Deaths from traffic crashes surged in New York state between 2019 and 2022, despite fewer vehicles on the road, according to a new report by a transportation research group. There were 1,148 traffic fatalities in the state last year, compared to 931 in 2019, a 23% increase, according to the Transportation Research Group, a private, nonprofit organization that researches, evaluates, and distributes economic and technical data on surface transportation issues.

The New York findings track with an increase in traffic fatality rates across the U.S. during the pandemic. Nationally, traffic fatalities went from 36,096 in 2019 to 42,795 in 2022, a 19% jump. However, the 2022 total was a small improvement from 2021 when there were 42,939 fatalities.

Similarly, New York’s 2022 total was down slightly from 2021 when there were 1,157 fatalities on state roads.

Federal safety experts say drivers have been engaging in riskier behavior — speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and not wearing seat belts — since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

A 2022 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety report, based on a 2020 survey of drivers, found a parallel between risky behavior and drivers who ventured out during the pandemic.

“It is possible that many of the individuals who were willing to travel and even increase their travel despite the health risks associated with the pandemic were already more willing than average to take other risks,” the AAAFTS report found.

Between 2019 and 2022, there was a 22% increase in the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes reported to police, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And during the same time frame, there was a 20% increase in the number of deaths of passengers not wearing seat belts.

Nationally, vehicle traffic is 1% below what it was in 2019 before the pandemic started, the study concluded. New York has seen a 39% increase in fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles, from 0.75 in 2019 to 1.04 last year.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy is encouraging state and local officials to educate drivers about speeding and impaired driving. It’s also pushing officials to design safer roadways.

Personally, I’m not sure this twin approach will do much to curb the increasing death rates in New York state or in the nation. We all know we shouldn’t speed but we all do, and the safer our roads are the faster we drive. Is there any answer?