels in nearly 30 years.
According to a new study by the National Safety Council, traffic deaths were down 9 percent nationwide through May, with the months of May and April seeing declines of 18 and 14 percent, respectively.
Moreover, the Associated Press finds that some states have seen a 20+ percent decline in traffic deaths, with 31 states seeing at least a 10 percent decrease. Only eight states have reported an increase in traffic-related deaths.
While it’s hard to pin the sharp decline on just one factor, record-high gas prices appear to be behind the radical change. The last time such a change was recorded? The Arab oil embargo in 1973-1974. During the span of the embargo, traffic fatalities tumbled 17 percent, according to WFTV.
However, high fuel prices are probably not acting alone. Many states also attribute the declines to increased police efforts, as well as more stringent teen driving programs. Whatever the case, American roads are now the safest they have been in three decades.
