The automotive world is abuzz with advances and innovations in automated and connectedvehicles.

Consumers are flooded with images of cars and trucksdriving themselves, effortlessly, while the occupants enjoy theride.

But beyond the neon lights of that futuristic vision, there is aharsh reality: America's roads are becoming treacherous.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crashresearch indicates an increased number of accidents, injuries anddeaths on U.S. roads in the post-recession years. Economic activityand miles traveled were down during 2008-2009, but once the economyrebounded, vehicle miles traveled picked back up. Both fataland non-fatal crashes also are trending upward.

The carriers' perspective

Such unpleasant surprises on the roads impact not just accidentvictims and their families, but also insurance companies andconsumers in general.

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners(NAIC), since 2011, auto loss ratios have consistently risen,diverging from the overall improvement experienced through of theP&C industry. So far for the industry, 2016 seems to be theworst performing year to date.

Rising fatality and injury rates explain only a part of overallauto insurance losses. After all, total losses are determined byboth a higher number of claims as well as larger claim values.

Still, these accident trends are worth a second glance, becausethe recent sustained uptick in fatalities has been a deviation fromthe downward trend of the early 2000s.

Why are America's roads so bad?

Recent research indicates some key behavioral changesthat could explain the rise in accidents in the U.S., beyond whatis explained by a rebound in road travel. A key behavioral changeis the increase in distracted driving. Most especially, smartphoneuse has engendered a whole generation of drivers who drive withtheir eyes off road, and on screen, leading to avoidableaccidents.

Yet another reason is the chronic driver shortage that besetsthe trucking industry, which has led to inexperienced and less safetruck drivers on the road.

Speeding and inadequate seat belt use are other factorscontributing to this trend.

Behind the numbers

Quantifying the impact of such behavioral changes is a dauntingtask as it is dependent on reliable and consistent data.

Then comes the onerous task of converting these behaviors intoinsurance pricing levers. While efforts are on to do so, progressis slow, which is evident from the industry's unfavorable lossratios. Meanwhile, the American consumer has not been spared. Datafrom the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that while overallinflation increased by 8.24% from 2007-2017, the price of autoinsurance increased by 44.5% in the same time period.

The trends discussed above resonate when viewed from a broader,national perspective. In the next article of this series, wewill investigate whether additional trends are evident fromregional and state analysis for personal and commercial auto.

This is the first of a series of three articles aimed atproviding an overview of key developments in the U.S. autoinsurance industry and U.S. roads in the past decade.

Dr. Renu Ann Joseph founded Luminant Analytics, which offerstargeted analytics for insurers. An economist from theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago, she has work experience in thefinancial services industry and in public health. She is passionateabout using data insights to unravel the big picture. Connect toher on LinkedIn or reach out to her at [email protected].

See also:

20 car crash tips and things you should know afteran accident

Can auto technology win the war against distracteddriving?